Feeling of accomplishment

 

I spent the last two evenings down in the valley of the Little Maquoketa River. The sun is already very strong and melts the snow we had lately very quickly during the day. Beside giving our little dog (and of course ourselves ;-)  ) some badly needed exercise I wanted to use the fact that there was still some snow on the ground in combination with the nice weather for making some clicks. There are an awful lot of bare trees and branches along the trail in the valley that make it difficult to get a clear view over the river and the valley. But when I saw the light hitting this tree against the dark background of the lime stone rocks I knew I had a shot. Nothing spectacular but it left me with a feeling of accomplishment while driving back home...

Nature clicks #80 - Great light, easy click

I did an inspection of our timber behind the house today in the afternoon. The snow is rapidly melting, the Black-capped Chickadees started their mating calls, and it felt a little like spring. If you are a frequent reader of my blog you know that I always look out for special light situations. The sun got diffused by a few clouds and the trees around but suddenly I saw a spot at one of our Red Cedars that got hit by a sun beam. It boosted the colors of the wood and revealed the texture of this wounded tree trunk. I was glad to have the camera with me, the clicks had to be made fast. Finishing was done in NIK Color Efex Pro 4. I love what this software does for my photography.

Nothing spectacular today, just made me feel good… :-) Have a nice Sunday!

Diversity

Nikon D300s, Nikkor 24-120, f/4

One of the things that impressed us the most was the immense diversity of trees we found in the Great Smoky Mountains. The question I asked myself was, how could I capture this in one image? Part of the answer came during a steep ascent by car to Cataloochee on the east side of the Smokies. Fast moving clouds in front of the sun with even a few rain sprinkles gave the colors of the leaves a great boost and show so the variety of trees and bushes. What no picture can transmit is the wonderful smell these forests have. Oh, just try to imagine it… I know you can't, it was heavenly… ;-)