I made one final excursion into Brown County State Park near Nashville, Indiana in the early morning hours the first week in November 2025 to wrap up my fall photography for 2025. My first stop was at Ogle Lake to shoot the sunrise sky.
This is a continuation of 2025 fall photography in Indiana.
Ogle Lake Reflection
A Super Moon was on the calendar for one of my days in Indiana. So I went to Ogle Lake in nearby Brown County State Park to photograph the moon with its reflection in the lake. I chose my shooting position based upon where The Photographers Ephemeris App indicated the moon would rise.
As has become a tradition with my wife and I over the past few years, we spend some time in Indiana in the fall, staying in a cabin just a little outside of Brown County State Park, Indiana’s largest state park and one that has beautiful trees and attracts many visitors during the leaf peeping season.
This year the fall color was sketchy, slowly developing and never fully developed due to warmer weather and drought. As a result, we stayed a week longer than we normally would this year and even in early November, the fall color never quite achieved its normal full blown coverage, which is not to say that the fall was not beautiful and enjoyable, just not as good as previous years.
Ogle Lake 1, Brown County State Park, Indiana October 16, 2024
A couple of days after we arrived in Indiana, there was a full moon. So even though the fall color was just beginning to show in most trees, I went into Brown County State Park to shoot the moon rise over Ogle Lake. I arrived early to pick a location from which to shoot the moon rise. I have a couple of apps on my iPhone, which I use for determining where the sun and moon rise and set. I used one of those to determine a good shooting location, yet there is always some uncertainty in determining where exactly those events might first show up on the local horizon. After walking around a bit I picked a couple of spots that I thought would work well, then I retrieved my camera and tripod from my vehicle and went to my first choice, which was atop a concrete cover of an overflow drain for the lake, only to discover that a late day fisherwoman had taken that spot for some late day fishing. I had noted a number of fishermen along the north bank, which has a number of clear areas that seem popular with fishermen. I then proceeded to my second choice along the south bank at the end of the dam and set up there.
I made a number of shots from that location, while I waited for the moonrise. The lake surface had been rippled by wind, when I first arrived, but became very smooth and mirror like, when the wind abated.
Readers will note that the first two images in this post are the exact same composition. Yet the images are very different due to the clouds moving overhead.
While I waited, I kept an eye on my first chosen location, which had a good view right down the middle of the lake, hoping that the fisherwoman might abandon that location, which she did. I then went back to that location, making a few images there as I waited for the moonrise.
If viewers look closely, fishermen can be seen along the bank on the left of each of these images.
This lake is popular with visitors and more showed up as I waited. A few inquired what I was shooting and noted my wide angle lens, which I had chosen to capture the scene. I knew the wide angle lens would make the moon look small and I had some reservations about that. I had my 24-70mm and 80-400mm in my vehicle, which I thought about retrieving so that I could zoom in on the moon, when it came up, but I decided to stick with the wide angle to include more of the lake and forest in my images.
A local photographer with young clients came along, shooting her clients from the top of the dam with the lake and forest as background. I’m guessing she might have been doing engagement photos or some such social images. As she wrapped up her shooting, she asked me what I was shooting. She had not been aware of the expected full moon this evening. We talked for awhile and she mentioned how much she liked shooting at Yellowwood Lake in Yellowwood State Forest, which is not far away. I have shot there a couple of times, during past visits to this area. In fact, I had encountered a female photographer shooting a young couple there the first time I visited that area. I think the photographer I encountered this evening is the same that I encountered a few years ago at Yellowwood Lake, although I did not mention that to her. Small world.
Some of the passerby’s on the dam that I had chatted with, returned to say that the full moon was visible from the location, where I had first set up. I abandoned my first choice and hastened back to my second choice, where the full moon was already visible.
I made the image above from the dam, just above where I first had set up at the lake edge. I wanted to get some of the vegetation along the lake edge as foreground, before going down to the lake edge.
This final image is from the south lake edge just below the dam. Of course, I made numerous other images, but these are representative of those.
I am a little disappointed that I did not have my 24-70mm with me, so that I could change lenses and get a closer shot of the moon, but at the time, I thought that I would return again the next evening to shoot the moon rise again. Something prevented my going out that next evening. Lesson learned, take advantage of shooting opportunities, whenever possible.
Prior to any road trip, I always check the weather forecast for my destination, so that I know how to prepare for the expected weather. I’ve also learned to heed the season and expect the unexpected change in the weather.
This fall, the first few days of our visit to Indiana, the weather was much as forecast, then an unexpected cold front came across most of the U.S., dropping temperatures well below my allowance for cold outings. I had brought my typical normal cold weather gear and even a few chemical hand warmers, since my fingers tend to get cold even in mild winter weather. And once my fingers get numb with cold, I can’t easily operate my camera controls.
