Visiting Marblehead and polarizing

Posted by Photonstopper on May 5, 2014
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Photo: Rocks and Lake Erie off Marblehead, Ohio. Photo by James Guilford.

Looking North from Marblehead

We took a little trip to the Marblehead Peninsula to see the Liberty Aviation Museum in Port Clinton and revisit a favorite place: the Marblehead Lighthouse, at the eastern tip of the peninsula. The aviation museum is very interesting, especially to those interested in World War 2 aircraft, and keeps alive the heritage of the Ford Tri-Motor aircraft. They’re even rebuilding a Tri-Motor at the museum. Astonishingly you can also see, close-up, a flightworthy B-25J Mitchell Bomber in the cluttered but clean hangar facility. Still, my favorite part of the trip was clambering around on the rocks at water’s edge by the lighthouse. It was a lovely spring day, though a shelf of clouds was moving in from the south. My photography for the day included trying out a brand-new circular polarizer (Cost $$$) and I like the results.

Photo: View off Marblehead of Lake Erie and Dramatic Sky. Photo by James Guilford.

Watching the Sky and Water

 

A time of transition

Posted by Photonstopper on May 2, 2014
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Photo: Calm Lake Erie with Gloomy Clouds Overhead. Photo by James Guilford

Friday Afternoon

Friday Afternoon. Gloomy skies continue to dominate, stretching out as far as the eye can see. The lakefront is now quite different from a few weeks ago and, while the waters are brown with silt, the sands are being washed. It’s a time of transition.

Strange sky of morning

Posted by Photonstopper on April 24, 2014
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Photo: Intricate patters are seen in the clouds. Photo by James Guilford.

Strange Sky of Morning

Coming down the stairs this morning I gazed outward and upward through a window off our landing. Such an interesting, beautiful, and strange sky! At first I was going to grab my trusty iPod Touch and shoot only a Twitter-quality image. My good old Canon 50D, however, was close at hand. The rest of the day the sky was pretty uninteresting. I was glad I had not missed the strange sky of morning.

Crescent Moon, for practice!

Posted by Photonstopper on April 1, 2014
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Photo: Crescent Moon through Thin Clouds. Photo by James Guilford.

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.

Winter’s end?

Posted by Photonstopper on March 30, 2014
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Photo: Pond at Summit MetroParks' Nature Realm. Photo by James Guilford.

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.

Photo: Animal-made swimming channel connects shore with open water through thin, snow-covered ice. Photo by James Guilford.

Translucence

Transitioning

Posted by Photonstopper on March 28, 2014
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Photo: Dark sky looms over broken plates of ice on Lake Erie. Photo by James Guilford.

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.

Dark arrival

Posted by Photonstopper on March 23, 2014
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Photo: A Great Blue Heron in silhouette glides to a tree. Photo by James Guilford.

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!

Winter only slowly loosening its grip

Posted by Photonstopper on March 15, 2014
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Photo: Dramatic sky over waters flowing to a still-icy Lake Erie. Photo by James Guilford.

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.