Moonset

 

The culmination of a moon setting, the sun rising, fog, a lake reflection, a silhouette, and the end of autumn peak colors allowed for quite a scene to photograph. It was a tricky one too, especially doing it in a single frame without overprocessing the image in post-processing. The additional challenge of keeping the moon sharp but being able to pick up the colors of the rest of the scene and maintain a silhouette.

Speaking of the scene, the pastels of the sky, the fog, the sunrise, and the moon all create emotions in this photograph. This scene evokes a bit of a mixed pallet of them: The hope of a new day, but still a bit melancholy. Peace from the calm of the scene and the reflection mimicking reflectiveness and profound thought. The wonder of a full moon. The mystery and decisiveness of a silhouette. The awe of the colors of the trees. I could go on and on. What emotions come up for you? 

Wispy Trails

Wispy Trails

Waterfalls themselves are spectacular.  The power exhibited by one of nature's forces crashing through or tunneling out rock as it makes its journey down into a waiting pool of water.  All that energy can create something spectacular.  It can be something as simple as rapids or more hypnotic as a whirlpool.  As shown below at Dave's Falls in Wisconsin, all the wispy oxygenated water from the whirlpool shows up as white streaks due to the long exposure used to slow down the rapid movement of the water.  The extremely low angle of the shot adds to the drama and makes it seem as though you are standing in the water.  The bridge and fall color complete the image inviting you to take it all in.

Frosty Air

Water and fluctuating temperatures create interesting reactions in the natural environment.  As water freezes, it expands and changes form due to the molecular bonding of hydrogen which in turn causes the water molecules to expand.  Crazy science, hey?  Science aside, this makes for some interesting photographs...ones that I tend to seek out during the changing temperatures.  In order to get interesting photographs, I usually don't need to venture very far.  It could be something in my front yard, such as what happens to trees after freezing rain as shown below.  

Reaching Out. 
The limb of a tree in my front yard after an ice storm.

It could be a known spot within walking distance of usually meandering water now frozen or partially frozen.

Cracks in the Ice. 
A stormwater drainage area is that partially frozen.

Or a short drive down to the nearby Lake Michigan to see the effects of the waves when the water produced by them freezes to the objects on the coastline.  

Resilience  
The Lake Michigan coastline during consistently deep freezing temperatures.  It was 20F° when photographed.

     As you can see there are many varied results that the "Frosty Air" has on the natural environment and can be captured.  What are some things that you have witnessed due to water freezing?  

Crisp Autumn Morning

I woke groggily at my campsite at Governor Dodge State Park on a crisp 35° F autumn day.  It was still dark out and as I stepped outside my tent was the chill was apparent quickly.  I made coffee in my mid-century "camping" percolator to help me wake up and warm my chilled self.  I brought the coffee and a snack to my first location that I scouted the day before hoping the weather and light would cooperate.  The morning was still from a wind perspective and the very beginning of dawn was starting to break as I set up for my first shot.  Since Governor Dodge State Park is quite hilly,  I went to a higher spot first to capture the breaking of dawn rolling over the hills. 

Dawn Breaking on the Hills of Governor Dodge

After working quickly, I made my way to Twin Valley Hollow Lake.  I was pleasantly surprised by the light fog and mist as well as the geese that were out on the lake.  The water on the lake was quite still even with the activity of the geese.  It made the water move just a little to make the ripples interesting but not distract from the very striking reflection of the fall peak I came to photograph.       

Twin Valley Lake Sunrise and Fog

Twin Valley Lake at Sunrise

As you can imagine these photographs would be quite blah without the morning light and fog interest. I scouted the locations the day before and came prepared that morning and Mother Nature delivered.    

Sunny Outlook

The nature of a sunrise or sunset has the ability to stop most in their tracks and to produce a feeling of awe. The star that is responsible for maintaining life on earth can also produce such beauty as it begins and ends our days.  No sunrise or sunset is the same even if the surrounding characteristics are the same as each day is different and never to be repeated.  Including water can dramatize the final product as you have the added benefit of a reflection.  Equally as dramatic is capturing a silhouette for a strong graphic composition.  Finally, clouds and Mother Nature's timing create incredible results.  Here are some of my favorites:  

Fox River.  Brookfield, WI. 

Lake Michigan.  Milwaukee, WI

Siesta Key Beach. Sarasota, FL

 Fox River.  Brookfield, WI

The Bugs and the Bears

If you have been anywhere remote while photographing or doing anything for that matter, in the Northwoods of Wisconsin or the Upper Penisula (UP) of Michigan you are guaranteed to run into the bugs and highly likely to see or encounter some bears.

