A Vast Snow and Ice FieldFrozen Lake Erie in Winter

Lake Erie photographed from the Hamburg Beach a few miles south of Buffalo, NY. I had to walk in a bit and cross a line of snow volcanoes, a snow and ice buildup along the shore. In fact, that is what provided my elevated viewpoint here. While I often try to get low to the ground for a different perspective I intentionally wanted to be higher up here to be able to tilt my camera down, not give much focus to the cloudless sky and show more of the lake surface with the choppy ice and snow in the photograph.

Once past the snow volcano line, the landscape was flat and frozen as far as one could see. That is what I imagine the arctic tundra to look like but this one is right in my back yard. It's a true and amazing transformation of the lake. It's something impossible to explain to those that have never seen it. And if you happen to be reading this post and are one of those that have never witnessed this view, all I can say is head out and check it out before the winter is over.

Over the last few years these views have been somewhat sparse. Warmer winters in the past couple seasons prevented the lake from fully freezing like this. As if to make up for that, this 2013 / 2014 winter season more than made up for that. The layer of ice on Lake Erie was truly solid! For example the Small Boat Harbor popular with ice fishermen has a layer of more than a foot as of February 8, 2014.

Arctic Tundra on the LakeshoreFrozen Lake Erie in Winter

Sources:

• Lake Erie Fishing Hotline
• Great Lakes Ice Analysis

Photo Equipment Used:

Nikon D600, Nikon 24-85mm Nikkor Lens, Manfrotto tripod (055MF3; replaced by 055CXPRO3 with the convenient Q90 column) and Manfrotto Ball Head (496RC2), Think Tank Speed Demon Waist Pack, SanDisk Extreme 32GB SD Cards, Nikon Capture NX2.

Using my links to buy your photographic equipment 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!

Life is Good in ColoradoA Chipmunk in Doubt Colorado became the 38th state (right after Nebraska we have just passed through) to join the United States on August 1, 1876. The capital city is Denver. The highest point is Mt. Elbert at 14,433 feet.

Road Trip 2013 - Day 6 - June 16 - Colorado (Previous road trip 2013 posts: Indiana Dunes, De Immigrant, Amana Colonies, Des Moines, Madison County Roads, Bridges of Madison County, White Pole Road, Great Platte River Road Archway Monument, Golden Spike Tower & Union Pacific's Bailey Rail Yard, Loveland Pass)

After five days on the road and 1924.4 miles behind us Sunday put a dent in our driving average. The car stayed parked in front of our unit in Powderhorn Resort in Mesa, Colorado all day long and was enjoying a well deserved rest. So were we! Late and lazy start to the day, reading, some games, and a walk around the beautiful grounds was all we could pull off.

Powderhorn is a ski resort sitting right at the chairlift base. And since it is quite ways up the mountain, the Grand Mesa, unlike traditional ski resorts that are located in valleys, the views are beautiful right from the resort, and even better if you walk a little bit up the hill.

Mountain SunsetThe Quiet Day Ending with a Quiet Sunset The resort's elevation was the first thing we noticed once we got out in the morning and did a little bit of walking around. We were huffing and puffing like we just finished a marathon. It's located at 8,200 feet (2,500 m), quite a lift from the midwestern plains we have just driven through. In winter, the ski lift takes you another 1,650 feet up the mountain.

In summer, the lift was off duty and we had enough sitting behind us. We found the maintenance vehicle tracks and headed up the hill on foot. The tracks zigzagged nicely providing for a comfortable walk but the elevation was still with us. It was quite a dose of "fresh air".

During the driving phase sunrises and sunsets were secondary to getting a good rest and making progress on the road. This was my first opportunity to stay up with the camera longer and wait for the Colorado sun to come down. And I was rewarded very nicely!

As I was wandering around at the end of the day on my own I found myself wondering about all the different animals that might be wandering around there with me. I was glad that all I met was a chipmunk, a marmot, and a deer. While it could have been nice to photograph a bear I was not in the mood for chatting with one.

