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!
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.
Lionfish – A Scar in Tree Bark
I was out and about this morning, enjoying the beautiful spring weather and shooting some naturescapes and scenes around town. As I was driving home, I glanced to the side and into the woods. There was a tree whose trunk was illuminated by the sun making it stand out from the surrounding shaded trees. What registered in that split-second, however, was something peculiar: an oddly-shaped scar in the smooth bark. I found the first turnaround, whipped my car about, and headed back. Parking nearby I hiked back up the road a bit, then into the edge of the woods. The tree bore a scar that had a remarkable resemblance, in my mind anyway, to a lionfish! I shot images of the tree trunk that first attracted me, then several of the scar. I’d recorded several memorable scenes this morning but, I think, my favorite may turn out to be a tree tattoo.
A Cauldron of Light at the Center
I love watching cumulus clouds billow and tower against a deep blue sky. Lately we have seen some of that with the scattered rain and thunderstorms that are a part of spring. In the early evening Sunday, the sky was changing from mostly cloudy or overcast to partly cloudy, allowing views of the cloudy blooms. I shot a good number of photos and it was difficult to choose what to show here. My shoot ended as the puffy towers passed overhead and no longer showed their profiles. A high-flying aircraft left a thin contrail, seemingly ejected from the clouds, high above it all.
Above It All
Morning Lights
While I love to photograph scenes of nature, I also like capturing moments from the world made by humans. Buildings and their interaction with their surrounding earth, sky, and light are favorites as are details from those buildings. Structures and surfaces of all ages can be wonderful. What struck my fancy last Friday were some beautifully-restored old buildings in the Grand Pacific Junction retail area of Olmsted Falls, Ohio. Clear morning light swept across surfaces of newer paint covering chipped surfaces of ancient siding. Decorated rooflines penetrated the deep, blue, cloudless sky overhead. A person could get lost in it.
Top of the Morning
Lily pads take on a whole different feeling.
A vigorous walk around Hinckley Lake this morning provided plenty of “photo ops.” I got images of at least three Great Blue Herons, a macro shot of a slug (actually kind of pretty), some flowers, a butterfly, and fish thrashing about in the water apparently in the throes of spawning. The shot that was a standout, however, was also something of a surprise. I liked the way the morning sun was playing across some lily pads floating at the edge of the lake. Some of the pads had beaded puddles of water on their waxy tops and the sun outlined them in silver. The camera, set to automatically select a shutter speed appropriate to the light level, saw all that light and darkened the scene: the pads turned black, the puddles showed textures, and the pads seemed to levitate above the glowing surface. The scene, overall, looked somewhat foreboding. Perfect. The title sprang to mind and I couldn’t think of anything better… “Death Pads!”
At the End: Shining Like a Star
Sometimes beauty emerges at the end. This one leaf, among all of the others, is dying early yet outshines its many healthy brethern. This little scene was along the trail in Medina County’s Hubbard Valley Park.
No Trains Today: East or West
A quick stop in Olmsted Falls this dark and misty morning to take a look at the old Olmsted Falls railway station. The structure was built in 1877 by the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railroad as both a freight and passenger station. It now houses a model railroad club but still stands adjacent to main line rails that carry frequent trains even if they no longer stop there.
Waiting for Baggage
There’s a Change in the Weather.
I was heading towards home this evening when I noticed the skies darkening in the southwest. Some relatively compact but intense thunderstorms had been driving through the area and it looked like this one was headed my way. In fact, as I turned south I could see the dramatic leading edge of the storm rolling towards me. I pulled off into the first open area I could find, whipped out my camera and started shooting. I did one series of shots with the intent of creating a panorama of the amazing scene. Then some rain drops started falling. I got back into my car and had traveled no more than about a quarter-mile when the deluge began! The area was pummeled by extremely intense rain driven by strong winds. Within half an hour the rain had stopped. An interesting way to end the week.
Wind-Driven Rain Pummels the Area
PhotonStopper 