Winds, leaves, dust, and killing frost.

This morning we had the 'killing' frost that usually is here by the first weekend in October.

Over the past two weeks we've had windy dry weather.  Everywhere we have been dealing with dust.
Driving down the gravel road is an adventure in dust.  If you wash your vehicle, it is covered again just by driving the one mile required to get to the black top road.

 The mules are enjoying the cool mornings and the cool evenings.  They have been chasing each other and playing King of The Hill.

The trees that have been protected by the wind still have their leaves, but not for long.
These are hickory trees behind the large shed.

The last big blazes of color were at the beginning of the week before the big winds hit.
This was a view from Mundsack road on my way to work Monday morning.

Today I'm going to head up to Wildcat Mountain State Park and do some hiking.

I don't expect to find great colors but I hope to be able to see the beautiful rock formations that will now be more obvious because most of the leaves are down.

Phases

As fall quickly tries to fade with the huge winds of yesterday and today, I start seeing bare trees.  The frost has turned the squash leaves in the garden to an ugly dead looking brown.

So I try to not think of what I call 'the boring brown month of November' and look for odd things to do on cold windy days.

If I have a few moments to myself early in the morning, I decide to delve into some editing to amuse myself before going out to do chores.

This creepy looking abstract was made first in JWildfire then run through Google's Dreamscope.  I layered the original over the Creepy Copy and brought back some of the fractal.

There is no practical reason for doing this other than to occupy my mind with some strange art in the morning.  And to get my creative juices going.

I then took a rather very bland photo that wasn't quite in focus from last week's trip out on PeeWee's land and decided to see how far I could 'mess' it up.

I first added a layer I'd made of streaks of color, then overlayed that.  Next I added the Weave Texture and was pretty surprised at how it came out.
Lastly I added a sandstone texture and figured that was enough.

I like it in a way and am tempted to try some other methods, but I see other folks that are so excellent at this that I think I should stay with Graphic Art and with straight photography.

This year my interest has been more in landscapes.  Previously I went through a period of anything small or macro.

The smaller, the better.

In the winter, I am obsessed by black and white photography.

Right now I am desperate to keep trying to catch beautiful shots of the quick fading Autumnal colors.

However there may be a point that I will feel comfortable in 'shooting' people.  I may have to force myself there.

Kids are always easy and fun.  Not so sure about adults and weddings or Senior Shoots in particular.

Who knows, that could become a new phase for me one day.

Morning at Sidie Hollow

Just leaving the driveway was beautiful itself!  The temperature was in the 30's and we had a light frost.
Everywhere there was a mist in low lying areas.

I was looking for some 'me' time without distractions and scheduling.  My next week looks to be very busy between work and appointments.

And I knew that the fall colors would not wait for my schedule as Mother Nature has her own plans.

When I got to Sidie Hollow it was cloaked in morning mist and I couldn't see the west side where the earthen dam was.  However after an hour of sun, I was able to just barely make it out.

I made it to the fishing/viewing area and set up with a tripod and my cameras. The light kept changing and the mist swirled.  Half of the valley was lit up with brilliant sunshine and the other have was shrouded in shadows and mist.

I used my ND filter so I could take a 5 second exposure of the moving mist.  
And then moved into the sunlight to see if I could get reflections and mists.

This was a 1 second exposure and shot at a higher ISO so I could capture some of what was hidden in the shadows.

I began to wrap up things when I turned around and looked east.  There in front of me was a beautiful shot that was begging to be taken.  I hadn't looked east because of the glare of the sunlight on the mist and the water.

However ...

There is was, my last shot of the morning and my favorite one of the day.
I got the eerie mist, sunshine, tree colors, and reflections in the water.

It was a win for me all around.

A family with young children stopped on the trail.  They wanted to come on to the floating observation area, I motioned them in.  I was done and I wanted them to be able to see up and down the valley.  
We talked for a few minutes and I learned that this was their very first visit to the 'Driftless Area'.  I told them that I'd been here for 19 years and had fallen in love with it.

I also said the locals would love to keep this area secret.  We had a great laugh over that.

The rest of the day was boring.  Grocery shopping, cooking, baking, freezing squash, and making a chocolate/squash cake.

Processing IR with Topaz Adjust 5

[f7.1, ISO 100, 10" exposure]

I went for a walk yesterday and the fall colors were beginning their blaze of glory.
I started up my driveway and looked at the trees and the sunlight.
I wondered exactly what would happen if I used the Hoya Infrared R72 filter I'd gotten.

I processed the shot in Corel AfterShotPro and it really didn't look very impressive, it looked flat.  I could have edited the Histogram and gotten a bit more depth, but I thought I'd try Topaz Adjust 5.

