PhotonStopper

A Canada Goose sends up splashes of crystalline water as it enters Kendall Lake.

Today we visited the Kendall Lake area of the Cuyahoga National Park. Fall colors have peaked and trees are shedding their fading leaves, preparing for winter’s rages. Canada Geese still frequent the waters here; we watched them sitting in the sun and moved as close as we could to get photographs. I followed one as it plopped into the water to escape my approach. At high speed the camera’s shutter stopped splashes and water droplets in mid-flight.

Tiny fungi growing on the stump of a long-dead tree play host to a pair of insects the size of caraway seeds.

In the woods surrounding the lake we found colorful leaves, interesting textures, and various fungi. In one case I moved in to capture the patterns and colors of a tree stump hosting very small fungal mounds. As I did, I noticed two tiny dark dots on one of the growths and thought they were dirt. It turns out they were minuscule insects parked on the fungus and they moved towards shelter as we watched.

A trick of the light: Shadows from a nearby twig fall across the top of a leaf as we view the scene from beneath.

Later in our hike, while looking for singular tree leaves to shoot, I spotted an interesting shadow pattern: twigs and petals from a shrub cast their shadow on the top of a tree leaf that I was viewing from below. The spider-like shapes were interesting by themselves but chance aligned the background image of the twig with its shadow seen through the leaf. Just one of several tricks of light seen this fine day.