I had an ice Saturday. How about you?

Nature

Yesterday I took a little road trip to Door County in hopes of finding some inspiration for Week 4 in the photography challenge I am taking part in.  This week’s challenge involves the combination of a landscape and symmetry.  Alas, I did not find exactly that, but I did find some inspiration.

There are a lot of things to do in Door County, WI.  There’s plenty of food to track down and plenty of parks to visit.  There are several county parks and state parks within the county because the land basically begs to be appreciated in such a way.  If you’ve never been to Door County, let me describe it to you physically.  There’s everything from sandy beaches, rocky cliffs, wetlands, coniferous forests, lakes, and all kinds of coastline.  In other words, there’s a lot going on there.  That’s a result of the work done by the glaciers more than 10,000 years ago.  It’s unique and I love it for that.

One of my favorite spots to visit is Cave Point County Park which is located in the east side of the Door Peninsula, 25 minutes outside of Sturgeon Bay.  The park itself is located within a state park called Whitefish Dunes State Park (I told you there were a ton of parks).  The park is open year round and is home to one of the rocky shores lined with cliffs and one titular coastal cave.

The cave in question is quite the site, any time of the year.  The cave causes quite the violent splashes because of physics or something.  I can’t properly describe it other than it seems like the waves crash a lot harder and louder near the cave.  The whole shore in the park is hit by the waves of Lake Michigan all winter long.  When we have a real cold spell, like the polar vortex, it causes some real cool things with ice.  I probably shouldn’t talk about it so much as show you…

First, here’s a look along the shore of the park.  You can definitely see what I was talking about.  All that splashed water makes for a beautiful scene that even Mr. Freeze would be envious of.

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It’s all on there real thick, too.   The ice extends onto the ground several feet inland as well.  I had to be quite careful as I am terrified of water and the shore here is three notches more terrifying with the waves and extreme cold.

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The trees near the shore become beautiful hosts for icicles.  I saw the ice on trees right on the shore to all the way back 15-20 feet.  I’d imagine the high winds during the vortex caused the icy art on the trees farther inland.

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With all the ice and the sun shining bright, I had to try to shoot something that showcased both.  So, here’s one attempt at that:

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I also liked that one in black and white:

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Here’s one with a little more reference to where this was in relation to the water:

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And here’s what happens when you play with the white balance in post production:

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And here’s one more that I took at the shore in Bailey’s Harbor (20 min north of Cave Point).  I like it for the pattern and repetition.

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Thanks for humoring me and looking at these.  Let me know what you think.  My camera is an old one now and it still does a decent job if I know what I am doing.

Story Telling: Warmth (Week 4 Challenge)

52 Week Challenge, Houdini, Objects

I am a little late getting this one posted.    Another somewhat busy week and the weather was so craptastic that it was hard to find the motivation to shoot.  However, this week was probably a better week for this challenge than I would have initially thought.

Lots of snow.  Plenty of chill.  Should be easy to show some kind of warmth in contrast to the winter.  The featured photo here isn’t the one I chose, but it is a damn good example of what I was thinking.  Here are a handful of the options I had for my official week 4 selection:

Now, the header footer and the hot cocoa photos are completely fine and dandy.  However, I set a personal side challenge for this week to submit a picture that didn’t directly or indirectly include my faithful sidekick, Houdini.  He’s a handsome German Shepherd and deserves to be featured as much as possible, but not this week for the sake of me trying to do something different.  That’s what you’ll see him in the top image of this post.  Well, you see his silhouette in the featured image.  It’s great and tells a story, but it isn’t the one I went with.  This however, is my submission:

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Just nothing but me and the warmth of the fire on the coldest night of the year (-50ish with the windchill).  It is simple, to the point, and should make you feel the warmth through your screen.   Let me know what you think of any of these.

Last week was a black and white photo of inspiration.

The week before that was a motion shot.

