I had the opportunity to spend several weeks this past winter at Point Pelee National Park in Leamington, Ontario. These images are just a few that I made of beautiful Lake Erie during the time when it was at its most frozen. The ice formations were stunning, and of so many types!
“Crisp and Clean” The air was cold and crisp and the day was bright and sunny at the tip of Point Pelee as I walked out onto a very frozen Lake Erie!“Lookout Above” Such a refreshingly cold and vast scene of Lake Erie during the heart of winter, as viewed from the tower at Point Pelee! “Through Outstretched Arms” Just an absolutely fabulous frozen Lake Erie and a beautiful bare tree just as I reached the beginning of the tip, at Point Pelee! “Point Break” There were ice formations of every kind, just frozen solid in all directions. These pointed shards were 3 or 4 feet tall, some standing with their points facing upwards, as others lay scattered after being pushed ashore weeks before. “All along the Watchtower” This image was made from atop the metal tower at Point Pelee National Park as it overlooks the path to the tip, as well as Lake Erie as a whole. I processed this in black and white for a more striking image. Let me know what you think.
I hope you all enjoyed these images, I know I have been pretty absent with my photo blogging of late. Maybe this year will be the start of more regular updates, but one can never be sure. I hope that everyone of you is doing well, and that spring and summer will be much better times for all!
As we’ve just passed spring tulip time, I wanted to share with you a couple of lovely and fresh spring tulip images. These are very subtle in color and to me have a light and airy feeling. I wanted to portray soft sunlight and a different type of look than my usual bright and very colorful images.
“Light and Lovely Tulips”
I hope you enjoy the simplicity and quiet beauty of these lovely tulips!
“Just living is not enough… one must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower.” ~ Hans Christian Andersen ~
In this first image you’ll see beautiful Lake of the Clouds, which is located in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan!
This year as usual when the end of summer approached, I started planning for my fall photography trip or trips. I couldn’t wait to see the world around me turn to gold, orange, and red! As it turned out in Michigan, as well as many parts of the country and world, timing was a bit off. I had to keep changing the dates of my trips to adjust to the lack of fall color where I was going.
Finally in early October things started to look more positive, and I headed for the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, which I do every year, and I wouldn’t miss it for the world!
One of the most beautiful places to me, in the Western UP, is Lake of the Clouds. I drove from the city of Marquette out to The Porcupine Mountains to get there. It was raining heavily the whole way out, but I had been watching the weather forecasts and radar earlier in the day, in hopes that there might be some kind of clearing by the time I arrived.
As you can see from the photograph above the clouds were still thick but oh so beautiful as the rain storm had broken and rays of sun were changing the landscape. I felt such a wave of relief come over me with each passing minute with the continuously changing weather!
Last year, although beautiful in it’s own right, my entire trip to Lake of the Clouds, and indeed most of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, was filled with very heavy rain and thick fog. This time though was wonderfully different and I was so thankful!
“sunshine on Lake of the Clouds” Almost totally clear at “Lake of the Clouds” on a bright fall afternoon!
After nearly all of the clouds had passed, and as I moved from one vantage point to another, the sun began shining on nearly everthing in late afternoon, illuminating all the trees in their glorious fall color! This was the final payoff before I left the area and made my way back to Marquette.
“Presque Isle Reflections” Beautiful clouds reflected in the pools of water on the rocks at Presque Isle Park.
In Marquette, Michigan at Presque Isle Park I had also been trying to escape the rain. Upon arriving everything was wet with a light drizzle and quite overcast. I decided to enjoy myself regardless of the weather, and honestly in this location there is so much to see, and quite enjoyable no matter the time of year or type of weather!
The clouds began breaking just a bit in different ways which created beautiful reflections in some of the pools of water on these volcanic rocks.
“Rocky Stormin” Sunlight and storm clouds on the rocky shores of Presque Isle Park in Marquette, Michigan.
In this last image the sun was shining brightly on the rock with dark clouds in the distance. It created a beautiful contrast to the scene! Darkness and light, warmth versus cool, and plenty of texture!
