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“Best of 2020”

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To say the least, this year has been wildly different for all of us. As for myself photography wise I wasn’t able to do much traveling, as I’m sure many of you also encountered.

I did manage to make quite a few photographs this year that I really love though.

So these are my personal favorite images from this wild and crazy year, 2020!.

They aren’t in any particular order. I do hope that you like them and that they bring you some sense of peace and happiness in these very difficult times!

"Sparkling Through Autumn Trees" A gorgeous fall day with amazing color, blue skies, and a sunburst!
“Sparkling Through Autumn Trees”
This was an extraordinarily beautiful fall day with the colorful fall foliage, bright blue skies, and magical sunshine!




“Rushing Waves and Cotton Candy Sky”
After a stormy day along Lake Superior the sky lit up just before sunset and made a beautiful ending to a day!
"Miners Castle Autumn Colors" 2 Beautiful colors of Lake superior, the stormy sky and fall color at Miners Castle!
“Miners Castle Autumn Colors”
This was a cloudy day to start out with but the fall color as well as the lovely hues of blues of both the water and sky made a very scenic view!
Life is Looking Up" A wonderful look up during fall with its spectacular colors and a bright blue sky!
“Life is Looking Up”
Another spectacular autumn scene as I looked up at the myriad of trees and blue sky within a forest in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula!
"Breakwater Skies 2" Amazing clouds and colors of sunset along the rocky beach at Marquette Breakwater!
“Breakwater Skies 2”
Fabulous clouds and colors in Marquette, Michigan along the rocky beach next to the breakwater!
"Along Cut River Bridge" Beautiful fall foliage down under Cut River Bridge in Michigan's Upper Peninsula!
“Along Cut River Bridge”
As fall foliage peaked I enjoyed a walk down below Cut River Bridge on a bright a sunny autumn afternoon!
"Autumn's Edge" Amazing fall color and rushing waves along the shores of Lake Superior!
“Autumn’s Edge”
Waves rushing ashore and beautiful fall color were exhilarating on this late afternoon at Presque Isle Park in Marquette, Michigan!
"Stones of Miners Beach" Dramatic skies and beautiful calm water at Miners Beach!
“Stones of Miners Beach”
On a cloudy and off and on rainy morning at Miners Beach I captured this beautiful scene of dramatic clouds, calm water. and beautiful stones!
"Sunrise Contemplation 2" A gorgeous sunrise along the black rocks at Presque Isle in Marquette, Michigan!
“Sunrise Contemplation 2”
This is one of a very few sunrise images from Presque Isle Park in Marquette, Michigan on the black rocks. I witnessed spectacular color, beautiful reflections, and a sense of peace that morning! A single person was standing on the rocks also watching sunrise as a small boat passed by in the distance!
"Kitch-iti-kipi Autumn" Beautiful reflections of trees and clouds at Kitch-iti-kipi during autumn!
“Kitch-iti-kipi Autumn”

This was a beautiful and peaceful autumn day at Kitch-iti-kipi with fabulous reflections of the clouds, evergreen trees, and larch trees along the water!

I hope that you enjoyed this look back on my Best of 2020 images!

My wish for this coming new year for everyone is that all of us in the world are able to experience a safer, healthier, happier, more peaceful, and more beautiful life in 2021!

My very best to all of you,

Cheers,

Rachel Cohen

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“Lake Ontario Majesty”

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I had the pleasure of being able to photograph Lake Ontario at different times of the day on a recent visit to South Eastern Ontario. These images are just a few of the moments that I enjoyed! Have a look!

Beautiful sunrise on Lake Ontario with golden reflections on the water!
“Lake Ontario Morning Reflections”

This photograph was made on a very cold and windy morning on the shores of Lake Ontario near Hamilton, Ontario. The sunrise was spectacular though, with golden reflections all along the water near the shore!
Strong waves roll onto the shore near Burlington, Ontario!
“Waves Keep on Rolling”
The waves were rolling in fast and furious on Lake Ontario this cold but sunny morning near Burlington Ontario!
Windblown beach grasses, waves, and beautiful clouds on Lake Ontario!
“Then the Wind Came”
Another wonderfully windy but gorgeous view of Lake Ontario from the grassy area above the beach!

