Yes, it’s cold!

The temperature was around -20 when I arrived at the shore of Lake Superior this morning. Many had already headed out on to the ice to set up portable shelters for fishing. Besides myself, several photographers were waiting for the sun to break the horizon. This was the first morning of our extended cold spell that I have ventured out to do some photography. We have been mostly below zero for over a week and I have not felt inclined to endure the weather if I did not have to. However, knowing that the weather was going to be warming in a few days, I layered on the winter wear and braved the cold.

I have three shots in mind for the morning. The first was to use my lens ball, the second was an ice composition and third, a frozen bubble. The lens ball image is today’s featured image. I felt safe inverting the image due to the blurred background and I like how the ball appears to be hanging from the snow. In case you noticed the black shapes to the right of the sun, those are fishing shelters.

This is a five shot bracket from a Canon 5D Mk4, Tamron SP 28-75mm, ISO 50, 75mm, f/10, 1/1– sec.

More From the Storm

An interpretation of a bracketed shot processed through Lightroom and HDR Efex Pro 2 in Photoshop.

The Lowry Ave Bridge, Part 1

Click on thumbnails to expand.

Walking from the east river side overlook, this was  the first impression of the bridge.  From this perspective the viewer is presented with the geometry of the construction, shadows from the morning sun and the white on blue of bridge and sky.  The arch gives the sense of leaping into the sky as one crosses from one side to the other.

The monochrome version strips away the color which emphasizes the lines, shapes and shadows.  Multiple leading lines take the eye from one side of the bridge to the other.  Unlike the cars and pedestrians, the eye can fly up and over the arch, perhaps taking the opportunity to imagine the view up river, all the way to the headwaters, or downriver toward the skyline of the city and eventually the Gulf of Mexico.

Canon 5D Mark ll, ISO 100, 62mm, f/7.1, 3 image bracket, HDR Efex Pro 2, Silver Efex Pro 2