Golden Shores at Miner's Beach, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Michigan, USA

As for the bugs, June is probably the worst time to be in the UP as it is black fly season up there and they sting badly when they bite you.  Just to give you an idea of how bad they can be imagine a yellow canoe turned almost completely black by them flocking to the canoe.  As for the mosquitos, well they don't have a river named after them for nothing.  With the combination of the flies and mosquitos, you can see why I usually photograph during April and early May or mid-autumn.

As for the bears, I have never seen one in the wild with my eyes, but have had a very close encounter.  Let me explain.  This encounter happened while backpacking in the Porcupine Mountains.  My friend and I just finished a 22-mile hike and we were setting up camp for the night.  We had dinner, and then called it an early night and went to sleep.  About a half-hour

Single Leaf on Rock, Dave's Falls, Crivitz, Wisconsin, USA

after going to bed, I just some strange noises outside.  It sounded like something approaching and it was definitely an animal.  As it got closer, I could hear a low rumbling breath.  At this point, due to the fact that my hiking poles were in my tent vestibule and outside the screen, I had nothing at the ready to fight off the bear in case it came into my tent.  Luckily, it just breathed and sniffed outside my tent for about a minute and then left.  If we didn't hang our food and scented personal items it might have been a different story.  The next day confirmed that many bears are in the area where we camped.   On our way out we passed a marshy area that was literally covered with bears tracks everywhere.  The bugs were so bad that we nearly had to run through the area to avoid them.  Needless to say, I didn't snap a picture of the tracks.          

  

End of Summer..I Mean Fall Like in Wyalusing State Park

It was a pretty untypical mid-September weekend which included September 11-14.  With a high of 57 and lows down to 37 it felt more like October while at Wyalusing State Park.  The rain didn't help matters.  Mid-September is usually beautiful in Wisconsin but not that weekend.  I still managed to get some beautiful images.  The cold and the humidity helped produce the fog seen in the following image.

Starved Rock and Matthiessen State Park

Walking through the areas that Native Americans inhabited as far back as 10,000 years ago, it is hard not to wonder if this culture shared the same feeling that I did as I went through the area.  Magical, spiritual, and surreal are some descriptors that come to mind.  Filled with enormous canyons, it is hard not to feel small when exploring them.  Both glaciation and aggressive stream erosion formed the canyons that are primarily St Peter sandstone1.  Most of the canyons have active waterfalls, that vary in performance depending both on season and precipitation levels.

Lake Falls, Matthiessen State Park

During my stay, the precipitation levels and type varied from thunderstorms (that happened while shooting St Louis Canyon) to snowfall.  The temps were variable as well.  When I arrived it was about 65, the morning I departed it was 26.  Needless to say, it was well worth the trip.  Going when the weather is not ideal means very few people.  That is an ideal situation for any nature photographer: to be by yourself, listen and feel the nature and try to capture its beauty.  I hope I did it justice.    See the rest of the gallery here:  

http://www.matthewjkirsch.com/gallery/Starved-Rock-State-Park/G0000FShnJ.rTxYk/C0000vLkidu44.io

Pontiac Canyon - Starved Rock State Park

1.  Illinois DNR "Starved Rock State Park." 27 Apr. 2014
     

Perfect Pose

Across the room, intently looking through the glass was a jaguar.  It was in its perfect pose, just gazing out like it wanted me to come over and photograph it.  So when I looked I knew it was just a matter of time before all the children and surrounding families at the zoo would tap on glass or disturb it or aggravate it.  

Incognito

While vacationing at my cousins place on a lake I was presented with multiple photographic opportunities: fog, sunrises, sunsets, reflections, and frogs.  Yes frogs.  Each morning the area near the lake was still wet with dew and the frogs propagated there.

Blocking out the Sun

Ideally, when photographing your want the sun at a low angle.  This means capture times either need to take place two to three hours maximum after sunrise or two to three hours maximum before sunset.  In between that time, the light is not ideal, especially if the sun is out in full force.  So what are you supposed to do if you want to capture something and the time is not ideal?

Can the Sky Be Your Subject?

When shooting sunsets, sunrises, storms, etc., a lot of people shoot the areas surrounding the sky.  But what if the sky was so awesome that it could stand alone in a image?

The Perspective of Repetition

Perspective and repetitive pattern in photography are two ways to bring interest into your subject and make your images more compelling. Combining both of these at the same time can yield some interesting results and if done right produce a captivating image.