Beautiful cloudy sky on Lake Ontario!
“Cotton Candy Over Ontario”
Last light of the day and the sky turned into cotton candy for just a few short minutes!

Thanks as always for stopping by! 🙂

“Aquatic Reflections”

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Spring has finally arrived here and even though almost nothing has bloomed yet in terms of flowers, I always enjoy when plants of any type start bursting forth from the ground. In this case actually from the shallow waters of a pond, just a preview of things to come.

In this photograph of aquatic reflections you can see the reflection of trees as well as that of the sky and clouds in both the foreground and background. Green plants that are growing just below the water’s surface are beautiful, as well as the vertical shadows that the cattails cast on the surface of the water.

This is a very simple composition, and I like all of the elements it has. Originally I thought of this only as a color photograph because of the beautiful greens, as a sign of spring.

I decided to do a black and white conversion though and really liked the feeling of contrast in the image as well.

I’m really looking forward to the changes this spring will bring, and surely hoping that we won’t have any more freezing temperatures that damage blossoms this year!

I wish a very happy spring to all of you, with plenty of outdoor adventures and beauty!

“Pond Plants in Reflection”
Cattails in the shallow depths of a pond in spring with reflections and shadows!

“Delicious Autumn”

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In what I consider to be the most glorious and delicious of all seasons, autumn!  I’ve chosen quite a few lovely quotes about fall and added some of my recent photographs.

The first image is from the shores of Lake Superior with the leaves in an early state of change, the winds blowing strongly and waves rolling in, crashing against the rock and shoreline!

The second image is from an early morning walk with the sunlight shining brightly through the myriad of colorful leaves on the ground!

Enjoy the images and quotes below!

“Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns.” ~ George Elliot ~

“Just as a painter needs light in order to put the finishing touches to his picture, so I need an inner light, which I feel I never have enough of in the autumn.” ~ Leo Tolstoy ~ as said to Nikolay Strakhov

"Great Lakes Autumn Waves"
“Great Lakes Autumn Waves”

“Autumn carries more gold in its pocket than all the other seasons.” ~ Jim Bishop ~

“..I cannot endure to waste anything so precious as autumnal sunshine by staying in the house. So I have spent almost all the daylight hours in the open air.” ~ Nathaniel Hawthorne ~

"Of Light and Leaves"
“Of Light and Leaves”

“Just after the death of the flowers,
And before they are buried in snow,
There comes a festival season,
When nature is all aglow—
Aglow with a mystical splendour
That rivals the brightness of spring,
Aglow with a beauty more tender
Than aught which fair summer could bring….”
~ Emeline B. Smith ~

“Fall, leaves, fall; die, flowers, away;
Lengthen night and shorten day!
Every leaf speaks bliss to me,
Fluttering from the autumn tree…”
~ Emily Brontë ~

 

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“Colors of Sunrise and Sunset”

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I always enjoy a beautiful sunrise or sunset, especially over a body of water. The clouds and colorful hues are reflected on the surface making it absolutely glorious! Scroll down to see two sunset and one sunrise image from this summer on two of the Great Lakes.

I’ve also included several quotes on the topic of sunrise and sunset. Enjoy!

“Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky.”
~ Rabindranath Tagore ~

“When the sun has set, no candle can replace it.”
~ George R.R. Martin ~

"Spectacular Sunset" An amazing sunset on glassy waters of Lake Michigan!
“Spectacular Sunset”
An amazing sunset on glassy waters of Lake Michigan!

“There’s a sunrise and a sunset every single day, and they’re absolutely free. Don’t miss so many of them.”
~ Jo Walton ~
“Sunrise paints the sky with pinks and the sunset with peaches. Cool to warm. So is the progression from childhood to old age.”
~ Vera Nazarian ~

"Dawn's First Light" A Soothing and peaceful sunrise on Lake Huron!
“Dawn’s First Light”
A Soothing and peaceful sunrise on Lake Huron!

“The blue of daylight
fades and chills as the sun sinks
beneath clouds of fire.”
~ Richelle E. Goodrich ~

“The sunset was a splendid display. I wondered if it was showing off for my benefit or if it was often that spectacular. Rarely had I seen such a gorgeous scene; the riotous colors flamed out over the sky in shades that I had no words to describe. Birds sang their last songs of the day before tucking in for the night, and still the darkness hung back. Now, I thought, I understand the word “twilight.” It was created for just this time – in this land.”
~ Janette Oke ~

"Magnificent Sunset" Another gorgeous sunset from Lake Michigan in the Upper Peninsula!
“Magnificent Sunset”
Another gorgeous sunset from Lake Michigan in the Upper Peninsula!

