Ice Fall

As the Midwest and east coast starts to thaw from the polar vortex people are inclined to hit the trail to shake off the cabin fever and check out the frozen waterfalls. The breath-taking beauty of the ice pillars can turn dangerous as the temperatures rise. Last year I headed out to Ohio's cherished Hocking Hills region after a cold front had moved through to photograph the frozen fall of Ash Cave.  It was not long before there was a steady flow of people.  I decided to step aside to enjoy the splendor with my eyes while people explored the cave and ice pillar.  Then a loud deep pop filled the cove as the ice broke free from the cliff above. Tons of ice crashed to the ice pillar below. A blood-curdling scream came from the icy rubble. Two young women had moved in closer to the ice formation right before the break. I quickly scanned the scene; I knew there were four additional people there with me. "One, two, three …. Three. Where is the fourth? Where is she?" I said to myself as I felt my heart grow heavy. I feared the worst had just happened. Then the sound of the most beautiful voice broke the screams, "I'm ok! It's alright" repeated the woman closest to the fall as she ran out from behind the ice to embrace her hiking companion.  Not only was she alive but she escaped without injury. I took a minute to recompose myself and captured one more image of the scene, after all, I am a photographer. Feeling the most profound gratitude for the positive outcome, I packed my gear and headed home. 

Before and after images of Ash Cave morning of January 10, 2017.

If you head out during this warm spell, check the trail in front of you. Watch overhead for icicles that may have formed on the rocks, cliffs, and overhangs.  Half-pound of ice hits with 1,000 pounds of force according to Nationalsafety's Weblog. "That is the rough equivalent of a couple of people on a stiletto-shoe heel on top of your head," Andreas Schroeder, a physics professor at the University of Illinois-Chicago says.

Source:

Nationalsafety's Weblog: https://nationalsafetyinc.org/2012/02/20/dangers-of-falling-ice/

First Friday Photo Friends - Dwayne Reaves

I am not only the sum of my work but the sum of those around me. With this thought, a new project starts this year. I will be featuring a photo friend on the first Friday of the month. These are the people who have touched my life and my work in some way. Collectively they have helped shape me into the person and photographer I am today. I’ll share a bit about them and their work with you. I want to encourage you to check out their work and show some love on their social media with likes, shares and comments. It's a tough world out there, let’s make it a little friendlier.

I thought Dwayne Reaves would be the perfect person for my first feature since he has been around since the early months of my trek into social media. I quickly found it was harder than I expected to make meaningful connection in the cyber world. Dwayne was not like every other photographer. He has a genuine interest in the photographer and their work. Through the past few years he would always send a note to check up on me if I had been hibernating from my social media. Several times it was the motivation I needed to get going again.

Dwayne’s passion for photography is unwavering. I have watched as life has hurled complications his way. He does not use them as an excuse to why he can’t. No, this man will find solutions and why he will. Last year we chatted about his equipment breaking. This would discourage so many. Dwyane kept shooting with the gear he had. Proving it is not the camera that makes beautiful images it’s the photographer. He would tell you, “you don't have to have an expensive camera to make a difference with photos … so many people think it is the camera when it is the person behind the camera and their attitude toward life.” Dwayne’s images are largely made within ten miles of his home in North Carolina. “Most people think you have to travel to far away places to take beautiful photographs, that is not true. There is beauty all around us.” His positive can-do outlook on life and his photography truly inspires me.

This is one of my favorite pieces of his work. He loves to photograph old homes and landscapes. If you watch his feeds you will see images of his beautiful daughter, a cherished rock in his life.

An old house Dwayne Reaves (c) photographed. 

Please take a minute to check out Dwayne’s work at the links below and show him some love.

https://www.facebook.com/dreavesphoto/
https://twitter.com/dwaynereaves
https://www.instagram.com/dwaynereaves/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dwaynereaves

Resolutions

It’s that time of year it’s customary to set new goals. Typically, I do not partake and if I do I set the bar low. For example, 2017 my new year resolution was not to die. I am happy to say I achieved my goal. This year I am going to raise the bar. For years I have been told I need to let more of my personality show on my social media. That is past my comfort zone. But if life begins at the end of my comfort zone, it’s time to start living or maybe I should say writing. I am going to open a window into my life. Share with you my accomplishments, joy, adventures, frustrations, heartbreaks and fears. Anxiety of people not liking me and the grammar police picking apart my writing has paralyzed my efforts in the past. I enter this year with a game plan. Haters will be pushed out the door, I have no room in my life nor the time for them. Grammar cop will be handcuffed to my inbox and made to edit all my work. My 2018 resolution is to write and share more of me with you.

