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Kiss of Light on Buffalo Main Lighthouse
Kiss of Light on Buffalo Main LightWinter Sunrise on Buffalo's Waterfront
Erie Basin Marina and the Buffalo Main Light are on the list of locations I wanted to get more coverage of. I wanted to photograph this icon of Buffalo's waterfront under different lighting conditions, in different weather, in different seasons. That is why you have seen me post from there quite a few times lately. Green Lake in Orchard Park are going through a similar process. I really like going back to previously visited locations to get more. The more I return, the more I get a feel for the locations, the more I can look beyond the obvious. And most importantly, the more times can serendipity surprise me and help me out!
I captured this photograph toward the end of the morning expedition. The snow was cracking under my feet as the temperature was just above 0°F and the air was definitely fresh. The sky was getting brighter and brighter with the sun officially up, even though I could not see it yet from where I was standing. It's warm light was not doing much for the temperature though.
Then it happened! As I was getting closer to the lighthouse walking back from shooting the skyline across the frozen marina, the sun cleared some city buildings and rose high enough to find the top of the lighthouse! In an instant, the scene in front of my eyes was transformed and I was hooked quickly finding a vantage point that would allow me to take advantage of sun's painting. The tripod went down, camera up, a few quick tweaks of the settings, focus, and click. I played with wider and narrower views and in the end liked this wider view the most as it shows the winter mood and looks of Lake Erie and Buffalo River. I also liked how the stripe of light in the foreground sets the lighthouse off, as if the scene was underlined.
Have fun!
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Winter Abstracts
Texture in SnowdriftSnow Abstract
Winter is a great photography clean sweep. When snow covers the land everything get simplified and a lot of distractions get buried. In winter, I like looking for minimal scenes with as few features as possible focusing on lines, curves, or tonal contrast.
Winter also provides a wonderful supply of close up or macro opportunities. On the macro side, ice crystals and snowflakes come to mind. Stepping just a tiny bit further, natural close ups provide great opportunities for abstract photographs.
On these pages, I have shared with you how much I like Lake Erie in winter when it freezes over with a solid layer of ice, gets covered with snow, and wind created some very interesting ice and snow formations (Frozen Lake Erie), like snow volcanoes (Snow Volcano, Active Volcano on Lake Erie).
The two winter abstracts I would like to share today are a combination of the above. Both are from a frozen lake, even though the first one, Texture in Snowdrift, from a significantly smaller one. I found myself exploring Winter's Pond in winter and came upon this wonderful snowdrift. It was pure white and wonderfully sculpted by wind. It was full of gentle curves that caught light from different angles with textures created from the individual crystals rolling down.
Snowdrift LinesSnow Abstract
At a different time as I scanned the frozen landscape on Lake Erie looking for ways to show the Great Lakes winter wonderland I came upon a snowdrift where the gentle curves were replaced with sharp edges creating an abstract so similar in one way, yet so different in another. You can see one of these in the second Snowdrift Lines photo.
I spend quite a while in almost the same spot just slowly turning around, moving the camera up and down to get a different perspective, and looking for additional angles. In the end, this was my favorite high key abstract of the day. I already look forward to searching for more and am sure a lake will play a role again. Their wide open areas where nothing stands in the wind's way has rather favorable conditions for creations like these.
Have fun!
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Christmassy Buffalo Main Light
Season Greetings from Buffalo LightWinter Morning with a Bite
I love the air of a freezing winter morning. So fresh, so strong, so full of that special aroma. And yes, with a bite. Lake Erie frozen over, and so the Buffalo River, everything neat and clean covered with a white blanket of snow, the essential ingredient of a Buffalo winter.
The main road through the marina was well plowed but the entrances to the parking lot had lots of snow pushed into them. I parked outside on the street and walked to the marina. The sun was still sleeping and I liked how the diffused light accentuated the winter mood.
Then I noticed the lighthouse was in Christmas mode. Instead of a fresnel lens equipped light running into the distance over the lake there was a Christmas tree! I had never noticed that before neither did I hear about it.
Despite having all of that ice and snow available to me for a new photo of the lighthouse I was looking for a new perspective, for something different in more than just the season. This view through the trees framing the lighthouse fit the bill, and the two benches with a view seemed like a nice foreground add-on too. I was happy finding the scene and the perfect winter conditions.
This photographic expedition had a secondary purpose for me. I have lately been closely scrutinizing my technique and whether I was doing all I could to get the sharpest possible photos. That has me returning to topics like proper focusing, hyper focal distance, lens sharpness, diffraction, the impact of VR while on a tripod, and SW sharpening in post-production. I wanted to try some of these in the field and see what would get me the best sharpness of the main subject while providing the best fore to back sharpness too. No, I did not mess with all of that jungle of terms in a single morning, just the focusing distance - focusing on the foreground, middle ground to benefit from hyper focal distance, or the lighthouse in the back itself to maximize its sharpness.
