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.