WATCHING THE SUNSET

Beach at Petoskey State Park, Lake Michigan

I guess it’s time to treat you with another photo from our recent trip to Michigan.

The beach at Petoskey State Park was a perfect place to watch the sunset from the east side of Lake Michigan. Many people from the campground behind the dunes came out and enjoyed the moment.

First I hesitated to include this aluminum walkway into my photo but then I liked how the sun was reflected on it all the way to the lower edge of the image. It also adds a little more story to the picture. Michigan’s state parks were all well maintained and offered visitors and campers with disabilities good opportunities to enjoy the great outdoors. This aluminum walk- or driveway allows people in wheelchairs to access the lake with its crystal clear water.

Nikon Z6II, Nikkor Z 24-70, f/4 S, GITZO tripod GT2931 Basalt, KIRK BH-3 ball head,   @ 62mm, 1/640s, f/8, ISO 100, image slightly cropped

EVENING AT THE DUNES

Sand Dunes at Petoskey State Park, Lake Michigan

Already deep in our vacation a long day of travel led us to Petoskey State Park at the northeast shore of Lake Michigan. When your senses are still trapped in a driving state it is more than a pleasure to walk barefoot on the access trail over the dunes to the beach and unwind by sitting in the sand and wait for the sunset. As much as we loved the beautiful weather, with lots of sun for camping and relaxing, but with hardly any clouds in the sky, the photographer rolls his eyes…

Well, it was time to make the best out of it and embrace the soft light of the setting sun over the dunes along Little Traverse Bay at Lake Michigan.

On a not so unimportant note, it always amazes me how disrespectful many people are to nature and rules that try to protect our natural treasures. The campground was on the other side side of the dunes, and it is not a small one. Posted signs and fences make it very clear that walking across the dunes outside of the access trails may increase erosion and can lead to destruction of the dunes. The many human tracks in the sand make me wondering how many people in this country can’t read, or just give a dam about their natural resources… Very sad!

PORT WASHINGTON BREAKWATER LIGHTHOUSE, FIRST TRY

Port Washington Breakwater Lighthouse, Lake Michigan, Wisconsin

During business trips in the eastern part of Wisconsin I always enjoy a stop somewhere along the shore of Lake Michigan and especially if there is a lighthouse nearby. Port Washington Breakwater Lighthouse has been long on my radar but this week was the first time I was able to visit it. While heading east I started worrying long before I even saw the lake, due to the fact that I didn’t see a single cloud in the sky. Just a blue sky seems always a bit boring and it takes some thoughts to find a way to overcome what the ”beautiful” weather may present.

Walking on a pier didn’t leave many choices about getting lower or higher above the sea level. Putting the horizon line and the lighthouse on the left in places that go along with the ”rule of thirds” was a way to start this composition intent. So, now what? I saw a few gulls flying around over the entrance to the marina of Port Washington and waited until two of them filled the spot above the pier on the left and right. The birds don’t become the subject of this photo but the triangle between the two lighthouse points and the gulls make the eye go around in the photo. It’s definitely a picture that wants me to come back again during the hour before sunset and maybe we can see then a little more drama in the frame…

BACK AT THE LIGHTHOUSE

Manitowoc Breakwater Lighthouse, Lake Michigan, Wisconsin

I’m back from probably my last business trip this year, this time to the western shore of Lake Michigan. Native Americans, who called this place home in the days before European settlement, named it Manitowoc, home of the good spirits. I have been there before in September 2021 and came back with some pictures of the Manitowoc Breakwater Lighthouse that marks the entrance to the marina. (Click HERE for a link to my blog post from last year )

This time the image was was created from a different angle and different light. The late afternoon sun was muted by a layer of clouds but the building stood out against the darker clouds over the lake. A little snow on the ice in the foreground and tweaking the white balance towards a colder tone give this photo the peaceful wintry mood I felt yesterday at the lake shore. Maybe this was just the prelude to a big snowstorm and arctic temperatures that are expected here in the Midwest still before Christmas…

Nikon Z6II, Nikon FTZ adapter, Nikon Nikkor AF-S 70-200mm, f/4,  @ 200mm, 1/400s, f/5.6, ISO 400

MANITOWOC BREAKWATER LIGHTHOUSE

Manitowoc Breakwater Lighthouse, Lake Michigan, Wisconsin

Whenever I go on a business trip I take the camera with me, although quite often I don’t find the time to do some serious photography. Today I was a little early for an appointment with a customer in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. Clouds and light looked kinda promising and so I went quickly down to Lake Michigan to make a few clicks of the Manitowoc Breakwater Lighthouse, that marks the entrance to the marina at the north pier. At arrival in the parking lot I realized that it was quite a long walk to get an unobstructed view of the lighthouse. I did it anyway, shot for three minutes and ran back to the car to make the appointment on time. It was worth the effort. Although the sun was behind my subject, nice clouds in the background, the sun reflecting on the water, and even a few waves crashing onto the pier were all good ingredients for this photo.

