The Joy of Oversleeping

For much of nature and landscape photography, the general rule is be early...earlier than you think is early.
Stay late, later than you think is late.
Many types of wildlife (I'm thinking birds right now) are more active at the crack of dawn and then again at dusk.

For landscapes, nice colors, skies, and shadows are also more prevalent during the "golden hours" just before and after sunrise and sunset.

With those thoughts in mind, I set my alarm to get up early and get to the Magee Marsh boardwalk shortly before sunrise and hopefully see some birds.
Except I forgot to hit save. So I woke up just minutes before sunrise, 45 minutes later than planned. I rushed out the door of our hotel for the 25 minute drive, the sun was already on the horizon. And then, a mile down the road I saw this:

Port Clinton Lighthouse at Sunrise, Port Clinton Ohio

I still managed to be the first one at the popular birding boardwalk, and did capture a few bird photos, but the photograph that made my day was that sunrise.

Cape May Warbler, Magee Marsh Wildlife Area

Great Egret, Magee Marsh Wildlife Area

Green Heron, Magee Marsh Wildlife Area

It Is The Time of The Year For...

...Reflection...


Burj Khalifa

Tree in Autumn

Barn and Willow

This Year's Version of Fall

I got around a bit these past couple weeks. No matter where I went, the trees were glorious, especially the maples. Here is a sampling:


Hoye-Crest, MD

Mt. Davis, PA

Earl H. Barnhart "Buzzard's Roost" Nature Preserve, OH

Out The Front Door, OH

Reflection Out the Backdoor, OH

To The Airport!

The oldest of my grandsons loves aircraft. This past weekend he was monitoring air traffic and noticed that a couple helicopters were taking off from Lunken Airport, flying a circuit and then landing back at the airport.

This reminded me that the "Warbirds" were there, so I had him accompany on and "errand" and I drove him down to see the planes. He especially seemed to enjoy the flyby.

Here are a few of the photos I took


"Doc's" B29 Flying Fortress Tail Gunner

One Fighter Lands, Another Takes Off

Taking a Look Through "Doc"

"Doc" is Quite Shiny!

The "Cincinnati Kid"

Fly By, B-25 in the Lead

A Fly-by of Two

The Sand Project, Part 2 - DSLR

The second half of The Sand Project
I spent a week at the beach recently and decided to do a "project" that would be naturally limited.
Images of the beach sand.

The project was limited by:
Time, I was only at the beach a week
Tide times, so the sun would be low enough to get decent shadows and contrast
People/crowds, I didn't want contend with too many people or footprints in my photos

I took two walks with my iPhone, and two walks with my "real" camera (A Canon EOS 6D Mk1 for those who might care).

Here are a half-dozen of the "real" camera images.


A Walk on the Beach

The Rapids

Sunrise

Calm

The Wilds

The Keys

The Sand Project, Part 1 - iPhone

I spent a week at the beach recently and decided to do a "project" that would be naturally limited.
Images of the beach sand.

The project was limited by:
Time, I was only at the beach a week
Tide times, so the sun would be low enough to get decent shadows and contrast
People/crowds, I didn't want contend with too many people or footprints in my photos

I took two walks with my iPhone, and two walks with my "real" camera (A Canon EOS 6D Mk1 for those who might care).

Here are a half-dozen of the iPhone images.


Scales

Creature From the Deep

Whale Tail

Tropical Islands

The Tree of Life
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Reflections

Still Life

A power outage slows things down, no internet, no TV, no lights. Life slows down.
And in the still, I noticed this scene in our living room.


Still Life

Reflections of a Garage

I'm sure this garage has seen a lot pass through its doors, and if it were an old person in his twilight years, he would reflect upon what he's seen and heard over all those years...


Reflections in the Garage Window

Reflections and Shadows

A reflection off of a neighbor's window of the rising morning sun casts a shadow on our wall


Reflections and Shadows

Out & About With the Camera

A half-dozen photos from today.
I was working on the New Year resolutions with regards to photography.
- Got out, away from the house for a bit to the (Cincinnati Nature Center)
- Took, and more importantly USED! a tripod, and only forgot to turn off the IS for one set of shots
- Used a different lens for at least some of the shots, my Lensbaby "Composer" I originally received for Christmas 2010


Winter Reflections on Fall

Fall Fades to Winter

Lensbaby Reflections

Lensbaby Reflections

Tunnel of Time

Sycamore Tree

Bonfire Time

iPhone photos from a night hike a couple evenings ago...

Moonrise

Bonfire

Festival Of Lights, Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden

Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden is a great visit any time but only during the holiday season can you walk around and check out what they have come up with in the way of Christmas lights.

Fiona in Lights Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden, Festival of Lights 2018

Lights and Lake Reflections Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden, Festival of Lights 2018

Lights and Lake Reflections II Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden, Festival of Lights 2018

Flamingos Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden, Festival of Lights 2018

Apes Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden, Festival of Lights 2018

A Geico Commercial??? Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden, Festival of Lights 2018

Elephant Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden, Festival of Lights 2018

Valley View

Valley View is a great place to walk around, check out the birds, other wildlife etc. It is especially peaceful early, before the gunfire erupts at the Milford Gun Club right across the river. Here are more than a few photos from a recent walk through the valley.

Pileated Woodpecker - Milford, Ohio

Golden-crowned Kinglet - Milford, Ohio

Honey Locust Thorns - Milford, Ohio

Moss on Fallen Tree - Milford, Ohio

Chipping Sparrow - Milford, Ohio

Chipping Sparrow - Milford, Ohio

Blue Jay - Milford, Ohio

Leaf - Milford, Ohio

Reflection - Milford, Ohio

American Goldfinch - Milford, Ohio