Great Blue Heron working on Its Nest
Lake Erie on the Ides of March
Today we made a little exploratory tour along the south shore of Lake Erie between Bay Village and Vermilion. Most of the trip was pleasant enough but started out under gray, featureless skies. By the time we reached Vermilion, however, the clouds had mostly dissipated allowing warm and cheering sunshine to bathe us. On the lake, off Vermilion, the icy cover had begun to break up; gulls sat and screed on thin ice and open water. Winter is losing its grip on our lake and land and spring is coming on the wings of gulls.
Pileated Woodpecker – Male (Hylatomus pileatus)
Since wicked winter weather was expected to develop later this day, we headed out early to run a couple of important errands. Returning in the heavy snow, I spotted a big bird on my suet feeder. Wow! It was a Pileated Woodpecker (Hylatomus pileatus) the first I’d ever seen! Fortunately, I had a compact snapshot camera in my coat pocket. Rolling down the car window I made a bunch of shots and, though most were poor due to the camera’s slow action, bird’s fast motions, or blinding snowfall, I got three acceptable images. Except for forays out to clear snow from the walks, we’ll be staying in for the rest of the day but I’m certainly glad we went out this morning… if we hadn’t gone out, we wouldn’t have returned, and I’d have missed an exciting sight. Exciting, if you like birds!
Photo Details: Samsung Galaxy Camera 2: ISO 100, f/5.5, 1/10 sec., 310 mm equiv.
Snow coats trees, rocks, and river on February 1.
Groundhog Day – Between batches of heavy snow I ventured out to see what decoration Mother Nature had added to the landscape. Coatings of fluff clung to bare tree branches and evergreens. Massive, brooding rocks in the gorge were covered with soft, white blankets. Dark water was visible through a few openings in the river ice. Yes, Mother Nature had outdone herself again. By the way… while I believed it was Groundhog Day, the date stamp in my image files says 02/01/2015 — the day before Groundhog Day. Close enough, say I.
Winter Walk
Icy Harbor – Off Lorain
We took advantage of a fairly nice Sunday to make a cross-country trip to the Lake Erie coastline. After a stop or two along the way, we enjoyed lunch at the Rose Cafe in Lorain’s Lakeview Park. The lovely converted picnic shelter house is right on the beach. Fortified with flavorful veggie burgers and hot tea, I set out to explore the snow covered beach and view the dramatic, broken ice plates that had been pushed ashore. The frozen waters, framed by piles of ice and a rocky breakwall, put me in mind of a harbor.
The Snow Fell Like Fog
On a much-needed hike in the fresh snow, I followed deer tracks until I met their makers: a buck and doe Whitetail hiding in the woods. I watched them and they watched me. I shot a few photos. I walked a bit closer to the deer. I shot a few photos. And so on. The buck, more wary than the doe, took off down the bank of a shallow gully and watched from the other side. The doe stayed put though she twitched with each click of my camera’s shutter. A gust of wind arose blowing the snow off bare tree branches above, falling in a sudden and brief blizzard, looking like fog. I recorded a few more image frames. I approached a bit more. The doe gave me one last look and followed her mate deeper into the brush. Lifted, I turned back and away from the Whitetails and, slogging through the snow and frigid evening air, headed to the edge of the wood, returning to a noisier world.
Too Close, Time to Go
Cold Change – Winter is Winning
No Fishing or Wading
Visiting Deer Creek Reservoir in the Eastern area of Ohio, I came across a water level monitoring crib. The structure was heavily built, made of reinforced concrete, secured with a steel door, and accessed via a steel walkway suspended above the reservoir waters. The concrete was stained with time and rust. The deeply-colored door had been scratched and even shot a few times. A sign warning visitors not to wade or swim from the shore below was faded, rusted, and bent. I’d been drawn to the structure by its alien appearance, projecting straight up from the water’s surface. Ultimately, the door and sign captured my interest. Prints available: http://www.guilfordphoto.com/p813419571/e2a75370a
Pre-eclipse Test Image – Note the Huge Sunspot Group – 1:02 PM
Due to the positions of Sun, Moon, and Earth, lunar and solar eclipses tend to be paired up. So it was that while we had a total lunar eclipse about two weeks ago, we enjoyed a partial solar eclipse this evening. As partial eclipses go, this one promised to be a good one. From our vantage point in Northeastern Ohio, we were to expect about 50 percent coverage of Sun’s bright face by Moon, a late-day event ending with sunset. After much deliberation, owing to the very low elevation of the eclipse over the western horizon, I decided upon a fishing pier on the south shore of Lake Erie. If we were lucky we would see a beautiful, crescent Sun sinking colorfully into the distance, reflecting off of the lake waters. That was the image in my mind, anyway.
Crowd Watching Partial Solar Eclipse from Fishing Pier. Nobody Swimming or Fishing.
The pier became packed with eclipse watchers and I was happy I’d arrived early and staked out a corner! Yesterday was cloudy and I could not shoot a test image of Sun without Moon but did get the opportunity today. The image was very good and one of the best I’ve managed of the Sun. The solar disk was particularly striking because a massive sunspot cluster was visible … really massive, spanning nearly the distance from Earth to Moon (~ 250,000 miles) across the Sun! Very photogenic.
As I mentioned, the eclipse was taking place late in the day, beginning at 5:42 PM EDT local time and in progress at sunset, about 6:35 PM — low to the horizon and in the messiest part of Earth’s atmosphere. The evening’s photos showed the lunar limb nipping off bit after bit of the Sun until the bright disk looked like a cookie with a large bite missing; a raisin cookie, I think, due to the sunspots!
Streaks of Lake Clouds Stream Across Sun’s Face – 6:04 PM
It wasn’t long, however, before we began to see streaks of cloud crossing that bright, chipped disk and before we knew it, the eclipse sank into distant clouds. There was no colorful sinking, no beautiful reflections, only a dark lake and fading cloud-obscured sunset.
Eclipse Eclipsed by Lake Clouds – 6:16 PM
Even with the sad ending, the crowd was excited and pleased to see what had transpired. Someone asked if they could review my images using the tiny LCD panel in the back of my camera. I was happy to oblige and soon drew a small crowd of departing spectators who thought the pictures looked great! (Some folks had arrived too late to see any of the eclipse.)
Later, processing the pictures on my computer, I could see that the eclipse images were nowhere near as good as I had hoped and didn’t compare well with the earlier tests. Why? Remember how I mentioned the low-t0-horizon position of the eclipse? The murk? The thick, wind-churned atmosphere robbed my images of their expected clarity. Am I disappointed? Yes, a little. Still, it was a fine little eclipse and I was delighted to have seen it!
Royal $3.50
Oberlin, Ohio is a wonderful place to visit. The city stands in the midst of flat farm country and boasts the excellent liberal arts institution, Oberlin College. As might be expected, the college exerts wide-ranging influences on the town bringing enriched local culture, influences from youth, business, and architectural contributions. Oberlin has a long history with the college but, of course, has its own past. During our late-afternoon visit today I shot mostly architectural details, some made more graphic by the clear, blue sky gracing our day. These two images don’t take much advantage of the deep blue sky overhead but are among my favorites of the day. By the way, you can find and purchase a print of Royal $3.50 image and many others at my portfolio site. Click Here to purchase a print of Royal $3.50.
Angles 8723
PhotonStopper 