Day 181 Snow-Shoe Hare

Snow-Shoe Hare

There is a massive overpopulation of Snow-Shoe Hares on the north shore fo Lake Superior. I have hunted some and gotten some great shots this being one of the best. (hehehe did you get my awful joke :D) I was returning home after a community event and this guy and one other hare were sitting right outside the front door. I snapped rapid-fire while I slowly got closer and closer until they ran away. I did manage to get very close, close enough to have it fill the frame even more than in this photograph. I am very happy with managing to make a good photograph of one more North Shore species.

Day 180 Pizza Crape

Pizza Crape

Before graduation the head took all us seniors out for a crape dinner. It was very good and we also got to learn a trick about how to make good thin crapes in a standard skillet. So Laura and I, mostly Laura, have been making many crapes. I made this one and was very pleased with myself and how I made it look like a pizza slice. I just had to record that moment and I actually liked the photograph artistically as well.

Day 179 Storm Arriving on Lake Superior

Storm Arriving on Lake Superior

Another photograph of the little island located within sight of Split Rock Lighthouse where I work. This time there was no fog or mist but there were nice big puffy clouds rolling in getting pushed by the coming thunderstorm.

Day 178 Power Drill!

Power Drill!

I was looking around the house for cool ways for me to use my flash. I ended up really liking this one because fo the stark side angle light creating nice contrast between bright yellow and dark.

Day 177 Colorful Summer, Flower

Colorful Summer, Flower

I enjoy photographing flowers. I have not done a whole lot of it recently because I do not have a real good micro lens. I do like this one though because I like the contrast of the rich green background with the bright colors fo the flower. I also like how the different petals of the flower spread out from the center filling the frame.

Day 176 Fire Candles

Fire Candles

Laura and I made a massive bonfire today. We were trying to burn up a large brush pile, burn up a large scrap wood pile, roast smore's, burn old(possibly contaminated) bee hives. We accomplished all of that with some help from the whole family to feed to fire. The smore's were a challenge due to the heat of the fire and we would have to hold it way out on the end of the 6 feet or longer stick with our back to the fire and keep switching hands so they didn't burn. But we managed to get a few and all the piles are happily gone. Laura couldn't just watch all the old beeswax burn so she saved some of it and made these two candles. I photographed them and liked the simplicity of this photograph more than the craziness of the hug fire.

Day 175 Sunset Colors on Lake Superior

Sunset Colors on Lake Superior

Lake Superior is a beautiful lake. There is a huge fire in Canada right now and the smoke is getting blown here and making haze. I think that that haze is partly why the colors were so neat tonight. I returned to Split Rock Lighthouse for sunset after having worked there all day. Why you might ask, well because the lighthouse was being lit and I wanted to see and photograph it. I did get to do that and got some nice shots I am happy with but this photograph was the one that drew my eye fro today. This was made while walking down to the shoreline before the light was lit and I loved the beautiful colors on a mostly smooth lake seen through the trees.

Day 174 Rising Mist off Lake Superior

Rising Mist off Lake Superior

Lake Superior has a lot of beautiful mist and fog days. There have been many of those recently partly because of the rainy stormy weather. I like this one because of how the island is clearly visible in a gap in the mist and how the mist continues into the background in the top right corner.

Day 173 Zuly Wading the Flood

Zuly Wading the Flood

We all went down to check out the flooded road today. We got around 4 inches of rain in one storm. The water was over our knees in places and we had fun getting the canoe out and paddling over the road, now river. Zuly had some fun to wading around in the water and smiling at us. I made many photographs of her having fun but this one is the best because how I caught her lapping up water for. This was also a good time to use the rule of thirds to make the composition more interesting.

Day 172 David Playing Cards

David Playing Cards

Being at home I have been photographing things and people around the house a lot. I like this one of David, my dad. He is playing a card game and is wearing his glasses. he complains about needing the glasses all the time and has 12 pairs so he can always at least find one of them. I read a book about on camera flash techniques and learned and relearned a lot from it. I used one of its main points and didn't bounce the flash directly above but off to the side some giving nicer shadows and no dark eye shadows.

Day 171 Flowing Clouds

Flowing Clouds

With all the crazy storms we have had recently there have been a lot of neat clouds. I like the dark trees centered with the cloud "waves" emanating from them. I like the pattern of white cloud intermixed with blue sky and then some hazy gray clouds mixed in.

Day 170 Guarding the Shore

Guarding the Shore

Another day at the lighthouse. I haven't ran out of different interesting photographs of Split Rock Lighthouse yet but I do expect it to start getting more difficult. I like the way the lighthouse is very imposing and how you can see the shoreline partly covered with fog in the background.

Day 169 Trailing Clouds

Trailing Clouds

Last night there was a big thunder storm. This was made the next morning as I was driving to work. Well not while I was driving, I stopped and pulled over to try and capture this spectacle. There were these trails/tails/streamers of clouds flowing out away from the receding thunderhead. I have never seen clouds like these ones. They were all lined up each with a peak in the middle and frills off ether sides of the botom. I can not describe the breathtaking way they looked and felt. This picture gives them some justice but it can never be like standing below these amazing clouds.

