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.
Sunday’s was the latest in a string of frigid nights. Sometime during the night, fog rolled over the area. Fog-enshrouded trees and shrubs, standing in below-zero Fahrenheit air, emerged in the morning’s light bearing beautiful white coats. I was happy I had a camera tucked away in my coat pocket when out on an errand. It was beauty not to be missed, and a pleasure to share.
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
“Ha! Look What I Got!” – Cropped Image of Feeding Jays at Maximum Zoom
I find it very frustrating, seeing an interesting photo possibility but not having a camera. Some years ago I bought a Canon PowerShot G11 — a compact, rangefinder-like camera — and it has been a terrific little machine. The G11, however, is bulky and not really “pocketable.” Lately, I’ve been carrying an Apple iPod Touch which I acquired mostly for use as a PDA — a safe repository for personal data — but which was also useful as a communication device, when in a Wi-Fi hotspot, and as a snapshot camera. It is remarkable just how good the images from the Touch can be! Still, the iPod is really limited for a person as demanding as am I plus its internal battery isn’t holding a charge well these days. So I’ve been shopping.
I hadn’t really considered Samsung products due to my admiration and investment in Apple tablets. I’d forgotten they made a nice little camera-tablet hybrid… until Saturday!
Uncropped Image of Blue Jays Feeding
Exploring Best Buy and looking at little cameras, I came across the Samsung Galaxy Camera 2 and was amazed at its features. The Galaxy was a camera, alright, with an excellent zoom range, nice big (for its overall size) lens, and a lot of good features and built-in capabilities — some not unlike those of the Camera app on my iPod. The Galaxy Camera is about the same length and width of the iPod but several times thicker and heavier but would fit into the pockets of my winter coat. The huge bonus, however, came with the tablet features built into the Galaxy: Wi-Fi connectivity with full-featured browser(s), GPS with image-tagging and map location functions, and a huge family of apps including my favorite tablet image processor (Snapseed), astronomy map (SkySafari 4), and Twitter. I bought it.
First Light/First Night – Handheld Nighttime Image
At home I learned even more about the new camera/tablet: An Android device put the Galaxy Camera in the “Googlesphere” which meant that, once I signed into Google, my contacts and calendar were automatically! With a replaceable battery, I can carry a spare and will not have to replace the entire device simply because a battery finally fails.
Testing the imaging has shown me (unsurprisingly) that the Galaxy will easily replace my iPod for a carry-everywhere camera. With its superior optical capabilities I don’t have to worry if a subject isn’t best treated with a wide-angle lens (as in the Touch) or if the scene is a bit dark; the Galaxy’s big zoom range and larger sensor cover a wide range of situations. I’ve yet to compare finished images with those of the G11 but, since I’ve not been carrying the little Canon with me, that comparison may not be important! Two issues, also not surprising, with the Galaxy that will be frustrating sometimes are the noticeable shutter lag and the system’s full reliance upon its huge touch screen for camera controls in advanced shooting modes.
I’ve much to learn about the new camera/tablet but I already like it very much. Having a fully-functioning camera combined with a small, powerful Wi-Fi tablet opens up some exciting possibilities.
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
New Year’s Selfie
It was a beautiful New Year’s Day so we took off on a cross-country, very scenic drive to lunch in Sandusky. As part of the return journey, we paid a visit to the Lake Erie shoreline and stopped at a couple of parks. Enduring strong winds and freezing temperatures was easy as scenes of wind-driven ice piled on beaches, dark waters, and blue skies inspired me. I wasn’t the only person exploring, however. Briefly checking in at Vermilion’s downtown beach, I spotted a couple from Arkansas standing upon the ice (safely over sand, not water) shooting a “selfie” photograph. I wish them, and you, a happy and healthy new year!
Winter Sunrise
Walking the Towpath Trail in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park (CVNP) this morning I was looking to get a good shot of the “solstice sunrise” over an icy wetland area. After some past efforts, I think I got something pretty good. Okay, this was shot the day after winter solstice, and it really wasn’t sunrise but mid-morning. In my defense, I’ll say the morning of winter solstice here was overcast so, if we had clear skies yesterday, this is about what it would have looked like! Anyway, it was a beautiful morning and the sun beamed brightly for a while over a wetland area of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park just north of Akron. We take what we can get!
My Little Chickadee
After the sun shot, I walked south along the trail. Exploring the frosty landscape, I stopped to photograph something on a tree. To my surprise, a small bird dropped down and alighted about a foot from my face! Turned out to be a sassy little Chickadee who, apparently, has been getting handouts from visitors. I had no food to share but took advantage of the little fellow’s willing poses as it flitted from twig to twig. Often the little bird was actually too close for me to bring into focus with my telephoto lens and was always moving. I did manage to record a couple of nice portraits before my little Chickadee figured out there was nothing in it for him and zipped away.
PhotonStopper 