On the forest floor, green leaves begin to change color as summer ends.
Autumn is nearly here. Mornings are chilly and dew-dripping. Breezes freshen and the air feels drier, seems more transparent. The earliest touches of fall color are showing in the trees and even on the forest floor. Nights are noticeably longer. Autumn is nearly here and there are signs all around.
A portion of a full-spectrum rainbow and traces of concentric rings grace the eastern sky.
The skies began clearing this evening after a day of dull, gray clouds and occasional light rain. As I was driving this evening the sun began shining brightly from behind me and ahead, against a backdrop of dark cloud, a rainbow began to appear. As the sun grew brighter, so did the long, colorful arc — a full bow across the eastern sky. Of course there was little opportunity for a clear view of the spectacle so, at my first opportunity, I pulled into a parking lot, whipped out my Canon PowerShot G11, and made a few exposures of the brightest part of the rainbow. The colors were unbelievably intense and the full spectrum of visible color could be seen — most unusual! Traces of concentric bows could also be spotted but the bright bands completely dominated the scene. As I watched the colors began fading from the northern section of the rainbow, intensifying in the southern part — behind wires, trees, and buildings; the show was over for me. I’m glad I stopped as soon as I could. I’m a sucker for ordinary miracles.
Peaceful scene on the West Branch Columbia River.
It was a cool, wet, and foggy morning in Northeastern Ohio today; sometimes that’s all right. This sight on the West Branch Columbia River in North Olmsted caused me to abruptly pull off the road, grab my camera, and shoot a few photos in the light drizzle.
Berea Falls under Cloudy Skies
This evening and for the third time, recently, I tried photographing Berea Falls from an overlook deck in the Cleveland Metroparks. The first time I tried I had my best camera with me but ran out the battery with no spare on hand! The result was only so-so but showed potential for the site. The second time I tried on a sunny evening — brilliantly-lit treetops and dark, shaded gorge did not go well together. This evening my camera (the “middle” one) had a battery plus spare, and the overcast sky evened out the lighting. A tripod wouldn’t work from this location — scrub trees growing up around the deck block some of the view — but I found a way to elevate myself above the worst of the obstructions. I settled for f/11 at 1/60th of a second, and engaged image stabilization on the lens. I think it was a winning combination! I’ll be back another cloudy day armed with tripod and hiking gear to explore this beautiful area more thoroughly.
Sunrise reflected in still waters with lens flares all around.
Today was a nearly perfect mid-September day to be outdoors; I had to spend the day in the office. During my drive, however, I stopped briefly to take in the brilliant sunrise over Baldwin Lake in Berea, Ohio. Baldwin Lake is really a wide section of the East Branch Rocky River. A little farther downstream the waterway narrows and flows over a stony dam near the center of town. This morning, in the open shadows, the waters actually looked more like ice as they flowed over flat rock near the edge. Streams falling and splashing on rocks below were reminiscent, perhaps of icicles. But we’re getting ahead here… it will be winter soon enough. My respite was all-too-brief; I forced myself to look away from the sun, the blue sky, the dark and reflecting waters. I packed up my camera and headed out for my day indoors: it was a great day to be outdoors; I was in my office.
Shadowy morning light gives flowing water an icy pallor.
A Beach of Her Own
A Beach of Her Own: One way to secure your place on the beach is to go there when nobody else wants to. This woman was sunning herself today at Huntington Beach in Bay Village, Ohio. The wind was brisk, out of the north (across Lake Erie), with air temperature of about 65F degrees. Personally, when I used to sun myself, I preferred cool and quiet to basting in my own sweat with people cluttering up the place!
Atop a stack of CDs, a toy bunny looks into his room.
I stopped for lunch in Garrettsville, Ohio today. It’s an interesting old town with strong historical links to President James A. Garfield. The village also has one of the best Subway sandwich shops I know of. So after an enjoyable lunch I did a little walk around the downtown area spotting several good photo-ops; one such opportunity was the back window of one of the main street shops. Certainly the window sash and frame could use some attention, but I loved the texture of the wood, the weathered paint, and the ancient brick and stone of the building. Spotting the carefully-placed little toy bunny through the old glass was wonderful.
The shadow betrays no secrets.
During Sunday’s visit to Vermilion, Ohio we explored the old downtown area of the city. The district is a wonderful assortment of frame and brick commercial structures ranging from the grand to the humble, occupied and well-kept to neglected; there is a lot of character to those buildings and I enjoyed viewing and photographing them. I’ll post at least one more image after this pair but it is a challenging picture to get just right, and I may or may not succeed.
‘estaraunt no more.
The Curve of the Lake Erie Beach at Vermilion, Ohio.
Open fields of Hopkins Airport allow a view of the expansive storm in the east.
Driving home can be an adventure. Exiting the parking lot this evening I looked to the east and a huge and growing pile of clouds — a thunderstorm was brewing! So I adjusted my route to keep as much open sky around me as possible and headed out. The best vista afforded me was a grassy knoll just off the road, a short driveway for public access conveniently located nearby. The site overlooks Cleveland Hopkins International Airport so there was plenty of open space between me and the photogenic clouds. I popped from my car, hiked to the top of the mound, and made my exposures. I was aware of a second storm building and coming on from the west — behind me — but didn’t worry about it until I heard some rumbles of thunder. There I was, atop a rise and near an open area with a thunderstorm about to overtake me. Time to move! So, it was back to the car. Light rain had set in and my route now carried me into tree-lined streets and suburban settings not well-suited to sky photography. I’d planned a stop at Heinen’s Fine Foods so headed down a busy four-lane street. The storm rolled over us!
Sheets of wind-driven rain keep people in their cars.
The light rain became a deluge. Winds picked up and rocked the trees. Nearby lightning with immediate thunder came like shots. What fun! Traffic was slow and visibility just good enough so I felt safe the entire time. Making it to the grocery store parking lot, I pulled into a space, rolled down a window facing away from the wind, and caught a few shots of the sheets of wind-driven rain hitting the cars and pavement. It was only a few minutes after I’d moved my car to a more suitable parking spot that the rain diminished enough for me to go inside and get some groceries. When I was done and exited the store (oh, maybe 15 minutes had passed) the rain had stopped and sun was brightly shining in a clear western sky!
A slice of the monster.
The eastern sky, however, was now filled with the towering clouds that had just unleashed such chaos. Near home I made one more weather-related photographic stop. From a parking lot overlooking church lot below I tried to take in the scope of the storm clouds now passed; it was still too close, too large to capture in one shot. So I give you this image of one slice, exposed for the clouds with the sky turning an unnatural deep blue. Yes, a simple drive home can be an adventure.
PhotonStopper 