Tag: Water

Indiana Fall 2023, Part 25 – Frosty Halloween Morning

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, 2023
Frosty Morning 2, Ogle Lake, Brown County State Park, Indiana, October 31, 2023
Frosty Morning 3, Ogle Lake, Brown County State Park, Indiana, October 31, 2023
Frosty Morning, Ogle Lake, Brown County State Park, Indiana, October 31, 2023
Frosty Morning, Ogle Lake, Brown County State Park, Indiana, October 31, 2023
Frosty Morning 4, Ogle Lake, Brown County State Park, Indiana, October 31, 2023
Frosty Morning, Ogle Lake, Brown County State Park, Indiana, October 31, 2023
Frosty 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

Until next time,

Ken

Indiana Fall 2023, Part 6 – Early Morning at Ogle Lake, Brown County State Park, Indiana

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, 2023
Ogle Lake Fall 3, Brown County State Park, Indiana, October 25, 2023
Ogle Lake Fall 4, Brown County State Park, Indiana, October 25, 2023
Ogle Lake Fall 5, Brown County State Park, Indiana, October 25, 2023
Ogle Lake Fall 6, Brown County State Park, Indiana, October 25, 2023
Roots, Ogle Lake Trail, Brown County State Park, Indiana, October 25, 2023
Placid Fall, Ogle Lake, Brown County State Park, Indiana, October 25, 2023

That’s it for this morning’s shoot.  Until next time,

Ken

Indiana Fall 2023, Part 5 – Sunrise Sequence – Ogle Lake, Brown County State Park, Indiana

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, 2023
Ogle Lake Sky Reflection, Brown County State Park, Indiana, October 25, 2023
Ogle 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.

Photos from my short hike around Ogle Lake next,

Ken

 

Indiana, Fall 2022, Part 1

My wife and I began a tradition of spending a couple of weeks in Indiana in the fall a few years ago.  There are multiple reasons why we established this tradition.  1.  My wife has relatives in the area, having lived in Indianapolis during her early childhood.  2. A relative allows us to stay in their weekend cabin that is very near Brown County State Park, which is a very popular place in the fall.  3.  We both enjoy seeing fall color in the hardwood forests in this part of the U.S.  4.  I get to photograph the fall color and write about it in this blog.

Timing our visit to see the best of the fall color is always hit or miss.  Sometimes we are too early, sometimes too late and sometimes we see the peak fall color.

Photographing in the same location at the same time of the year is a challenge and I often worry about my photographic images being too repetitive.   After all, how many ways can one photograph trees, forests, barns and fall scenes?  Lots, actually, but how many are unique? Trying to get unique and interesting images is a challenge.  I can only hope that the scenery varies sufficiently, year by year that my images will not be too boring.

Fall Backroad

Driving the backroads of Indiana is a good way to appreciate the fall color and other rural fall country scenes.

Fall Medley
Indiana Barn

The barn in this image sits far back from a roadway on private property.  I shot it with a telephoto lens from the edge of the roadway, hand holding the camera.  I shot from different perspectives trying to get shots with the least amount of that pile of debris in front of it in the image.  However, this image may be the best overall, even with that unsightly mess in front of the barn.

Fall Progression
Bramble Morning

I was a little late for the actual sunrise at this location in Brown County Park, so I walked down a slope into the briars, weeds, grasses and brushy growth, thinking a shot from within all that foreground clutter might at least be different than that of the early photographers that were wrapping up their sunrise shoot from the top of the slope and there was no way to avoid getting that messy foreground in a shot from anywhere here.

I had to spend a considerable amount of time picking the stick tights from my clothing after this mornings’ shoot.

Crooked Tree Fall
Puddle Fall
Exposed
Up a Fall Creek
Fall Tease

Until next time,

Ken

Indiana, Fall 2021, Part 12 – Yellowwood Lake

After my unsatisfying photographic outing in Yellowwood State Forest, I waited for sunset on a little boat dock that barely jutted into Yellowwood Lake.  It was mostly calm and the lake surface smooth and reflective of the sky and surroundings.

Clouds and Lake

The photographer and young couple, that I had encountered as I returned from my woodland hike, had walked past me and into the area on the right side of the photo above.  I had to watch carefully to keep them out of my photo, even though I doubt that they would have been very noticeable, anyway.

I made a series of photos as the light, sky, clouds and reflections in the lake surface changed.

Softly Reflected

There were small, almost inconspicuous plants or floating, natural object in the water that made subtle foreground in my compositions.  These photos are best view on a large screen to appreciate the details.