Inspiration: Black and White

52 Week Challenge, Houdini, pets

We’re at the week three point in this 52 week challenge.  I’ll be entirely honest.  I’m having a tough time finding the extra time to devote to the challenge.  Life happens.  However, I am still committed to getting something submitted each week.

This week, we had to take a photo to be done in black and white.  The idea around it was one word: inspiration.  Well, when I can’t go out and shoot something out in the external world, I find inspiration in my world.  Realistically speaking, of of the more inspiring aspects of my life is my faithful pooch, Houdini.  Sure, I used a pic of him last week.  However, I had a great opportunity for a nice shot on Saturday morning with the light coming through the living room window.  So yeah, here’s my week 3 submission.

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Here’s an alternate version of the same photo, but I didn’t think it was as dramatic.  Maybe I am wrong tho:

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Here’s another one from that morning that didn’t make the official cut, but I’ll be damned if he isn’t handsome anyway:

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And finally, here’s one from a couple weeks back that I wish I had taken this week so it was eligible for the challenge:

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Here’s last week if you want to check it out.

And week one too.

Let me know what you think in the comments.

Composition: Rule of Thirds Motion (Week 2 Challenge)

52 Week Challenge, Houdini, Nature, pets

This one is up a little late.

Oops.  Life happens.  It’s been a busy week.  However, I was able to capture a photo that I think goes with the theme.  The idea is to use the rule of thirds for composition and somehow demonstrate motion with your photo.

So, here it is.  My all-time favorite subject doing is all-time favorite activity.  Houdini jumping to catch a snowball.  Seriously, there’s nothing in life that he loves more.  Honestly, action shots of this boy are some of the best things I capture.

So yeah, here’s my Dogwood Photo Challenge Week 2 selection:

german shepherd jumps, dog, winter, wisconsin

Here’s what I did last week.

Next week, the challenge is “Inspiration: Black and White”

Story Telling: Self-Portrait (Week 1 Challenge)

52 Week Challenge, Objects, pets, Uncategorized

Here is is.  My week 1 submission for the Dogwood Photography Challenge.  The category was Story Telling: Self-Portrait.  Basically, we had to do a portrait that doesn’t show our face, but does tell something about who we are.  Some folks obscured their face in some way.  Others did more of an environmental portrait.    I chose that route.  Here’s a little bit about me, in one shot.

#dogwood2019,#dogwoodweek#dogwood52, #dogwood2019, #dogwoodweek1

Photography Challenge: Week 1 Early Efforts

52 Week Challenge, Uncategorized

Hi, as you read the other day, I am partaking in the Dogwood Photograph 52 Week Photography Challenge.  The first week’s challenge involves a self-portrait that tells a story about you without showing your face.  Seeing as photography is an art, I decided to take my own interpretation of the week’s category.  With that being said, my idea was to shoot an environmental portrait that doesn’t feature me directly.

I decided to show my world, so to speak.  Where I live, work, hangout.  Stuff like that.  So, here is what I’ve got so far.  One of these might be what I go with for the challenge.  I still might find something else.   Feel free to let me know what you think.

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52 Week Photo Challenge

52 Week Challenge

This year I stumbled upon a Facebook Group that offers a 52 week challenge to photographers.  When I say “stumbled upon” I mean that I found a Lifehacker post about it on Facebook.  This challenge, presented by Dogwood Photography, offers weekly themes for photographers to work their craft.  Participants submit one photo weekly based on the presented criteria.

The first week is something I’ve sort of done in the past.  The challenge asks photographers to compose a self portrait that tells who you are without actually showing your face.  When taking classes, I did something similar to this, but not for myself.  I can’t wait to jump in and do this.  I’ve got some ideas rolling around in my head already.

I feel like I’ve drifted away from the craft this year.  I hope being involved with this will renew my drive to see the world in unique ways.  If this challenge interests you, I recommend checking it out.  The full list of weekly challenges can be found here.   The Facebook Group with the rules can be found here.  Check it out and let me know what you think.