Day 168 Foggy Kayaking

Foggy Kayaking

Today was a nice foggy day on Lake Superior. What was neat though was when some kayakers paddled out of the fog hiding the lake. Luckily I have been carrying a point and shoot camera around when I can't have my DSLR so I was able to capture it. I like having the cliff in the foreground for perspective and then the five kayaks paddling through the corner veiled by fog.

Day 167 Empty Bird Nest

Empty Bird Nest

I went exploring today mostly hunting for Snowshoe Hares to photograph. I did finally find a few and make some photographs but this one I got while searching won out. The biting bugs were awful which is partly why I didn't get the Snowshoe Hare photographs I wanted. I really like the use of the "rule of thirds" in this photograph and how the nest is nestled in the branches. I helped to photographically express that coziness by framing both sides with trees.

Day 166 Pussywillow, My Cat

Pussywillow, My Cat

I have photographed Pussywillow a lot and think she is very photogenic. The problem is that photos of other peoples pets really are not very inspiring since you don't have the same personal connection with that pet. However I really, really, really liked this one. Right away when I made it I knew I liked it. I like how she is looking at the camera, is not totally centered, her nose is in sharp focus and finally the close crop with a plain background. It reminds me of photographs that I have seen of big cats and I think it is a very nice portrat of her.

Day 165 Flower Girl

Flower Girl

I was at a father-son banquet listening to a music performance. Like usual I had not made enough photos for the day and also wanted to try and get some nice ones of the event. All the tables had flowers on them and the one on the table next to me framed this lady watching the music so nicely. There were some other ones from this event that were in hot competition but this one won out.

Day 164 Split Rock Lighthouse, Hiding

Split Rock Lighthouse, Hiding

Another day at work, more photographs of the lighthouse. I like this one because of the way the very top of the lighthouse is peaking over the trees and on the other side a tree is clearly defined against the sky. This is one of those time that I used the rule of thirds.

Day 163 Dandelion

Dandelion

I really like the intricacy of flowers and especially dandelions. I was wishing I had a good micro lens for this but made due with what was available. I played around with focusing on the tops of the fronds and on the center "roots." I liked the one focused on the "roots" best for this close up.

Day 162 Laura

Laura

Laura got some new cloths and was very happy with them. I managed to capture that happiness in this photograph. I like her natural smile and pose, leaning forward with her one arm opening up the front and the other keeping you looking at her face.

Day 160 What make photos but is never Seen

What make photos but is never Seen

Waiting till the last minute to make my photographs for the day I looked around and trying to take interesting and artistic photographs of mundane things around me. This one turned out best from this batch. I also like how it is of camera equipment. changing it to black and white gave it a nice feel that makes me think of the film erra.

Day 159 Sunset Thunder

Sunset Thunder

I was sitting inside enjoying not being out in the thunder storm. As it started to move on the sun came out right as the alpine glow started. The big dark thunderheads were still near by and provided such a great contrast of color and brightness. I couldn't resist so I ran outside and made some photographs. This was my favorite because it shows the contrast well and I like the white trunks of the birch providing something to focus on.

Day 158 Day Moon

Day Moon

I really like all the different beautiful clouds that can be seen and photographed. This time I put the black silhouette of trees infront to provide contrast. Then since it was just the one cloud I put the moon high in the sky. I like the simplicity and how much of the fram is plain sky. It is a nice change from most of my photographs.

Day 157 Azul

Azul

Called Zully for short my family has had this dog for a long time. She is now getting old and does not have the same endless energy. She is still beautiful and I have photographed her regularly. However I think this is my best one to date. I love the clarity, contrast and drama of the composition. I also like how her eye and nose are equally in focus allowing you too look into her eyes and reminding you that the nose is just as important.

Day 156 Cookout

Cookout

We were all out braving the biting bugs to have a fire and roast some marshmallows. I love fire and love photographing it. I like the merging diagonal lines in this photograph. Tremayne and his stick with Laura and hers both meeting at the fire. There are lots of symbolism that could be given to that but I will let you decide for yourself.

Day 155 Split Rock Lighthouse, From Below

Split Rock Lighthouse, From Below

Today was another day of orientation for my new job and this time there were some pretty clouds in the sky. I really like the angle of this photograph which gives an imposing feel to the lighthouse. I also like how the clouds and only right above the lighthouse and not around the edges almost like hats in the sky.

Day 154 Split Rock Lighthouse, Over Lake

Split Rock Lighthouse, Over Lake

I started my first day of work at Split Rock Lighthouse today. I got the big grand tour which provided some nice opportunities to photograph the site. I like this one because it is a classic look for the lighthouse with nice rich colors. I do wish that the sky had been more interesting.

Day 153 Seasonal Movement

Seasonal Movement

I woke up and hear the loud sounds of a couple flocks of geese flying north overhead. I was glad that I had brought my camera to the Chaletini. I like all the diagonals in this composition. I also like how much detail there is in the geese if you zoom in.

Day 152 Sifting Beans

Sifting Beans

Here is Lise, my mother, preparing to cook beans. I liked the symmetry of her sifting through the beans for stones. I then made the photograph from a high angle bouncing the flash off the wall to get nice side lighting.