Upper Thornapple Dam

[singlepic id=1376 w=480 float=left] I got off the water just in time to avoid the lightning, but the clouds were pretty cool looking so I lurked around the park just under the upper Thornapple River dam to take some pictures. Picture taken with Sony a6000, SEL 18-200mm lens @ 18mm,… Continue reading

Sunset

[singlepic id=1374 w=480 float=left] Sunset from the South end Comstock Riverside Park at the end of a run.  This is my current favorite place to run because it’s a pretty nice park and because I know the markers for common distances out and back. Picture taken with Samsung Galaxy S4,… Continue reading

Moonrise over Reed’s Lake

[singlepic id=1373 w=480 float=left] Took an evening to experiment with moonrise photography and took this one of the moonrise over Reed’s Lake in East Grand Rapids. I think the key to moon photography is having a clear view of something interesting but far away to make a foreground.  I only… Continue reading

Chimneys Trail

[singlepic id=1329 h=480 float=left] The trail up to the Chimneys in the Smoky Mountains.  There is supposedly a gorgeous panoramic view at the top.  It was white for 360 degrees, but we kind of anticipated that given the fog on the trail which was pretty cool in and of itself…. Continue reading

Stinking Benjamin

[singlepic id=1328 w=480 float=left] The rare, and much sought after, Stinking Benjamin!  A red variety of trillium that we were keeping an eye out for the entire trip.  From Wikipedia: “The flowers have the smell of rotting meat, as they are pollinated by flies.” Picture taken with Sony a6000, SEL… Continue reading

Gray Heron

[singlepic id=1327 h=480 float=left] Followed this gray heron for a while – I’m not sure if I was bothering it, it was on the other side of a river and I was shooting with a 420mm lens, but I’m not familiar with herons roosting in trees either. Picture taken with… Continue reading

Creepy Crawly

[singlepic id=1326 w=480 float=left] Here’s a creepy crawly (millipede) that we came across because, when you’re in the woods and you see a bug, you aught photograph that bug.  Found on the trail to Rainbow Falls. Picture taken with Sony a6000, SEL 18-200mm lens @165mm, 1/60 sec, f/6.3, ISO 1600

Spider Web

[singlepic id=1324 w=480 float=left] A spider web, on a fence, by a restroom, that was open at 7AM…  I was trying to keep the background in focus, thus the f/18, but apparently that wasn’t going to get quite enough DOF.  Calculator says I only had about 3″ of depth behind… Continue reading