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Inside an Ice Crack
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In the afternoon I took Route 5 on my way back from downtown Buffalo, NY and enjoyed the views of the frozen lake. Despite the warm days the ice layer seemed endless and ice fishing was in full swing at the Outer Harbor. I thought the fishermen must be nuts being on the ice after such a dramatic warm up. But it was not just one or two. They were everywhere, like mushrooms after rain.
A quick stop at home, tripod and camera to the car, and off I headed to the lake to see it all for myself. After a short walk on the shore I quickly realized I had underestimated the power of cold temperatures. Yes, we've had a recent warm up but the deep freeze before that did its magic. I could not see the end of the ice layer as it stretched all the way to the horizon. And as the day was nearing its end there were many people returning back on their snowmobiles. The ice was not only all around but still very thick. I did not dig a hole and measure but found a few see-through cracks and would guess at least 8 - 10 inches.
I spent most of the time looking for a new and unique sunset composition at a place I've been to many times. While walking on the ice I stayed away from the large cracks. Then, on the way back I had a different idea. Instead of staying away I went right to one of the long and wide cracks thinking of how to best capture it. I followed it for maybe a 100 feet as it was winding left and right when it finally turned in a way that allowed my to take a photo with the post-sunset sky in the background.
For this photo, I laid the camera down right into the crack for the lowest possible point of view. I like how angles like that skew the perspective.
In a CrackInside a large crack in the ice on Lake Erie at sunset. Getting close, skewing the perception of size, and showing you what most simply step over.
Inside an Ice Crack, Lake Erie
I will admit though, by this point I had wet and frozen pants as the ice was wet on the surface from the warm and sunny day, my knees were frozen to their bones, and I did not have the patience needed to tinker with the camera for the best possible shot. So this was it, the final photo of the night. After that, I packed up, rushed to the car, started the engine and cranked up the heat!
Enjoy the Beauty that Surrounds You! (#etbtsy)
Would you like to see more photographs from Western New York? Visit my Buffalo & Western New York Landscapes and enjoy! To get a dose of white winter, click through to my Winter Collection of photographs.
Please, let me know if you have any questions about any photo products offered, or not offered, I will be happy to help! For a quick reference to all photo galleries and collections as well as all photo products currently offered through my site, please, visit the Products page.
Do you like my free content but are not ready to buy a photograph for your walls yet? Using my links to do your shopping helps me share more photographs and write the stories behind them. And it costs you nothing. You just need to start your shopping by clicking on an advertised product or use the Amazon search box in bottom left. It does not matter what you eventually buy as long as you start here. I truly appreciate each purchase, no matter how small. Thank you!
A beautiful winter day
Support this blog: Do you like my free content but are not ready to buy a photograph yet? Using my links (Amazon) to do your shopping helps me share more photographs and write the stories behind them.
When winter turns on its magic it can be, well, magical. One day, you get up and find the mercury of your thermometer in the basement and the sun shining at you. What a combo! There's only one direction to go in a situation like this and that is out!
Covered Bridge of Winter's Pond
Willow Tree in WinterWinter's Pond
Willow Tree in Winter
Enjoy the Beauty that Surrounds You! (#etbtsy)
Would you like to see more photographs from Western New York? Visit my Buffalo & Western New York Landscapes and enjoy! To get a dose of white winter, click through to my Winter Collection of photographs.
Please, let me know if you have any questions about any photo products offered, or not offered, I will be happy to help! For a quick reference to all photo galleries and collections as well as all photo products currently offered through my site, please, visit the Products page.
Do you like my free content but are not ready to buy a photograph for your walls yet? Using my links to do your shopping helps me share more photographs and write the stories behind them. And it costs you nothing. You just need to start your shopping by clicking on an advertised product or use the Amazon search box in bottom left. It does not matter what you eventually buy as long as you start here. I truly appreciate each purchase, no matter how small. Thank you!
Not Your Sunrise Cliché
Hawaii became the 50th state to join the United States on August 21, 1959. The capital city is Honolulu (Oahu). The highest point is Mauna Kea at 13,803 feet (4207 meters) (island of Hawaii, aka The Big Island), a dormant volcano last erupting 2460 BC. Mauna Kea is over 33,000 feet (10000 meters) tall, making it the world's tallest mountain measured from its base to the summit; the majority of which is under water. The highest point on Kauai is Kawakini Peak about a mile south of Mt. Waialeale, the volcano that originally built up the island.
Previously from Hawaii: The Beginning - Seaside Pinhole Photography - Tropical Clichés - Windy Drama of a Tropical Morning - Quite an Ad - Searching for Sun and Warmth - Not Your Sunrise Cliché
With the cold front leaving the area only very painfully slowly, there was a benefit of plentiful dramatic clouds in the sky at all times of the day. While those did not provide for your typical island idyll they provided for constantly changing conditions, for more drama, and for different takes on previously photographed subjects.
