Blue Hen Falls

Well, thus ended my trip to the Smoky Mountains. I hope I can go back and that I will have the chance to get more and to me even better images. The images here are of Blue Hen Falls in Cuyahoga Valley National Park near Cleveland, Ohio. I made a stop there on the way home. My brother in-law, Steve, and my nephew, Dan, accompanied me to the location - thanks guys. Though one of the photographers there was lamenting the lack of reds in the fallen leaves, I still enjoyed the opportunity to photograph in this beautiful location. I must add that the light was very good for waterfall photography. I also stopped at Hocking Hills State Park in south central Ohio. The light there was too bright. I did have the good fortune of photographing a raccoon who just wanted to nap. Unfortunately for it, the nap spot was right next to a popular trail in the park. I will be adding more images from my trip to my blog and some will be added to my web galleries. Comments are always welcomed.

Smokies Trip Post 2

The trip to the Smokies has been good and bad. I have gotten a few good images which is the good. The other good was getting the chance to watch a group of 4 river otters as they swam and dashed over the rocks along Big Creek. The bad is that I hurt my back which hampered my shooting, the weather has been too bright and the fall colors are not much in evidence this year. Here is another sunset photo from Clingman's Dome. This was taken long after the sun had gone down.

I also spent a little time along Big Creek on the east side of Smoky Mountain National Park. This is where I saw the river otters. They were checking me out and were a bit of a pleasant distraction from my landscape photography routine. Here are the 4 Otters. Not the best of images because it was a little dark, and the otters move around so quickly.

Finally, this is the sunrise looking west from Clingman's Dome.

Clingmans Dome

Okay, so this is a well know icon. This however appeals to me because of the mountain layers.

Also, realize that you can make this a larger image by clicking on it. I have a couple more days in the Smokies to hopefully get some more images. However, the fall colors are not going to show this year. It has been a bad drought year.

High Rollways in da moonlight

Thanks to some inspiration from Ron Strong I tried a moonlight shot from the High Rollways overlook on the Manistee River. The streaks in the sky are star trails. Taken at 10:00 p.m. on a full moon night. Would like to try again when the shadows from the hilllslope behind the camera are not so pronounced. A few whispy clouds in the sky would be good too! Notice also the cell phone tower lights on the horizon.

Another Council Lake Image

Here is another in the series from Council Lake.

I have not tried to print this yet, but I like the image on the screen. I am starting to enjoy the brief, but glorious fall in the northcountry. At least this year it has not been too wet or too cold - just right.

More UP Pictures - Icons

I frequently get asked whether I have an image of the Mackinac Bridge. As many times as I have crossed it, I have never stopped to photograph. Here is one from my trip two weeks ago.

Also, several of the waterfalls are well known sights in the UP. Pictured are Miner's Falls on the right and Munising Falls on the left. The light was actually quite good for photographing waterfalls that day.

Tahquamenon Falls

Here is another from the trip last weekend. This is Tahquamenon Falls which is one of the widest falls in the country. Though it is tough to get a good angle because of the fences and vegetation in the way, I like the lines in this image. I also photographed this last spring during the peak snowmelt runoff. That was a lot of water over the falls!!

Successful Trip

This is another photo from the trip to the UP last week. This is a reflection in a lake which is of course upside down. I could flip it, but this is the way it was. I do like the abstract look to it and the colors are great. I will soon be adding this and the others from my trip to my website.

Another Image

Here is one more from today's shooting. If you look closely you can see the leg from another photographer from a photo group. This is on Miner's Beach at the Pictured Rocks Lakeshore. I guess that everyone has a right to their own space and I cannot expect that others will not want to take their photos from a chosen location. Have to say though that I was a little miffed. Oh well, I have been on this beach when I was the only one there and there was a lot more water flowing http://www.tomhaxbyphotos.com/galleries/MichiganHTML/MIGalleryHTML_20_MinersBeach.html

What a Day in the UP!

This has been a great day of shooting waterfalls, the Lake Superior shore, lakes with fall colors. Tomorrow will be the last day of shooting up here. Hope that I can get some more good images. Pictured are Wagner Falls (upper right, a group photographing a sunset on Lake Superior (upper left), and a reflection on Council Lake (lower right).

UP Trip

I have recently lost my beloved beagle, Bogey, after 15 years. He was a great companion and he will be missed greatly. I will be traveling more now that I have nothing to keep me home. So, I am in the UP this weekend enjoying the fall colors. Here is one that I took this evening. In a couple of weeks I will be headed to the Smoky Mountains for the fall color there.