The air was warm. The water was cold. And where air met water there was peace.
Crescent Moon through Thin Clouds
Tonight the western sky was adorned with a beautiful sliver of our Moon, shining in the twilight. I dug out my camera, tripod, and long lens to try a few shots, partly because I find the crescent Moon fascinating but also to practice for the total lunar eclipse that will take place the night of April 14 – 15. (Totality will occur here in Ohio in the wee hours before 3:00 AM on the 15th.) Tonight, thin clouds lightly veiled the sinking Moon but I was fairly happy with my results: the bright sliver of reflected sunlight, the cratered roughness of the terminator, and the mottled blue shadowed Earth-lit face of Luna all recorded. All but two of the images were in good focus and showed no blur from camera vibration. The eclipsed Moon will be much more colorful than tonight’s and I can only hope the skies will be clear for it!
UPDATE: Unfortunately clouds and bad weather moved in the night of the eclipse. With no prospects of seeing, much less photographing, the event I went to be. Sometime around 2:45 AM my internal clock woke me so I arose from bed, went downstairs to the landing where a wonderful window faces west, and looked up to where the Moon would be. Nope! Nothing but wet cloud-bottoms! Back to bed.
The Pond at Nature Realm. Yes, it was Green!
After a gloomy Saturday and a night that featured about four inches of heavy, wet snow, Sunday brought blue skies and sunshine. We took advantage of the gorgeous day and made a little trip to Summit MetroParks’ Nature Realm. The park’s paved pathway allowed for a nice photo walk without a slog through snow-covered mud. Bird calls filled the air as we took in the sights. Not a lot of photos to show for our casual trip but it was great getting out in the mild, fresh air, and feeling the sun shine on our faces. It has been a long, hard winter that seems not to want to end, and we’re looking forward to spring. Real spring.
Translucence
Sky and Lake in Transition
Transitioning: The seasons are changing from winter to spring. Storms blow in. Lake ice moves out. A fierce wind buffeted me as I stood atop a pile of dirty ice, perhaps 10 feet deep, along the lake shore. Waves, beginning to stir, jostled the ice plates and occasionally sent spray showering over their edges. It was a dark day, today, with the promise of brighter days to come, though I was in awe of the transitioning.
Great Blue Heron Arriving at Nesting Tree
Now Arriving: A Great Blue Heron arrives at its rookery bearing a tree stick for its nest on a gloomy Sunday in late March. Nests are pretty much complete and it was quiet, this afternoon, at the rookery. The big birds are sitting on nests, standing in the grasses below the nesting trees, waiting for hatching; then the real work begins!
Toward the Thaw
Not so sunny today as a week ago, along the south shore of Lake Erie. There has been a thaw, a winter storm with bitter cold, and another thaw. Streams running to the Great Lake are flowing once more, their chilly waters joining those under the thinning ice offshore. Tumultuous clouds loomed overhead and a cold wind whipped around. Winter is ending, only slowly loosening its grip.
Ice Cliffs on Lake Erie’s Shoreline
Ice Cliffs and Knolls: Formed along the Lake Erie beach by wind-driven waves and ice flows, sand-tinted piles mound high over the shore. Soon the ice will melt, the sand will drop back to the waterline, and wondering photographers will no longer walk suspended above the scene.
White Desert Out There
Broken Ice
I’ve been tremendously busy lately, the annual bicycle events calendar project gobbling up as much time as I could give. So it was with great pleasure I was able to spend some time outdoors today shooting under a brilliant clear sky. This morning my subject was steaming waters flowing over an ice-enshrouded dam (at -3F), and at midday I visited the lake. I’m still recording the changing scene along the south shore of Lake Erie as we move toward the spring season. Since my last visit there, the winds and waters have piled the ice even higher over the sandy shoreline. Some of the beached ice plates have fractured and fallen, opening crevasses large enough to catch the legs of careless climbers. The sky today was clear and intensely blue highlighting the rough, barren expanse of ice. A good way offshore, a narrow passage has formed, a split between the lake’s ice cover and that attached to the shore. The gap forms river out of the lake.
Cloud Shadow
Lake Erie today looked every bit the arctic or Antarctic desert. As far as could be seen to the north was a vast expanse of brilliantly lit snow-covered ice. Close to shore, shards of broken ice plate piled up a bit, accentuated by drifts of wind-driven snow. Here and there were dark patches, scudding across the white plain; they were the shadows of clouds floating above and behind me. Air moved across the lake as well and at 16F, bit hard my face and hands.
Snow-Desolate Beach
While I love the recent moody scenes I’ve seen and recorded along the lake shore, today was different. As I’ve said, the way the lake appears changes all of the time. Today brought sunny, blue skies decorated with sprays of cloud and it was beautiful… if still terribly cold. By the time I completed a 25-minute photo session this early afternoon, my gloved fingertips hurt! I had to hold my bare hands in front of the car’s heat vents as I drove away to relieve the pain. I captured many images of the lake, the sky, ice, and snow in the short space of time. Here’s one of my favorites.
PhotonStopper 