I knew I would still want to get out in the cold weather, so I purchased additional cold weather clothing and more hand and foot warmers in a local store.
Halloween morning was the first below freezing weather we had during this trip. I knew the cold front coming in over the warmer landscape and warmer bodies of water would result in early morning water vapor condensing into mist or fog. So I went out again to Ogle Lake in Brown County State Park early in the morning of October 31.
It was, indeed, a heavy frost morning and mist was rising from the lake surface.
Frosty Morning 1, Ogle Lake, Brown County State Park, Indiana, October 31, 2023Frosty Morning 2, Ogle Lake, Brown County State Park, Indiana, October 31, 2023Frosty Morning 3, Ogle Lake, Brown County State Park, Indiana, October 31, 2023Frosty Morning, Ogle Lake, Brown County State Park, Indiana, October 31, 2023Frosty Morning, Ogle Lake, Brown County State Park, Indiana, October 31, 2023Frosty Morning 4, Ogle Lake, Brown County State Park, Indiana, October 31, 2023Frosty Morning, Ogle Lake, Brown County State Park, Indiana, October 31, 2023Frosty Morning 5, Ogle Lake, Brown County State Park, Indiana, October 31, 2023
By the time I had obtained these few images, my fingers, even with the hand warmers in my fleece mittens with the exposable thumb and finger tips, were so numb that I had to give up shooting. I retreated to my vehicle, started the engine and sat there until my fingers were warm enough to drive away.
I really would have liked to spend more time photographing frosty scenes around the park this morning, but I knew I could only shoot for a few minutes at a time due to the cold weather effect upon my fingers. I settled for getting one shot at an overlook in the park, before heading back to the cabin.
Scenic Overlook, Ogle Lake, Brown County State Park, Indiana, October 31, 2023
Early Morning Calm, Ogle Lake, Brown County State Park, Indiana, October 28, 2023
I went into Brown County State Park again early on the morning of October 28, 2023, first stopping at Ogle Lake. It was a bland sky morning, heavily overcast and no sunrise sky color. I made the image above, which is similar to ones made a couple of days earlier, except for the sky, then the blandness of the sky prompted me to leave the lake and wander through the park looking for better fall images.
BCSP Winding Road 6, Brown County State Park, Indiana, October 28, 2023BCSP Winding Road 7, Brown County State Park, Indiana, October 28, 2023BCSP Winding Road 8, Brown County State Park, Indiana, October 28, 2023Tall Fall 12, Brown County State Park, Indiana, October 28, 2023Gateway, Brown County State Park, Indiana, October 28, 2023Brown County State Park 6, Indiana, October 28, 2023BCSP Winding Road 9, Brown County State Park, Indiana, October 28, 2023BCSP Winding Road 10, Brown County State Park, Indiana, October 28, 2023BCSP Winding Road 11, Brown County State Park, Indiana, October 28, 2023Brown County State Park10, Indiana, October 28, 2023
Do you think I got enough leaf strewn roadway as leading lines in these images?
Ogle Lake Fall 1, Brown County State Park, Indiana, October 25, 2023
After my sunrise shoot, I hiked a short distance along the north side of Ogle Lake in Brown County State Park, Indiana getting a few fall images.
Ogle Lake Fall 2, Brown County State Park, Indiana, October 25, 2023Ogle Lake Fall 3, Brown County State Park, Indiana, October 25, 2023Ogle Lake Fall 4, Brown County State Park, Indiana, October 25, 2023Ogle Lake Fall 5, Brown County State Park, Indiana, October 25, 2023Ogle Lake Fall 6, Brown County State Park, Indiana, October 25, 2023Roots, Ogle Lake Trail, Brown County State Park, Indiana, October 25, 2023Placid Fall, Ogle Lake, Brown County State Park, Indiana, October 25, 2023
That’s it for this morning’s shoot. Until next time,
Sunrise 1, Ogle Lake, Brown County State Park, Indiana, October 25, 2023
Even though I’m usually sleeping well in the early morning hours, I force myself out of a warm, comfortable bed, because my favorite time for photography is in the early morning hours, especially in popular places, because the normal tourist don’t usually get out early and one doesn’t have to worry about people getting in the way of ones photography.
When I pulled into the parking lot at Ogle Lake, I was the only one there. As I prepared my camera and tripod, a lady drove into the lot and stopped to ask me about the best place for sunrise here in the park. She and her husband were staying in the park lodge, but they had apparently not had time to scout places for sunrise photos. I told her I did not know what place was best, but it might be good here and it was too late for her to get to another good place before sunrise. I suggested that she might photograph from the dam or from the north side of the lake for the best sunrise views.
