I went to the Wolf Creek Environmental Center of the Medina Park System seeking the Green Heron. I have only ever seen Green Herons about five times and got some good photos of one at this location previously. No such luck. The only large birds in evidence were three Canada Geese. Looking around, I started playing with the lighting effects produced by the bright morning sun on the almost-smooth surface of the wildlife area’s big pond. In the shot above, the direct reflection of the sun is directly behind the blooming water lily. As I watched through the camera viewfinder, sparkles came and went as tiny waves touched bubbles and lily pads — it was amazing to see! The stars we see here were formed by the blades of the diaphragm inside the stopped-down lens, not by a filter. I may not have seen a Green Heron Friday but I did see stars on the water!
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Fertile: A lily blooms on a summer morning.
I spotted this beauty on a visit to Schoepfle Garden in beautiful downtown Birmingham, Ohio, last weekend. Schoepfle is a property of the Lorain County Metropolitan Park District. I had attached my 50mm macro lens to my camera and was exploring the plant world at a different scale from what I was used to. The intense color of the lily flower attracted me as it might an insect. I pushed in close to try and fill the frame with the petals and focus on the center of the flower. This was a handheld shot and I had to steady the flower against a light breeze by grasping one of its petals between fingers as I composed my picture and checked focus.
broken
Trying out some new equipment today, we visited Schoepfle Garden, a Lorain County Metropark. I shot all manner of subjects including a favorite: dragonflies. The most abundant seemed to be the Blue Dashers and they were very active! One little fellow I photographed was resting in a shaded area of water plants with a natural spot of soft light falling over him from the cloudy sky. It wasn’t until I got home and processed the image that I discovered one of the insect’s wings was badly damaged. The resulting image is somehow a bit saddening; the dragon appears to be marooned, so I gave it a sad title. Not to worry, however, as the little guy seemed perfectly capable of excellent flight!
Stormy Dawn Over the Old City
Burst of Color
It’s a rather dreary Tuesday morning. The overcast got me thinking back to the weekend and a bunch of flowers bursting their color forth on a sunny afternoon in downtown Vermilion, Ohio.
Vision at Entry: Tableaux of Three Statues in Altar Setting
While I am not Catholic, I do appreciate the illustrative and evocative art created for the Church and particularly the statuary. Many years ago now, when I worked for a newspaper, I shot a photo feature headlined “Portraits of Mary” showing statuary within a number of area Catholic churches. In the Cleveland, Ohio suburb of Lakewood a restoration artist shares that appreciation.
Museum Gallery, Western Wall
The artist saw a need to not only restore those religious artifacts but to save them. Over the years a good number of churches have closed, their furnishings and decoration either destroyed or scattered to the winds. Artist Lou McClung made it his mission to save and restore those displaced works and created a museum within which to preserve and display them.
St. Joseph: Detail from Holy Family Sculpture
We visited the Museum of Divine Statues for the first time this past Sunday. Appropriately, the museum, which opened April 10, 2011, is housed within the former home of St. Hedwig’s Church. The interior of the church has been repaired and re-purposed from that of a place of worship to a fine art / historical gallery. Enthusiastic guides and McClung himself are present to answer questions and tell the stories of the many statues and smaller artifacts.
Christ Child
Here are a few of my photos from our recent visit. I won’t attempt to fully-describe the pieces shown and that’s not my purpose here. Nor will I try and tell the story of the museum and its creator; that is done well on the museum’s Web site. I hope you can see what I see when I gaze at the statues and what I attempted to capture with my camera and that you can appreciate the great skill and love the restorer has bestowed upon the pieces.
Jesu – Resurrection
Hailstone from Thunderstorm, June 25, 2013
The weather outside is frightful! Hot and humid days, lately, have been punctuated by strong thunderstorms. Tonight’s blew in with rushing winds, hail, rain, hail, lightning, rain, hail… you get the idea. We’re to expect more storms over the next few hours as well. What most impressed me with this evening’s first storm was the hail, the likes of which I’ve not seen in a long time, if ever. I ventured out to collect one of the stones from our patio and popped it into the freezer. A little later I shot the photo shown here with a ruler; that stone was not the exception tonight! We can use the rain but, goodness, such stormy weather!
The Storm Arrives – iPod Photo
A Cool Place on a Summer Day
A cool and ancient place is this: the deeply-undercut, rocky gorge of Chippewa Creek in Brecksville. The stream has run through this area for untold eons and has, in places, worn deep troughs through solid rock — passages for its waters. On a day like this the shadows of the rock walls offer some relief from the heat and humidity of the new summer. The curve of the creek promises new discoveries around the bend.
Hope Springs
There it was, a sprig of hope amidst the desolation of a landscape littered with broken slabs of concrete, decaying leaves, and rocks. The tiny plant was nurtured by a feeble spot of sun; sometimes that’s all it takes.
Hiding in Plain Sight
Can a yellow fire hydrant hide in plain sight by standing amongst a bunch of like-colored flowers? No. Dumb as a fire plug.
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