“But even the longest day wears to sunset.”
~ Marion Zimmer Bradley ~

“Robert Frost in Michigan”

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One of my favorite poets of all times is Robert Frost. If you’ve been following me for a while, you might already know that! 😉

Frost wrote so many wonderful poems, my favorite is “The Road Not Taken”.

Most people associate Robert Frost with living in and being from New England only, but what you might not know is that he also spent a bit of time in Ann Arbor Michigan, and loved it!

In 1921 Frost accepted a 5,000 fellowship to the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.  He once said to a friend of his “I like Michigan people and I like Michigan”.  He stayed in Ann Arbor at the University lecturing, attending receptions and arranging poetry readings with other American poets of the time, and meeting with groups of students.

He used to love to wander the streets of Ann Arbor at night when he couldn’t sleep, which was often because he suffered quite badly from insomnia. On one of those walks he found a Greek Revival House that he thought was “charming”. This house which used to be in Ann Arbor on Pontiac Trail became his residence while here. The house was later moved to preserve it’s history and is now located at Greenfield Village in Dearborn Michigan.

This is the house as it looks today at Greenfield Village:

"Robert Frost House"
“Robert Frost House”

 

Frost wrote two poems during his stay in Ann Arbor.  The first one is:

SPRING POOLS

These pools that, though in forests, still reflect
The total sky almost without defect,
And like the flowers beside them, chill and shiver,
Will like the flowers beside them soon be gone,
And yet not out by any brook or river,
But up by roots to bring dark foliage on.
The trees that have it in their pent-up buds
To darken nature and be summer woods—
Let them think twice before they use their powers
To blot out and drink up and sweep away
These flowery waters and these watery flowers
From snow that melted only yesterday.

“Spring Pools”  captures the natural rhythm of seasons in transition with flowing water and reflections as well as the transformation of  flowering tree buds to the deep dark green foliage of the summer woods.

"Time to Reflect"
“Time to Reflect”

 

This poem was written around the time he had a bout with the flu. He took to writing at that time for three full days. He stayed in this house  by a roaring fireplace on the couch and wrote, quite enjoyably to his hearts content!

In a conversation with Edward Latham a number of years later, Frost recalled the circumstances of that writing: “I lived out on Pontiac Trail then. One night I sat alone by my open fireplace and wrote Spring Pools. It was a very pleasant experience, and I remember it clearly, although I don’t remember the writing of many of my other poems.”

In the 1920s Frost became quite a well known figure in Southeast Michigan. He lived in this house from about 1924 through 1926.

I mentioned before, that he wrote two poems while in Ann Arbor. The other poem is called “Acquainted with the Night”, which I won’t insert into this post right now. I might bring that at another time with an image that reflects his words.

Robert Frost did also mention that He felt as though he did some of his best and most creative writing while in Ann Arbor!

I personally think that is really awesome!! 🙂

 

“Sunset on Ice Fields”

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Recently on a trip to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan I was taken by surprise at all of the ice still remaining on Lake Superior.

The weather on my second day there turned unseasonably warm, which happened to be the case the day I took this sunset.

On certain areas of Lake Superior you can only see ice in the far distance, in other places you are actually able to still stand on thick chunks that are floating around closer to the shore.

The day before I took this image the whole bay was a mass of floating icebergs, ranging in size from many feet wide to a few inches in width. The depth could also be 1-3 feet for those that I could see. I’m sure much larger for those in the middle of each of the Great Lakes.

I was really hoping to get some sunset images through the icebergs with loads of golden color. Well, that didn’t happen because on the next evening I arrived to find much of the ice that had been close to the shore previously, no longer there. The warm southern winds had blown it further out in the water. Only a few chunks remained close to where I was standing.

The temperatures that day had reached the upper 80’s with plenty of haze and humidity, as well as a ton of black flies and mosquitoes. Consequently the sunset was not quite what I had hoped for yet it was really colorful and quite long lasting.

This frame is one of the later ones from that night, towards the end of sunset. The colors were still strong at the time, and the ice fields visible in the distance. You can also notice a few smaller pieces of ice closer to the shore.