She commented upon my camera, thinking it had an unusual lens. I was using my large 14-24mm wide angle lens with a Progrey filter holder mounted on it. Due to the bulbous 14-24mm lens, it is not possible to use screws in filters, requiring a bulky filter holder attachment. It is the filter holder that makes it look unusual.
I headed for the dam, where I thought I might have some fall foliage for foreground and good reflection on the lake, leaving the lady behind in the parking lot.
Sunrise 2, Ogle Lake, Brown County State Park, Indiana, October 25, 2023
It was a cloudy morning, the sky color was spectacular. Sometimes we get lucky.
Sunrise 3, Ogle Lake, Brown County State Park, Indiana, October 25, 2023
The morning color came on quickly and disappeared as quickly as it came, but the clouds in the sky still made it possible to get interesting photos after the color faded.
Ogle Lake Leaf Accumulation, Brown County State Park, Indiana, October 25, 2023Ogle Lake Sky Reflection, Brown County State Park, Indiana, October 25, 2023Ogle Lake Forest Reflection, Brown County State Park, Indiana, October 25, 2023
After finishing my shoot from the dam area, I decided to take a short walk along the lake shore. There is a hiking trail that goes all around the lake, which I’ve done in previous visits here. I knew the south side might not have the best views this morning and it was probably muddy in portions, so I headed for the north side.
As I approached the trail head, I encountered the lady from the parking lot again. We chatted for a few minutes. She was thrilled with her sunrise experience. She was shooting with a Canon R6, which she had not had for long. She is a retired portrait photographer, previously from California, living in Kentucky with her husband. I’m assuming her husband is not into photography or else he would have accompanied her this morning. She asked about my filters and I explained why I used these for my landscape work. I was surprised, when she revealed that she had not previously known anything about this subject. I never thought that a professional photographer of any speciality would not know about the use of these specialty filters. However, I have observed professional portrait photographers shooting in the outdoors without any filters. I’ve also noted the over exposed backgrounds in many such portrait photographs. I suppose some filters might be difficult to use for people subjects, but it can still be possible to compose outdoor photos and avoid overexposed backgrounds, unless one is doing that purposely.
It was a relatively calm morning as I hiked around Ogle Lake in Brown County State Park, Indiana. As the morning advanced, enough of a breeze developed to sometimes make small ripples in the lake, distorting the reflections of the trees and sky.
Fall Reflections
Fog remained just above the lake surface in the shadows near the end of the lake.
Fall at Ogle LakeLake PointerCorneredFall at Ogle LakeFall Lake SceneAutumn LakeSquiggly Reflections
This ends my hike and morning photography at Ogle Lake.
As I had coffee and a light breakfast early one morning in the Indiana cabin, I noted that it was a foggy morning and if I got out soon I might get some interesting photos before the fog burned away.
As I drove the main road into Brown County State Park, I was regretting not getting up a little earlier this morning. I could see that the early morning fog would be good for photography and it was lifting rapidly. The park does not officially open until 7AM, but I was told at the entrance the prior morning that the gate was always open, so I could come and go whenever I liked. The gate keeper even offered that getting there early would let me avoid the entrance fee, which at $9 per day was a bit steep compared to many such parks, but I never got there before 7AM, even though it would have been best for photography had I done so.
When I arrived at the Ogle Lake parking lot well after sunrise, I glimpsed the fog coming off of the lake, and I hastened to grab my gear and walked rapidly to the dam.
Early Morning Fog on Ogle Lake
My first composition this morning is my favorite one of this morning shoot.
Lake Fog
After shooting a few images from the dam, I walked on to the hiking trail around the lake.
Early Morning CalmSerenenessThe Stick and Rippleness
A small tree limb in the lake caught my eye and I shot a couple of compositions with it as a focal point. These images are best view on a big screen to see the details.
Early Morning Fog, Reflections and The StickThrough the Trees SoftlyMisty Lake
Enough for now. I will continue this hike and photography in the next post,
I continued hiking the trail around Ogle Lake and shooting images in and around the lake.
Fall Forest
The big lens allowed me to zoom into the edge of the forest across the lake, eliminating the sky and the lake from the scene.
Early Fall ColorDreamy Reflections
Reflections in water are always a good subject. The scene above drew me to it as soon as I noticed how the log divided the reflections and calmed the surface just enough to create the impressionist forest reflection.
Leaves and TrunkRed FallTattered
Before I left the park, I stopped and hiked along a trail through the forest. I shot many images, but most were not all that appealing, so I’m just sharing a few of the better ones.
