Winter in the Midwest. Always cold. Often snowy. But yesterday’s 8+ inches of snow was perfect around here. It has blanketed everything with a new white layer and softened the sounds of the city. So it was with anticipation I headed once again down to my favorite beach on the way to the studio. Not sure what I would find, as Lake Michigan is different every day and as I left for the beach it was still snowing. The dark clouds overhead contrasted with the white of the ice which had been blown in with the Northeastern winds. It is not often we get this much ice built up on the lakefront here. Alone on the beach, with a cold wind still blowing the clouds quickly across the sky I worked both quickly and quietly. It seemed everywhere I looked there was a new image to be had. A wide shot before walking onto the beach, close up’s of the icebergs, shots of the old pier posts. One thing I like about digital imaging is it seems to capture a much wider range of light, from highlights to shadows. I wasn’t sure the clouds would look as dark as they seemed in real life, but they were coming out in the display, so there seemed to be no need to use the split neutral density filter to bring the brightness back into range. I was very happy when back in the studio on the color calibrated monitor they all looked great almost right out of the gate. Unfortunately I have not found a way to get that same vibrancy and luminosity online yet. Of course we all know that on the web everyone “sees” with a different monitor – most of which are not calibrated so colors and densities will be all over the place. Something which can ruin great shots, especially the one with soft delicate balances in the images such as snow shots.

But the images I found also brought about a starkness to the landscape which I fell in love with. Hopefully the images convey that feeling of isolation and emptiness. Nature is always full of surprises. Ice being blown in from across the lake, dark clouds overhead. Perfect. In the weeks ahead I will be working more with these images and hope to refine some for the fine art prints we sell online. So check back often, and of course you can ad your comments and tell us which ones you like best using the links below.

See more from this shoot using this link to our gallery:  http://www.mackphoto.com/blog/LighthouseBeachWinter/index.htmttp://www.mackphoto.com/blog/LighthouseBeachWinter/index.htm

Happy Winter! Oh, and Happy Ground Hog Day!

Richard Mack

Yesterday morning I headed down to Lighthouse Beach at 5:30am to catch the Moon, Venus and Mercury lined up in the early morning sky. I had wanted to go down on Monday morning when a bit earlier in the morning you had three planets, the moon and then the Space Shuttle and Space Station, just after they separated going overhead through all four in the night sky. But Monday was cloudy. So I waited for a break in the clouds. At my house, about 5280 feet from the beach, maybe a few more, there were no clouds overhead. Yet down at the lake, the clouds hung low over the sky. I ended up seeing Venus brightly overhead in between the clouds, but never saw the sliver of moon or Mercury. And as I wrote in the last entry, sometimes you head out to photograph one thing and end up with some very fun surprises. This was the case on this morning.

I am very familiar with this beach, as I have been coming here since I was a kid. Back then it was for swimming or playing, now for the photographs. It is a small beach – only a couple of hundred yards long, and with small dunes behind them in one area. As I shot I thought about how many people might not “see” the images you can find here. They would see a nice scene and walk the beach and then leave. Yet, I see in each wave a new dimension. A new form though the lens. And when I was done with the sky and cloud images, having figured at some point I had more than enough to edit, I began looking at some of the details which the big waves left behind.

As the clouds made interesting patterns in the sky, they broke just at the horizon just enough to let shafts of light come down from above. The lake was rough with waves which provided a great foreground to the clouds overhead, or is it the other way around? The waves being the main image and the clouds being a fine background. My thought process went from shooting the planets and moon to the waves and sky. Wide open shots, to close in shots.

When you start looking at the details there is an infinite number of images to be found. At some point you think – “When do I stop?” For me it was about 2 hours after I started. I need to get home for some of the contractors working on the house. Back to reality of working, although this was being at work for me as some of these images may make it into one of my next books, a set of images on the Great Lakes. It is always an enjoyable time when I am out shooting. Whether at the local beach or in a National Park or overseas. Making images comes easily for most photographers. It is what we do.

To see more from the take you can follow this link http://www.mackphoto.com/blog/LighthouseBeach/index.html

And remember, you can subscribe to the blog by using the links below, and leave comments or questions as well. Hope to hear from you!

Thanks,
Richard