I hope to share more of my images from my trip to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan with you in future blog posts. I surely hope you enjoyed these! 🙂
Well, now that spring is fully here in Michigan, I have been thoroughly enjoying our warmer weather, and taking the time to go out in search of what is blooming. I had been afraid with a couple of late freezes we had that some early bloomers would have been affected. Thankfully most everything came through unscathed!
The daffodils this year got pelted with a bit of spring snow early on, but as you can see from these images, they rebounded nicely and we had some really beautiful blooms!
“Daffodils in Sunlight” Sun drenched daffodils on a spring day!
I have been out nearly daily in the last week or so in search of blossoming crab-apples of various kinds, as well as cherry and apple trees. I have found many beauties, but this one is the first one I have processed of the flowering tree blossoms. A lovely white crab-apple with a bokeh-licious background in raspberry pink!
“White Blossoms on Raspberry” Beautiful crab-apple blossoms against a background of raspberry.
Another beautiful daffodil enjoying the warmth of the sun!
“Daffodils within a Dream” Sun drenched daffodils on a windy day!
For some reason, I usually miss the hellebore coming into bloom each year, but this year was different! I actually got to witness several different varieties in bloom!
These were beautiful in a pinkish purple hue!
“Hellebore in Deep Pink” Really lovely pink Hellebore , fully open.
Spring seems to pass by so quickly, and in no time at all it will soon be summer, but I will be outdoors as much as possible while the air is still a bit cooler, the rain more frequent, and the mosquitoes not out in force yet, enjoying all the spring finds that I can!
I hope that wherever you live, you make sure and take plenty of time to enjoy your outdoor environment too! 🙂
Good Magical Morning! Well, okay, it’s not morning at the moment, but it sure was when I made these photographs! Although it is spring, I am still awaiting the arrival of real blossoms. Consequently each morning I take a walk in the park and woods looking high and low for some new spring growth or burst of floral loveliness!
This morning I noticed that the grass was starting to turn a lovely shade of green rather than the brown of winter. The grass was also covered in tiny dew drops left over from a very humid night. As the sunlight rose above the horizon I lay down on the wet grass and began making photographs of the tiny world below. All I can say is that it is purely bokeh-licious magic!
I hope you enjoy these photos as much as I enjoyed making them! 🙂
As the fall season approaches I anxiously await its arrival. In looking though a few images from a couple of years ago, it reminded me of some good times and beautiful color.
The afternoon that day two years ago started out with a mix of clouds and sun. I decided to go out with my youngest son and head for the nearest area that I thought might have some good color.
By the time we arrived on a really scenic road that is quite well traveled, the wind had picked up and dark clouds were starting to roll in. I jumped out of the car at the best place to park along the side of the road, and caught this beautiful scene. The yellow gold of the fall foliage stood out pronounced against the deeper blues of the sky.
“The Country Mile” Actually many miles of beautiful winding roads. A place quite popular with cyclists.
After grabbing a few images of the road scenery, the clouds really started to move! My son and I made our way over to a lake near there just as the weather made another turn, but one that made a dramatic change to the fall foliage. The colors were brighter than ever as the afternoon sunlight shown on the trees, and the quickly racing clouds gave a dark and foreboding look to the scene. I took every chance to get in as many shots from all the angles I could while my youngest stayed near me trying to skip stones across the water. I of course had to take a bit of time out for some skipping myself! 😉
“Fall Storm of Reflections” The fall color reflected beautifully on the water as the sun and clouds did their battling!!
We spent a good long while there enjoying the cool breeze, warm sun, and myriad of colors. On the way home I decided to try to find at least one more vibrant location. It was getting much closer to sundown by then, but I found another pretty place along a river, that seemed convenient to get to. We popped out of the car and wandered around pathways. The water there was totally calm and smooth making the reflections really lovely even though the light was fading.
“Smooth Reflections” As the day got late and the sun nearly gone. The water on the river was smooth as glass, giving perfect conditions for beautiful autumn reflections!
I remember that day with a lot of fondness and happiness. It was fun quality time spent with my son. It was during my favorite season (fall), and I was blessed that day to have amazing fall foliage and gorgeous skies!!
Here’s to this coming autumn, wishing everyone beautiful days, amazing color, wonderful skies, a crisp breeze when you desire it, and calm when you need it!! 🙂
