Winter Sunset on Lake Erie

January 28, 2018 in photography

The sunsets on the south shore of Lake Erie are not quite as brilliant in the winter, due to the position of the sun in the sky. The sun sets south of the lake and doesn't usually light up the clouds. Tonight was just pretty, because the water was so calm in the harbor. The puffy clouds in the sky picked up a little color, but were mostly muted.

The still water made for nice reflections of the light house. And the moon made an early appearance.

I finally put my new tripod and Platypod to use. A couple behind the scenes shot highlight the gear. Both are fantastic.

Clouds Around the Lighthouse

July 10, 2017 in photography

I took Lacey for a walk past the beach and noticed the cloud layer behind the Fairport Harbor Lighthouse. I went back home to get my camera and telephoto lens.

First Beautiful Weekend of the Year

April 13, 2014 in photography

This weekend in Ohio the temperatures got into the 70s. It was so beautiful I had to take a ride over to Headlands Beach State Park to watch the sunset and photograph the lighthouse. On the drive over, the sky showed potential for a nice sunset. It turned out to be lackluster, but was still worth the trip to be out in the nice weather. Tonight also appears to be a full moon, or possibly one day shy of it.

Lighthouse from a New Location

June 07, 2013 in photography, art

The Fairport Harbor Lighthouse at Headlands Beach sits on jetty along the west side of the Grand River. From Fairport Beach the lighthouse is only accessible by boat. From Headlands Beach, you can hike to it. This photo was taken from the walkway south of the lighthouse along the jetty. Using a neutral density filter I was able to smooth the water. The sky didn't have much happening, but after post-processing it looks a bit like a water color.

What's most exciting for me is this location provides a nice composition that isn't shown much. This photo was taken in a scouting hike, looking for new locations. I know what to do now, so I can be better prepared the next time the sky cooperates.

iPad photo editing

May 17, 2013

I've been using the iPad to edit photos for a couple years now. I still use my MacBook Pro for the majority of my processing, but some photos are fun to work with on the iPad. Especially those that were shot with my iPhone. My go to app is Camera+. The iPad version of the app has a number of features not available on the iPhone version, including the ability to use multiple effects. The iPad app also allows editors to paint in or erase out the effects on specific areas of the image. The iPhone version only allows percentage adjustments to the entire image.

The two photos below were taken with the iPhone while out walking the dog this evening. I transferred the images to the iPad for editing.