Getting up for a sunrise is always both exciting and difficult. Then, once outside, it's always just the excitement that remains. Well, not all. Sometimes, doubts prevail for a few more minutes like on this morning. I ask myself questions like why bother getting up for a sunrise when chances of seeing the sun are pretty much at zero. Then, I reach the selected destination and the doubts are quickly gone, rendered absolutely irrelevant.
Instead, my eyes and mind are fully occupied with searching for the perfect spot, the perfect angle, the perfect timing. With waves spilling over the lava rocks it becomes a question of a long exposure vs. action freezing shutter speed, then a process of fine-tuning the exposure length, and an exercise in patience in waiting for the perfect action. Also, do you click the shutter on the way in or out? There number of combinations seems to be endless and the action keeps developing with the day progressing from sunrise to full daylight.
Poipu Daybreak RushKauai, Hawaii
Poipu Daybreak Rush, Kauai, Hawaii
Enjoy the beauty that surrounds you! (#etbtsy)
References: Hawaii on 50states.com
Would you like to see more seaside photographs? Visit my Seascapes Gallery and enjoy! Please, let me know if you have any questions about any photo products offered, or not offered, I will be happy to help! For a quick reference to all photo galleries and collections as well as all photo products currently offered through my site, please, visit the Products page.
Using my links to do your shopping keeps me sharing more photographs and writing the stories behind them and costs you nothing. You can also use the Amazon search box in bottom left for anything at all. I truly appreciate each purchase, no matter how large, no matter how small. Thank you!
The Beginning of Winter
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Over Frozen Green LakeYates Park, Orchard Park, NY
We are returning a tiny bit backwards here to December when winter was just finding its way to Western New York. As seasons transition I am always on a lookout to capture that in photographs. It's not easy and one has to be ready and go with nature's schedule. It's impossible to negotiate your way out of it, believe me, I tried. Saying "I'll come back here tomorrow with a camera" just absolutely does not work. If you see a magical transition in progress, you either have the camera with you or you better go get it right then and there, not tomorrow.
As I drive by Green Lake once or twice a day I always give it a careful look to see what's going on. As such, I caught it as the initial film of ice was forming one day, had fun capturing it in pictures, and knew I had to keep returning to witness the initial blanket of solid ice, with the camera ready.
And I did. I walked along the shore looking for ways to show the lake transforming from fall into winter. First, I found an area with a broken sheet of ice, which looked wonderful and captivated me for at least 20 minutes. But I did not feel like that was The Image of the day and kept walking.
Once the next scene showed in front of me I knew that was it. The only question that remained was how to best capture it in a still photograph. I kept getting closer and closer and lower and lower with the camera until this photo was possible.
Under the IceGreen Lake, Yates Park
Enjoy the Beauty that Surrounds You! (#etbtsy)
Would you like to see more photographs from Western New York? Visit my Buffalo & Western New York Landscapes and enjoy! To get a dose of white winter, click through to my Winter Collection of photographs.
Please, let me know if you have any questions about any photo products offered, or not offered, I will be happy to help! For a quick reference to all photo galleries and collections as well as all photo products currently offered through my site, please, visit the Products page.
Do you like my free content but are not ready to buy a photograph for your walls yet? Using my links to do your shopping helps me share more photographs and write the stories behind them. And it costs you nothing. You just need to start your shopping by clicking on an advertised product or use the Amazon search box in bottom left. It does not matter what you eventually buy as long as you start here. I truly appreciate each purchase, no matter how small. Thank you!
Typewriter
Previous Typewriter Blogs: Large Format Pinhole - Typewriter
Back in September I shared with you my double excitement. The first one I only brushed by while the second one I spent a whole post on. I promised to get back to the first one and so here you have it.
The substantial sound as the typebars hits the page, the ring when you approach the end of the line, and another as you push the lever to advance to the beginning of the next line.
Enjoy the Beauty that Surrounds You! (#etbtsy)
Would you like to see low-tech pinhole photographs from Buffalo and Western New York? Visit my pinhole gallery on timelessbuffalo.com and enjoy! Come back often as that gallery will grow over time. Please, let me know if you have any questions about any photo products offered, or not offered, I will be happy to help! For a quick reference to all photo galleries and collections as well as all photo products currently offered through my site, please, visit the Products page.
Using my links to do your shopping keeps me sharing more photographs and writing the stories behind them and costs you nothing. You can also use the Amazon search box in bottom left for anything at all. I truly appreciate each purchase, no matter how large, no matter how small. Thank you!