What are your New Years Resolutions?

Wrong Place at the Wrong Time

UPDATE: After the images where viewed by experts it had been identified as a Ruby-throated hummingbird. While not a rare hummingbird for this area it is still unusual to find in the area at this time of the year. Leave out those feeders and help those stragglers on their migration.

The temperatures and snow are falling in Cincinnati, Ohio where one of the smallest birds in the United States has found herself far from her winter migration grounds in Mexico. This little female Calliope Hummingbird needs your help. If you are a bird lover living around the greater Cincinnati area, please consider putting out your hummingbird feeder. Please consider sharing this story if you happen to know a birder in the Cincinnati area. Help me get the word out. This 0.1oz feathered friend could use some Christmas love.

Approximately 11:45 AM on Friday December 22, 2017 I found this little lady hovering outside the window where my silver Christmas tree sits. She rested on the rose bush long enough for me to run and grab my camera. This image was shot hand held 300mm w/ 2x extender through a window. I am a casual birder, so I looked to my trusted birding source, Connor, at my local Wild Bird Unlimited store. He identified it as a female Calliope Hummingbird. A rare find for Ohio. I had my feeder out within 30 minutes but I have not seen the hummingbird since I photographed her yesterday. After speaking to Connor today I have decided to share my rare bird find in hopes of getting the word out to local birders, so they can put out their feeders to provide a food source so maybe this humming bird can make it through this cold front and hopefully find her way back to a warmer climate.

Dance of the Crane

Sandhill Cranes mate for life.  Selecting partner by their dancing abilities. The dancing display is elegant to witness as the they gracefully leap into the air after stretching their wings and bowing. Would you have picked you life partner by the way they dance?! 

Cold and Snowy

I spent my entire Sunday with this beautiful snowy owl. Seven hours I stood under gray skies and in intermittent rain waiting and watching. Then the light starts to break through the clouds low in the sky. Excitement grows as the clouds thin in anticipation of the pending evening light. My eyes a fixed on the snowy watching the light. Suddenly the owl takes flight. Fast reaction grants me images of the departure. The day has been bitter sweet. Observing a snowy owl in Ohio is a remarkable opportunity only to have the disappointment of the snowy’s departure just before the long-awaited light arrives. This is how life goes in the field. I can spend hours or days with one species waiting for everything to come together for that perfect image. Many times, I leave empty handed. Sometimes the imagery is mediocre. Then there are times everything comes together; the light, location, weather, animal behavior, reaction time. Those days are pure heaven. No matter the photographic outcome I always leave with a full grateful heart. Knowing I am fortunate to have witnessed nature in motion and one step closer to a greater understanding of life.

Self Portrait 2016

I want to keep a current picture, updating once a year … ish. This year I chose a simple studio image with a retro twist as an attribute to my travel partner, my dad. The camera I hold is his. I lost dad five years ago.

I spent the first two years after his passing mad at him for dyeing. I had started my first venture into nature and wildlife photography earlier that year he died. I took a trip west to see family and work on my portfolio. We spent two week out shooting. We laughed, challenged each other, explored and hiked. We saw the most amazing storm and sunset. Tens of thousands of dollars of gear sat in the back of the vehicle, however we decided to see who the better photographer is and shot the evening with point and shoot cameras. We had no idea that incredible evening would be the last time we would get to shoot together. A few days later we learned his fate, he would leave an empty spot on this earth far too soon and I let go of my dream.

My photography career over the past 29 years has taken me down many of a road. It’s been almost 18 months since I packed my portrait studio into storage unit and turned the page on my portrait chapter to start a new. My first year in the nature and wildlife field end up being a year of building a portfolio and healing. I found dad’s spirit on the road. I’ll admit it, I wondering down trails talking to myself, it's a good thing to do in bear country too. A full conversation, it’s my dad time. I fond him in to wild. The place he loved so much. Now, before I leave on a trip, I open my door ask my dad if he is ready to hit the road again. There are days I would give anything to talk to him about my work, he was my toughest critic and my biggest cheerleader. Too many times I feel lost without him. I did not realize how much I relied on him until he was gone. I am no longer mad at dad, I am thankful and enjoying the journey.