It is a rare opportunity having weather conditions come together with dramatic skies, so when it happens it’s time to grab the camera and head out for a tranquil walk with nature. The average high temperature on an early December day in Michigan is in the mid 30s; so when temps hit 60 deg last Saturday afternoon it was highly unusual. Unfortunately the weather pattern that gave us a beautiful warm day also spawned severe storms across the southern states, just brushing southern Michigan enough for some dramatic skies and brisk winds. Warm temperatures, sunshine, and beautiful clouds made for a perfect, unplanned, photo afternoon. I offer up two images I captured that day that really shimmered for me. Please enjoy them and let me know what you think.
My first image shimmered at me almost as soon as I started down the trail at Watkins Lake. The small bare shrub ready for a long winter sleep, standing next to old wooden stockade fencing jumped out at me. I’ve walked past this structure numerous times with hardly a second glance. This time the composition set against the storm cloud sky screamed black and white image. I love the high contrast of the features and the way the fence leads you into the scene.
Because of the chill winds I did much of the hike through the hilly forest areas along the eastern side of the lake. I took several nice images but none of them struck me as particularly special; I think snow on the ground would have helped, but that was not going to happen at 60 deg! Once I worked my way back down to the shoreline of the lake I found my next composition looking south along the eastern shoreline, into the sun peeking from behind the storm clouds and heading toward sunset. The drama of the scene left me in awe.
Saturday was a great day to be out in nature at one of my favorite hiking locations. I expect next time there will be snow on the ground and ice on the water, with the making for another adventure. I look forward to getting back to walking the deer trails through the heavily wooded parts of the park – a little too dangerous right now until hunting season concludes after the holidays, so stay tuned. If you enjoyed this Journal entry, please drop me a comment below, and feel free to share with your friends.
Terrance Alexander