Monday, June 29, 2009

River Bone

A very old bone with a cracked and weathered outer layer, laying on a bed of river rocks.
Is this real? It looks kind of strange...

I found this mysterious bone while exploring the Eagle River with Mike (of Copper Country Explorer fame). It almost looks unreal to me, with its cracked, greenish outer layer. I don't know what it came from (a deer, perhaps?), or why it looks so strange, but its colors and textures caught my eye. And now, hopefully it will catch your eye as well!

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Chair of Summer!

A yellow adirondack chair's back, hilighted by sunlight, against a blue sky.
A sign of summer

This photo comes to you from the lovely Saginaw Valley, which (being downstate) is at least a month ahead of the UP in terms of seasons. We're just getting into summer up here, but this lovely chair was baking in the sun weeks ago.

This is an Adirondack chair, refinished and repainted by my father, baking out in the warm sun on a clear June day. The sun was right overhead, which made the light reflect off of the cross-braces in a very unusual way. To me, this photo looks how summer feels!

Thanks also to D. Travis North over at Shutter Photo for featuring this on his photo blog!

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Cliff Swamp, Try 2

A swamp scene, with cliffs in the background, all in high-contrast black and white.
The Cliffs, in Black and White

Thanks to all for the help with the last incarnation of this photo. I've given it a high-contrast black-and-white treatment -- I really like this version much more than the highly colorful version before. Enjoy!

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Cliff Swamp

A brightly colored swamp, with green grass, dead trees, a beaver dam, and forested cliffs rising in the distance.
The West Branch of the Eagle River

Officially this is a branch of the Eagle River, as it flows past the base of the Cliffs and into the main Eagle River. However, it's really just a swamp with a bit of a current!

I'm not sure what to do with this photo, so I'm hoping that you, my Horde of Readers, might have some suggestions. The colors in this photo are genuine -- no post-processing except for basic levels/curves in Gimp! They look so bright as to be unreal to me. Feel free to leave comments or ideas!

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Poppy

A bright red-orange poppy on a bright green stem, with a deep green background.
It's poppy time!
Continuing the spring into summer flower theme, enjoy this poppy blooming in my parent's garden!

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Apple Blossoms

White and pink apple blossoms against a deep blue sky.
Your basic late spring apple blossoms

It is what it says on the tin: apple blossoms! Of course, I didn't find these just anywhere... I came upon them while following the old Isle Royale railroad, while in search of remnants of the Isle Royale and Huron mines south of Houghton. While I wasn't very successful on the mines, I did enjoy a lovely hike on a warm and bright late spring day.

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Redridge Abstract

An abstract composition: a wedge of blue sky between angled black edges, with a hint of old metal wheels showing on top.
The wheels on the dam turn round and round...

This photo comes to you from the lovely Redridge Dam. The wheel-like objects up top are the old controls for the dam's valves, which regulated the amount of water flowing through the dam. The valves have been locked in the "full open" position for many years, but the wheels still remain.