4th of July Freedom

I have a bit of a special place in my heart for the fourth of July. It might have something to do with that fact that I was supposed to be born on that day, and it was 1976 (yes aging myself) so I have the whole bicentennial thing going as well. I did come a few days early though. But I digress.

The Power of Penumbra in Photography

What the heck? Penumbra, umbra (isn't that a store?), antumbra...basically they are all parts of a shadow. A shadow is key element that makes a photograph powerful. After all photography is about seeing light and part of light is the absence of it or shadow. Shadow plays a key role in photography due to producing depth in a photo or adding a second dimension to something that otherwise would appear flat. The length of the shadow also can produce an interesting element to an image. It all depends on the light source and its angle.

Static Movement

Movement and energy go hand in hand, but it is not something you see incorporated into stationary objects very often. Luckily as a photographer, I have the ability to bend the rules a bit and use my camera to convey energy in something otherwise static.

Focus on the Small Stuff

Contrary to the saying "Don't sweat the small stuff," sometimes in photography you want to focus on the smaller stuff. I am not talking about macro or close-up photography here but the things in nature that don't appear so grand due to their size. In this case, waterfalls that are formed from small streams. For many of you the grand waterfalls are the awe inspiring ones, but sometimes if you take a good look at the small ones, there is awe there too. In the below awe-inspiring photograph the waterfall is about one foot drop. Focus on the small stuff.

Sometimes You Just Have to Wait for the Light

Most dramatic shots and in this case a silhouette with clouds require ideal light. With sunsets I like clouds, because the color is always better due to the clouds. Adding the element of silhouette to a image doesn't always require clouds but combining it with a sunset makes it more interesting. So I had the sunset, clouds, and awesome colors, but the beacon was not lit up. The color of the sky was waning as the sun dipped into the horizon level clouds and it would be a matter of minutes before the sky got much less interesting. I had my shots without the beacon on and started packing up. As I turned and headed toward the shore I looked back one more time. The beacon just turned on! I scrambled and reset all my equipment back up. I got the below image. Sometimes you just have to wait for the light.

Nature's Unpredictability and How to Compensate For It

When heading out of Michigan and back towards home, I wanted to make a stop at a waterfall south of Green Bay, WI. Anyone that knows Wisconsin is probably questioning...A waterfall south of Green Bay? Ok, but and impressive one? Yes there is one. It is called Fonferek Falls. The morning I headed out was dreary with a forecast for rain. It was a light rain, but still something to deal with when photographing. Whenever I go on photography trips I pack for the worst. In order to protect my gear I have a cover that fits over my lens and lets me see the back of my camera, plus two sleeves to aid in waterproof operation. I usually have a umbrella in my car, which I used during lens changes and my gear bag has a raincover as well. My gear by itself can handle some moisture, but then again why chance it when you have the protective gear. Note: I always dry my equipment out after a shoot in the elements no matter how much it is protected.

Speaking of chance, I really had no idea how large this waterfall would be. The research I did returned sparse results so I took a chance. Glad I did. With the spring thaw that went through the area recently made the falls quite active. Still fighting with the rain, which the intensity of was growing as I photographed I came away with some solid images.

The falls from afar

Standing at the edge of falls looking down...Not for the timid!!!

So as you can tell from the above story, you have to be ready for what nature throws at you and never underestimate what it will provide in terms of surprise and beauty regardless of the weather.

Unexpected Sunrise

I was on my way back from my Upper Michigan trip and stayed at a stopover point in Menominee, Michigan. My motel happened to be overlooking Green Bay. The actual bay of Green Bay not the city. The lighting was very flat that day and pretty much continued that way into the night. The next days forecast was overcast with occasional rain. Not ideal shooting conditions but as a photographer you learn to work with what is given to you. The next day I was up early as I usually am at 5:30 AM. I needed to retrieve something from my car. As I was heading for my car, I looked over at the bay and noticed what was the making of a beautiful sunrise. Remember the forecast was predicting overcast with occasional rain so I was not expecting to see any sun. Once I noticed the sunrise I immediately ran back to my motel room and retrieved my equipment. Knowing that I only had a matter of minutes, time was of the essence. This is where knowing your equipment and being able to set it up quickly counts.

This first thing I noticed was the abundance of clouds. If the clouds are in the right area, it is always a recipe for a more compelling sunrise. The other thing I noticed was small areas of ponding from snow melt occurring in the area. In the end the following was my unexpected sunrise.