The funny thing to me was knowing that here in late May, there were still many remnants of this winters extremely cold weather all around me.

I’m sure that there will be ice somewhere on Lake Superior for another month or two!

Enjoy this extremely simple image, and view of color and ice in a time that you wouldn’t normally expect it!

"Sunset on Ice Fields"
“Sunset on Ice Fields”

“Colors of Abstract”

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Tonight’s post is going to be a quick one. I haven’t had much of a chance to get out and do anything outdoors recently with the weather we’ve been having this winter, plus I am still processing tons of last years images.

Several days ago after seeing some beautiful oil and water macro images done by Beverly Everson, I decided to do some messing around with it myself. Here is the link to Beverly’s initial image that inspired me, which is very beautiful!: http://www.eversonphotography.com/2014/02/oil-and-water/

I was lacking in some of the essential items, but I decided to do it anyway. I came out with this and a bevy of other abstracts. None of them were quite what I had hoped, but they have a beauty of their own.

I wanted to get this one up for those people who had requested it, and for those that are also messing around with oil and water too.

I’ll be doing more of these in the future, but first I need to find some very good glass baking dishes, not the ones I bake brownies in! 😉

"Colors of Abstract" 1
“Colors of Abstract” 1

“Goose Dipping at Niagara”

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Earlier this year, or should I say last year..oops. Yep, it’s 2014 now. I was at Niagara Falls for several days. On my last day there, and in the last few minutes of photographing the falls themselves, I noticed something on the very edge of one of the falls.

Upon closer inspection it was a goose, and not too far from it, a gull. He was just sitting casually, as if it were an every day occurrence to be on the edge of a huge waterfall! I was very concerned with the goose though, because in my mind, just one large push of water, and down it would go. Of course, geese do fly, and that is probably not what would have happened.

I didn’t have a long enough lens on to get a close-up, but that wasn’t really what I was there to photograph in the first place. I was able to get several images with the goose in the frame, however, I liked the composition of this one the best, even though he happens to be dipping his head into the water.

So after all is said and done, this image isn’t really about the goose at all, it’s really about Niagara Falls, the beauty, the flow of water, the wonderful colors, and the experience of being there. The goose was just an added bonus, and what a life he lives! On the edge, literally!

"Goose Dipping at Niagara"
“Goose Dipping at Niagara”

“Charlevoix Lighthouse Sunset”

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In keeping with my eclectic presentation of images these days, I present to you this photo of a beautiful Lighthouse in Charlevoix Michigan during sunset.

I recently finished processing one batch in a long line of autumn images, and instead of moving on to do more, I decided to get at this wonderful lighthouse and process these images instead.

On this particular evening, I had headed out, not knowing exactly where I was going. I started roaming up and down streets in Charlevoix till I reached a charming piece of beach. I was quite happy when I noticed there was also a pier and lighthouse on one side of the beach.

The winds had picked up pretty high during the day, and had only increased as the afternoon wore on. I knew that I needed a good strong tripod for this location.

I set up about 20 feet away from the water at first. The position seemed great, but what I couldn’t foresee was the intensity of the waves and how much water would be sprayed on my camera lens. With a lot of effort in the crazy high winds, I changed positions, cleaned off the lens and filters, and tried again.

I started a bit before sunset, and continued to way after. This was one of the earlier frames. The water was crashing against the pier and jetty, the waves were rolling in hard and fast. Clouds of every color moved quickly across the sky.

I have quite a few images from this location that evening. Some with more emphasis on the sunset, some close-ups of the lighthouse, and others showing more of the Lake Michigan water intensity.

The town of Charlevoix itself, if you haven’t been there is really quite delightful. There is a lovely marina from where you can take a sunset dinner cruise which goes out of the marina, under a lovely drawbridge, and out into the open waters.

There are a myriad of quaint shops and boutiques, and of course many streets full of lovely homes. It’s a beautiful place to visit, and a quiet one also, especially off season.

If you’re ever in Michigan, driving on highway 31 which in places hugs the Lake Michigan shoreline. Make sure and check out this gem of a town. You won’t be disappointed.

While your there make sure and head down to this or one of the other beaches in town and take in a beautiful Michigan sunset!!

-Charlevoix Lighthouse Sunset- 1