In this photo taken at f/22 the focus was on the railing on the right, 11.9 meters away from the camera. Using Digital DoF for iPhone and plugging in 76 mm and f/22, it shows 8.75 meters for hyperfocal distance. Not a bad guess with the 11.9. Focusing at 11.9 gave me depth of field from 5.6 meters to infinity. I am happy with what I got but will spend more time testing different approaches to make sure I don't get sloppy and get the best possible photograph.
Have fun!
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The Frozen Moon Land is Back
Winter SunsetFrozen Lake Erie
Something was in the air Saturday night. Something called me out to go check out the lake. The sun was still hovering over the horizon but barely and I was almost sure there was not enough time to make it to the shore in time. However, that something was stronger than my excuses, I quickly put my winter gear on and headed out to the 11°F and windy outdoors.
I am not sure what the thing in the air was. Maybe curiosity? It does not really matter. What matters is it got me out. I really wanted to see how Lake Erie was doing and whether it was managing to freeze despite the serious warm up periods this winter.
Once on Woodlawn Beach in Hamburg, NY, I was pleasantly surprised that there was still some color left in the sky and set up to capture it in a photograph quickly as it was fading in front of my eyes. I was also surprised at the extent of the ice growth. The lake was frozen as far as I could see and the ice was solid and thick. The frozen tundra landscape is back in Buffalo for a few months. Or the elephant graveyard. Or the moon land. Every time I return to the frozen lake I stare in amazement at the transformation.
So here are two photographs I would like to share with you. If visiting frozen Great Lakes is out of question for you then may this be your virtual tour. And if you are within a stone's throw may this be your motivation to go check them out!
Land of IceFrozen Lake Erie after Sunset
Land of Ice, Frozen Lake Erie after Sunset, Hamburg - Buffalo, New York
Have fun!
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Western New York Winter Wonderland at Akron Falls
Lower Akron Falls at Full FlowWinter Wonderland
One advantage of winter at this latitude, at least from a photographic point of view, is that days start late and end early. That means the alarm does not have to be set for crazy hours to get somewhere for a dose of sunrise photography, and sunsets are also easy to catch without losing much sleep.
The weather forecast was not that great for this Saturday. Still cold in the morning but warming up throughout the day and rain joining in. I really wanted to see what the low temperatures did before the warm up. Akron Falls was my choice.
I parked at my usual spot and walked down the road that is closed in winter (for a good reason) to reach the bridge over the creek and the start of the creek trail to the falls. I prefer this trail to the shorter one from above the falls. First, one does not have to walk down a steep path, which comes handy especially in winter with snow and ice on the ground. Second, I like that I can walk along the creek, which offers a lot of beautiful views and photos to be found in all seasons.
The fast flow immediately caught my attention. The water level was high, the flow rapid, and ice only along the banks and on rocks. As I walked up the stream I soon started hearing the falls, again, with quite a more rumble than what I am used to here. I have to admit, I like Akron Falls in late summer or fall when it is usually reduced to a few trickles and lots of moss. I always enjoy the combination of the wet lush moss, colorful rocks, and flowing water. Of the upper and lower sections of the Lower Falls, only the bottom has any flow that late in the season. While I know the waterfall can be rather strong in spring its winter flow surprised me. I guess we had enough snow melt to keep the creeks filled.
When I first caught a glimpse of the falls the rumble was explained. There was lots of water gushing even over the top section. And I was happy to see the cavern like icicle decoration under the overhangs on both sides of the main waterfall. I paused for a bit and just stared at the beauty. The word mighty came to mind, which one normally associates with the Niagara River and Niagara Falls, not with Murder Creek and Lower Akron Falls. It was intense though!
Winter Roar at Akron FallsWinter Wonderland
Winter Roar at Lower Akron Falls, Akron, NY not far from Buffalo
I spent a lot of time moving around the pool below the falls looking for angles that would accentuate the winter coat in my photographs. I could not cross the creek to capture my favorite view from the left as the water level (and its temperature) kept me from rock hopping. At one point, I got a bit too close to the mist on the right side that it reached and splashed my lens and the droplets immediately froze. I scrambled to come up with ideas to clean the front element and be able to continue taking pictures, eventually succeeding. When I could not come up with anything new to try, I slowly started heading back down the creek looking for icy creations to capture. That is for another day though.
Have fun!
Please, use my links to shop on Amazon.com whether you buy one of the products I link to or anything else. Using my links keeps me going and costs you nothing. You can also use the Amazon search box in bottom left for anything not mentioned here. Thank you very much, I really appreciate it!