Yellowwood Lake Fall Reflections
Radial Sunset
Radial Clouds
Yellowwood Sunset

I alternated shooting directions from along the lake to across the lake as sunset approached.  The forest blocked the actual sunset, but the cloud color and lighting changed as the minutes ticked by.

Yellowwood Lake
Radial

This end of the day shoot was much more satisfying than the hike in the forest, so I’m glad that I decided to hang out here for sunset.

Thanks for following,

Ken

Indiana, Fall 2021, Part 10 – Ogle Lake, Brown County State Park

Early Fall Reflections

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 Lake
Lake Pointer
Cornered
Fall at Ogle Lake
Fall Lake Scene
Autumn Lake
Squiggly Reflections

This ends my hike and morning photography at Ogle Lake.

Until next time,

Ken

Indiana, Fall 2021, Part 9 – Ogle Lake, Brown County State Park

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 Calm
Sereneness
The 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 Stick
Through the Trees Softly
Misty Lake

Enough for now.  I will continue this hike and photography in the next post,

Ken

Indiana, Fall 2021, Part 8 – Ogle Lake, Brown County State Park

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 Color
Dreamy 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 Trunk
Red Fall
Tattered

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.

Forest Light
A Touch of Red
Big Red Mittens

Thanks for following,

Ken

Echo Park, Dinosaur National Monument, Colorado, July 2019, Day 3 Sunrise

On the morning of our third day in Echo Park, Dinosaur National Monument, Colorado, my oldest son and I returned to the Yampa River and the nearby grassy meadow for our final photography shoot before packing up and heading back to Denver.

Yampa River Morning, Echo Park, DNM. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 19mm, f/11, 0.8s, ISO 1600, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.

We again went onto the bar in the river channel just east of the confluence of the Green and Yampa Rivers to shoot in the pre-sunrise and sunrise light.

Yampa River Morning, Echo Park, DNM. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 16mm, f/11, 0.5s, ISO 1600, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.

I made compositions similar to those of the previous day’s sunset shoot, capturing the morning sky, the canyon walls and reflections of those in the river.

Yampa River Morning, Echo Park, DNM. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 16mm, f/11, 1/8s, ISO 1600, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.

Clouds moved across the sky as the light changed.  I shot towards the east and the rising sun, then made a few images toward the west.

Yampa River Morning, Echo Park, DNM. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 16mm, f/11, 1/6s, ISO 1600, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.
Yampa River Morning, Echo Park, DNM. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 16mm, f/11, 8s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.

I turned again to the east and north as the sky and clouds became brighter, which created more contrast in the images and brighter reflections in the river.

Yampa River Morning, Echo Park, DNM. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 15mm, f/16, 0.4s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.
Yampa River Morning, Echo Park, DNM. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 18mm, f/16, 0.4s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.

As the sun rose behind the canyon walls, the clouds became brighter and more colorful.

Yampa River Morning, Echo Park, DNM. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 18mm, f/16, 1/4s, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.

After shooting in the river channel, we climbed back onto the meadow and made more images as the morning light advanced across the sky.  The moon transited across the sky to the south as we shot.

Echo Park Morning, DNM. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 14mm, f/16, 0.4s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.

Today, rather than using rocks in the meadow as foreground objects, I put tall clumps of grass in the foreground.

Echo Park Morning, DNM. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 14mm, f/16, 1/5s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.

Shooting with the wide angle lens results in distortion, some of which can be taken out, but not all of it.  Note how the rock outcrop on the right side of this image appears to be tilted in towards the middle of the image.  Trying to take out this tilt with the tools in Adobe Lightroom will affect the rest of the image in an undesirable manner.

Echo Park Morning, DNM. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 14mm, f/16, 1/3s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.

There were a few scattered thistles in this meadow and I used one as a foreground object.

Echo Park Morning, DNM. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, f/16, 1/4s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.

The first of the sunrise rays began to show up on the top of the large rock outcrop on the east side of the meadow

Echo Park Morning, DNM. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 14mm, f/16, 1/125s, ISO 1250, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.

and a little later on the rock outcrop on the west side.

Echo Park Morning, DNM. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 14mm, f/16 1/125s, ISO 1250, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.

We were fortunate to have scattered clouds this morning to add interest to the sky.

Echo Park Morning, DNM. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 14mm, f/16, 1/125s, ISO 1250, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.

This wraps up the highlights of my July 2019 Colorado road trip,

Ken