Today I took Lacey up to the Lake Metroparks Canine Meadows dog park. What a fantastic property. It's a well maintained and very large park. Lacey had a blast.
Sunset at Fairport Beach Mardi Gras
in photography
Mother Nature decided to put on a colorful show the two nights prior to Independence Day (fireworks night for those of us in Fairport).
Lake Metroparks Photo Contest 2016
in photography
This was my third year entering photos in the Lake Metroparks (Ohio) Photo Contest. There were 6 categories in the contest, I chose three photos to enter - one each in Lake Erie, Black & White, and Landscape/Floral. I was honored to receive First Place ribbons for all three photos.
The Birds is one of my favorite photos and has been quite popular on social media. I went to Headlands Beach State Park to photograph a sunset. I was sitting on the beach about 15 feet from the water's edge. Gulls were hanging out on the beach behind me. The ranger came by in a four-wheeler startling the birds who took off in flight. I continued taking pictures, thinking these would likely be throw away shots - I normally don't like birds in my photos. When I opened the photos in Lightroom, I was pleasantly surprised with the composition. After some post processing for color and exposure, I came up with the shot.
Available for purchase: http://fineartamerica.com/featured/the-birds-adam-kilbourne.html
Category: Lake Erie
Category: Black & White
The White Lighthouse. Fairport Harbor has two lighthouses, a historic one up on the hill and an active one at the junction of Lake Erie and the Grand River. The day I shot this image, the sky was overcast and the water was fairly calm, but not smooth as glass. At the horizon, the sky almost faded into the water. With some creative post processing, I made the horizon disappear and completed some other cleanup to produce the final image.
Available for purchase: http://fineartamerica.com/featured/white-lighthouse-adam-kilbourne.html
Category: Landscape/Floral
The Magical Garden. Every summer the Holden Arboretum hosts a summer concert series. This particular evening, the temperature dropped about 15 degrees during the 90 minute concert. The sky had potential for a nice sunset, so I grabbed my camera from the car. As I walked back to the butterfly garden, the mist was rising from the drop in temperature. I was able to setup and take multiple photos to create a panoramic image.
Available for purchase: http://fineartamerica.com/featured/garden-in-the-mist-adam-kilbourne.html
Sunset at Fairport Harbor Beach
in photography
Abstract sunset
Fisherman at Sunset
in photography
Lake Erie Bluffs
A couple weeks ago a photographer friend was in town from Central Pennsylvania. We visited several photographic hot spots in the area. The sky looked promising for a nice sunset, so we went to Lake Erie Bluffs. When we got there, the horizon was covered with clouds, limiting the color in the sky. I was able to get a shot with a deep red sky and lots of contrast.
A week later the sky was like a painting.
Dog Park
Today I took my new dog, Lacey, to the dog park to meet my parents' dogs on neutral ground. The park was a little muddy. Lacey was really good about not getting dirty, but Roman decided he didn't want to be blonde anymore. Lacey is a social butterfly, and likes meeting and playing with other dogs. Gabby and Roman, not so much. They would rather stick with each other.
Norfolk - Virginia Beach
On a recent trip to Norfolk - Newport News - Virginia Beach I did some exploring with my friend, Tom. The bulk of these photos are from Fort Monroe.
La Grange Sunrise
Staying at a friend's house in La Grange, Texas, this was the morning view.
Ice Beach
in photography
Tried to catch a sunset at Lake Erie Bluffs. The sunset was average, but the beach was covered in large chunks of ice, for added interest.
BBBS NEO Festival of Trees Gala
Tonight was the finale of an eleven month project that involved planning, prepping and decorating a Christmas Tree for the FoT Gala. Working with my design partner, Jessica Maron, we created an Art Collector Tree that received the award for Best Design as well as selling for $2600 - the most of any tree this year.
A long-time friend, Jennifer Jochum attended the event with me.
The decorations include hand painted, by Jessica and myself, replicas of paintings by famous artists. Additional details inlcude custom paint can labels, and artists pallettes.
In addition to showcasing our creativity, we wanted to highlight some local artists. Several friends who work as artists full-time or as a side job or hobby, were willing to donate art work to be given with the tree. A huge thank you for the contributions of M.E. Kuzma, Amy Lauria, Tim Long, and Shirley Slemc. Also, Jane Young Swank donated time and materials to create the paint puddle tree skirt.
A side note. Photosharing/Social Media app Instagram had a significant role in this tree/event. Jessica and I met at an Instagram meetup almost 2 years ago. Tim Long who donated a piece of art, and Paul Evans who attended the event are part of this same Instagram group.
Chapin Forest in Autumn
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Yesterday I made my first trip to Chapin Forest. The leaves are about at their Autumn peak. There is a really nice lookout up on the ledges that provides a view of Downtown Cleveland, 18 miles away.
Holden Arboretum in the Fall
in photography
Last weekend I visited the Holden Arboretum, did my first turn in the Canopy Walk, and second time on the Emergent Tower. The views from both are fantastic. Unfortunately I was probably one week too early for the peak color.
Cleveland Air Show Part II
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This series includes details of some of the static (display) aircraft, as well as some flight shots with different post-processing.
Cleveland National Air Show
in photography
My Uncle Jim was a 20 year Air Force crewman. For most of his career he was a Loadmaster on C-130 aircraft. He was excited to go to the Cleveland National Air Show at Burke Lakefront Airport yesterday. In addition to seeing some great flying acts, Jim got to tour a newer C-130 and talk to the Loadmaster of that aircraft.
The first round of photos are of the planes in flight. The next round will be detail shots, artistic shots, and general show photos.
Minimalist Gulls
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Went to the beach hoping to create another epic shot of "The Birds!" however the sky and the birds did not cooperate. Instead I played around with individual birds in flight and got these minimalist photos.
National Packard Museum
in photography
Last weekend I did a photowalk in Trumbull County with my Instagram buddy, Paul. We came across the National Packard Museum in Warren, Ohio. It's a wonderful little volunteer run museum with a fantastic collection of automobiles, mostly Packards, but a few others are on display. If you are in the area, I recommend checking it out.
Mist in the Butterfly Garden
in photography
After a heavy rain, the temperature drop caused a fog to float just above the ground at the holden Arboretum. Made a beautiful backdrop in the gardens.
The Birds!
Normally I don't like birds in my shots. They usually look like sensor dust. I lucked into this shot, when the birds were startled by the Ranger, and they flew into the sunset.
This image is available as a print on a variety of media at Fine Art America. http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/adam-kilbourne.html
Cuyahoga Valley National Park
in photography
I met up with a fellow photo enthusiast familiar with some of the locations within the CVNP. Here's a collection of photos from that hike. Blue Hen falls are quite beautiful, and I probably have an over-abundance of pictures, but I was experimenting from different vantage points. I couldn't decide which views I liked best.