Nikon D750, Nikkor 70-200mm / f/4, @ 200 mm, 1/1000 s, f/5.6, ISO100

LESS IS MORE

Lake Michigan, Door Peninsula, Wisconsin ------

Today’s cameras have a lot of dynamic range, about 2-3 stops of light more than the good old film cameras. This is for some people still not enough and they employ HDR  (high dynamic range) software to get even more than just a black dot out of a mouse hole in the ground (Am I too sarcastic? 😉). There is actually nothing wrong with that, it just may not benefit every kind of photo, it's overdone quite often. For me there is usual enough information stored in the RAW files that may become eventually a photo, printed or published here on the website. Romancing a landscape image does not require to see every tiny branch or making the inside of a crack in a rock visible. Less is more. Sure, in a high contrast environment the shadows can be lifted and quite often the highlights are lowered a little bit. For this photo it was all about balancing the contrast a tad to make the lines (sun spots, waves, clouds) generate some magic.

WARM KISS

Eagle Point, Peninsula State Park, Door County, Wisconsin

I’m not so much after the typical “postcard view” in my landscape photography, but when the warm sunlight “kissed” the birches below the overlook at Eagle Point I knew I had a picture that captured the mood of this late afternoon. The view goes over the northern part of the Green Bay, which was the quiet side of the Door Peninsula that Friday after Thanksgiving. As you maybe remember from my previous posts, the waves of Lake Michigan crushed heavily into the rocky shore on the southeast side on that day. The clouds over Horseshoe Island are not strong enough to be the subject in this photo but make the image a lot more interesting than just a plain blue sky.

THE TWISTED TREE (2x)

This twisted American Arborvitae was sprayed by the waves from the surf of Lake Michigan every few minutes on that windy Friday after Thanksgiving. But that wasn’t what I was aiming for. It’s the killer light on the tree that made me push the shutter release button of the camera! Oh, you don’t believe me about the spray? Well, what can I say… 😊

LIGHTHOUSES (2)

Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal Pierhead Lighthouse, Lake Michigan, Wisconsin -------

Here is another one of my favorite lighthouses on the Door Peninsula at Lake Michigan. North Pierhead Light is situated on the north pier of the southern entrance to the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal. Its red color makes quite often for a nice color contrast and the pier and dunes on the south side of the canal provide many interesting perspectives for making a click.

Nikon D750, Nikkor 16-35mm / f4, @ 16 mm, 1/400s, f/13, ISO100, Induro GIT 404XL tripod, KIRK BH-3 ball head

When I saw the big ship on the horizon moving into the frame I envisioned a shot that includes both, the lighthouse and the boat. As the ship was behind the lighthouse the building was still in the shade, but finally the clouds opened a small gap and direct sunlight hit the red lighthouse just right. You can see by the colors of the water how this all played out in our favor. 

Nikon D750, Sigma 150mm / f2.8 APO EX DG HSM, @1/1000 s, f4, ISO 100, Induro GIT 404XL tripod, KIRK BH-3 ball head

LIGHTHOUSES (1)

Algoma Pierhead Light, Lake Michigan, Wisconsin

Visiting the lighthouses on the Door Peninsula in Lake Michigan is always a highlight of our trips up there. Most of them we have photographed before but every time it is different. Light and weather are never the same and looking at my older pictures reveals that some of the towers and buildings have undergone some reconstruction or maintenance.

We went as far south as Algoma, Wisconsin, to make a new photo of the Algoma Pierhead Light. Three years ago the pier had a nice ice cover but gray weather and fog didn’t lead to satisfying results. The lighthouse has a new paint and although this picture was shot in the early afternoon the light was just gorgeous.

Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal Lighthouse, Lake Michigan, Wisconsin

The photo of the Coast Guard Station was shot across the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal that was opened for large-scale watercraft in 1890. The canal connects the Green Bay with Lake Michigan. The Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal Lighthouse is located within the premises.

MORE THAN JUST A CLOUD

Lake Michigan, White Dunes State Park, Door County, Wisconsin --------   

About a week ago I wrote about how the light itself can become the subject in a photo.  http://www.exnerimages.net/blog/2017/11/20/when-light-becomes-the-subject  I wouldn’t argue if someone who looks at this picture says, the cloud is the subject. That was at least my intend, but when the water in front of me was shaded by some dark clouds right above us and the reflections of the cloud over the horizon created some magic on the waves, I knew there was more than just a cloud in this image.

SURF’S UP

Lake Michigan, White Dunes State Park, Door County, Wisconsin

When the waves crush into the shore of Lake Michigan it’s time to get the tripod out and have a great time behind the camera. Yesterday was without any doubt one of the best days for shooting the surf. As long as you manage to stay safe and keep the photo gear dry, there are no limits to try out techniques and experiment with exposure times and different camera settings. No photo will ever be the same, even if several shots were made within a second or two. The difficulty starts in front of the computer screen, where the decision needs to be made what images tell the story the best…

ICICLES, BUT NOT WINTER YET

Icicles, Cana Island, Door County, Lake Michigan, Wisconsin

Happy Thanksgiving to all friends, family, and readers of my blog! Joan and I spend the long weekend up on the Door Peninsula at Lake Michigan in Wisconsin. After having a delicious Thanksgiving meal we wanted to burn some calories and took advantage of the gorgeous sunny weather up here. A visit of Cana Island Lighthouse has been always part of the program when we were up in Door County before and that’s where we did some walking and shooting pictures again today.

The photo of these iced bushes at the shore of the island suggests that it is very cold but it actually isn’t. There is no snow on the ground and the wind was moderate so far. However, it was still strong enough to create a nice surf along the shore of Lake Michigan, which probably formed the ice on the branches during the night.