A House with a ViewValley View from Powderhorn Resort The Grand Mesa the Powederhorn Resort is located on is the largest flat top mountain in the world with an area of about 500 square miles. It's located between the Colorado River and its tributary Gunnison River. I'll be mentioning the Gunnison River in another post coming up soon in a more prominent role. The Grand Mesa itself will also have a stronger role coming up.

Before the sun disappeared all together its low rays lit up the valley below very nicely and the visibility improved quite a bit. And as I was looking down this beautiful house overlooking the valley kept coming into my view. Can one get tired of views like that? I seriously doubt that. Just sit down on the deck, pour yourself a favorite beverage, and enjoy. Despite the mountains staying put each sunrise and sunset are different. A permanently positioned camera documenting these over a year would be cool I am sure!

Final Glow of the DayFinal Light over a Dark Valley And then the day was truly over and for just a very brief moment the clouds lit up over the already dark valley below. This burst of light lasted only a few seconds and then everything turned into darkness. It was time to head for cover and get ready for Monday when our first local trip was planned to take advantage of the strategic location of the resort and its proximity to various beautiful locations in Colorado and Utah.

Sources:

• Colorado on 50states.com
• Powderhorn Resort on Wikipedia
• Grand Mesa, Colorado on Wikipedia

Equipment Used:

Nikon D600, Nikon 24-85mm Nikkor Lens, Promaster 72mm Circular Polarizing Filter (I have since switched to the low profile Hoya polarizer on the left to avoid vignetting), Induro Carbon 8x Travel Tripod (CT-014) and Manfrotto Ball Head (496RC2), Think Tank Speed Demon Waist Pack,  Petzl Zipka Plus 2 Headlamp (always in the bag just in case), SanDisk Extreme 32GB SD Cards, Nikon Capture NX2

Using my links to buy your equipment 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!

Previous indoor photo projects: Indoor Photo Project: The Mysterious Planet, Indoor Photo Project - Recycling at its Best and Free Heat, Indoor Photo Project - Water Gone Wild, Vividly and Colorfully Wild.

Flying through a Black HoleA Two Color Abstract Refractograph on Black I am hooked! You can read the definitions of photography, you can read almost all (landscape) photographers stating that it's all about light, you see light painting at dusk or night and the whole being about light gets so much closer, but then, you photograph light and light only in a pitch black room and the all about light statement hits you. Seriously, how could something be more about light than a photograph of light, a refractograph?

It all started for me on a flight reading the most recent issue of Popular Photography (February 2014). There, they had a short article on refractography. The photograph looked amazing and I had to know more. I ripped a strip of paper from the always included bookmark, the subscription card, and folded it over the page to refer to it later.

From the article it was only a short hop to Rob Turney Visuals and Rob's refractography tutorial. I watched it couple times and had to try it myself. Setting up on a workbench in the basement did not take all that long and I was soon seeing the magic happen in front of my camera. 

Needless to say, I was not all that excited once I saw my first attempts on a larger screen (note: shooting tethered would get you this initial feedback rather quickly). It still looked magical but also blurry and with questionable clarity and contrast. It was back to the tutorial, a few searches, a few ideas of my own, a little bit of work with scissors and back to the basement. It looked better and I was encouraged enough to try two light sources. But back on the computer, it was still missing the punch that I liked on the pages of the magazine. Back to the tutorial one more time, some more adjustments to the sub-one-dollar props, and back to the basement.

And there it was, another notch better! That's when I started feeling like a little speck of dust floating in space and approaching a black hole, getting a quick peek of the inside, and eventually being pulled in and seeing magic that never escapes the black hole and is never seen.

So how was this done? It's a really simple concept. You need a dark room, a camera without a lens on a tripod, glass surface to refract the light, and a pinhole source of light. Additional clamps and stands will help to make sure your flashlight and the glass do not move.

Have fun materializing your visions!

Equipment used:

Nikon D600, no lens, Manfrotto tripod (055MF3; replaced by 055CXPRO3 with the convenient Q90 column) and Manfrotto Ball Head (496RC2), SanDisk Extreme 32GB SD Cards, Nikon Capture NX2, small LED flash lights, A-clamps, light stand, paper, aluminum foil, pieces of wood of various thickness and sizes, various glasses with a stem, and probably more.

Using my links to buy your equipment 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!