Wordless Wednesday
Delta Lake State Park

Olympus E-M1 MK III, M. Zuiko 12-100mm f/4, 1/125s, 14mm, f/11, ISO 400
OK, I have had a few days of wishing for the sun and reliving a few trips to Florida. Yesterday the temperatures reached a balmy 19 F so I thought it would be a good idea to visit Delta Lake. There were clouds from the coming winter storm approaching but I like a little drama in the sky. My first stop was at the entrance to get the view across the frozen pond. I decided to go hand-held as I didn’t feel like holding on to the cold tripod. There was plenty of light so I knew it wouldn’t be an issue.
The park added benches around this pond at the end of the season last year. I can’t resist using a bench as some foreground interest. Which bench would you sit in? The one on the side of the clear sky or the one with the orange dramatic clouds?

I’m sitting at my desk this morning wondering if I’ll even venture out today. It is currently -7 F with a wind chill down to -25 F. The high today will be a whopping 7 F. Tomorrow is expected to be warmer, but then late in the day a winter storm will cruise through. Depending on who you want to believe and exactly where you live, we could see anywhere from 7 – 18″ of snow by late Monday. I need some warmth!
My thoughts turned to the Florida coast. I haven’t visited the east coast of Florida (around the Melbourne area) since late in 2018. I’m not even thinking about Disney, I want the beaches, the piers and the ocean crashing against the sand. I could spend days, heck probably weeks working my way down the coast exploring and photographing everything. I’m hoping I remember I misplaced a large pile of money somewhere so I can jump in an RV and live the life of a photography nomad…
Here is a morning view of Cocoa Beach Pier. I love when I can get the reflection in the wet sand.

I was saving this image from last Saturday until today. I have been attempting to follow the daily themes outlined on the Photofocus Community. Today is Framed Friday and I wanted to use this image of Bellamy Harbor with the natural framing for my post. It was a very cold morning and you can see the “steam” rising off the ice.

Along the trails of the sculpture garden are these red benches. I assume the bright red color is to allow them to stand out and be noticeable from a distance. Even though they are metal, they are actually quite comfortable to sit on. There are a couple of these benches on the hill above the Pagoda Pavilion. I have sat on them a few times and simply enjoyed the day. This one is interesting as it is tucked in among the trees and quite a few feet off the paved paths.
Even though this is a busy image, I liked the red bench having the orange book ends from the tree leaves. Late afternoon light casting long shadows didn’t hurt either. I thought to walk up to the bench, create a single impression in the snow on the seat and walk away leaving a single set of foot prints in the snow. Obviously I chose the the cleaner view…

OK, it started out at 4F degrees when I went out for the sunrise but it was -4F by the time I got back home. I would have been OK with the temp but my walk away from the car was apparently with the breeze and the walk back nearly froze my face off. Damn, it was cold!
I found where the geese decided to sleep for the night. I suppose the water was a good 30F warmer than the air but still looked cold to me. When I came around the west side of the Mohawk River to capture the view I wanted, the geese didn’t like how close I was getting and started to move away. Although a few might be blurry due to the shutter speed, having them farther out in the water does add to the story of the image. You can see “steam” over the ice in the Barge Canal.
OK, I’m getting cold again looking at this image, time for another cup of coffee…