That ended up being a bit more like it.  White foliage [which was actually yellow] and nice contrasts to the tree trunks and shadows.

I used some of the presets in the Toned portion of the plugin and played around with the sliders.

I was using an old camera and actually not following all the 'rules' out there on the 'how to' sites for using an IR filter.

I had to deal with a longer exposure to bring out the light and dark in the heavy canopied forest so there was some movement in the ferns and leaves in this shot.

[f5.6, ISO 100, 13"]

I used the 'pink' toned filter for this one and had to adjust the details.  I just felt it looked prettier with the fallen leaves a bit soft.

[f7.1, ISO 100, 4"]

With this driveway shot I went for the sunlit highlights.  Where the sun shined and reflected, the color was nearly white.

[f7.1, ISO 100, 5"]

I wanted a 'cool' effect for this shot.  Finally, I had white leaves and the sunlight coming across the tops of the trees in the distance.  The sunflowers in the garden with their drooping heads were bright white.  
The blobs in the distance are mules feeding.  
I don't think this is a fantastically composed shot, but I do like how it came out.

And my favorite of today on my trip to a county park was the following.

[f10, ISO 100, 10"]

I don't even mind the sun flare on the lens in this shot.

However this was spectacular in color and deserved to be shown off as such.

Do you want to Hike Morris?

The colors have started to really come out here.  Fall is taking its time but I have been lucky enough to enjoy it.

I miss having Badger, yesterday would have been a wonderful day to have him as my 'pack' mule.  Instead I put my sling camera bag on and with Morris in tow we headed out for a very long hike.

It may have taken a shorter time, but since I was going through the now rough and wild woods and land of our neighor's, we had to do a lot of wading through tall grass and weeds even if we were on a deer trail.
Finally we got to the area that is mowed around the corn field and the walking was easier.

Someone actually mowed the ridge road above the 'back valley'.  That was where I was headed.

Earlier this year, it was nearly impassable.  But I guess that is what happens when the cattle no longer graze on the land.

We made it to the back valley and got down into the creek.  I had visions of walking along the creek as I used to ... but the underbrush was too thick and I decided to wait until winter when the foliage has died down.

Morris disappeared in the tall grasses and undergrowth, it was hard to keep an eye on him.  I considered putting a bell on him so I can hear where he is.

He is a great little dog.  Unless he is rolling in something terribly nasty, he will come immediately at a whistle.

Here he appears curious as to why on earth would I call him?  Couldn't I see he was busy?

I hadn't done this trail since early spring and was extremely happy that the owners had cleaned it up.  

I know it is in preparation for the gun deer season, but at least this late fall [after season] and perhaps before season, I'll be able to saddle up and ride through here.

I miss having the cattle keeping the woods clean and tidy.  They have been gone for 10 yrs now and much of this acreage is nearly impassable unless you are a deer or something smaller.

Anyway, I was over come by the beautiful colors I found on the trail.

The yellows are abundant in this portion of the woods.

We did find oranges on the ridge.

When we got back up on the cropland, the sky was crazy beautiful.  Couldn't help but think of what my grandmother used to say.  These clouds were a sign of rain.

Hopefully we get some, it surely is needed.

I was able to fit a lot into this day by getting up very early.

Before I left for our hike at 11, I'd processed and froze tomatoes, squash, and had done our laundry which was hanging on the line along with some blankets to air them out.

The disadvantage of that and hiking 3+ miles was that I was worn out early.  Bed was very welcome not soon after it got dark outside.

And yes, Morris was worn out also.  Last night though and this morning he is not acting as if he is sore at all.  
Neither am I!

Perhaps we are getting back into shape after a long hiatus from daily hiking.

Chilly morning at Jersey Valley

I drove to Jersey Vally a couple of days ago when it got to be in the higher 30's at night.

I thought I might be able to see some mist coming off the water and I was not surprised.
However the very cold Northeastern breeze did chill me to the bone.

On the ridge the sun was already blazing away, warming the morning up.

However deep down in the valley it was quite cold.

Althought when the sun began to just peek over the tree tops, the valley started to brighten up with colors.

I stayed a few more minutes and tried to rub some warmth into my hands. Finally my patience ran out.

I headed back towards the car and decided to just head home.  

Next time, I am coming with finger-less gloves and something much warmer to wear.

Morris, and our Adventure.

Morris on top of footbridge #2

After our visit with Dr. Piper and a rabies shot [yes, his teeth do need cleaning and he has to have some medicine first...], Morris and I headed to Duck Egg Park in Vernon County WI.

We parked at the lower parking lot in the valley.  I thought we'd walk past the Duck Egg Dam and get to the other side of it and get some shots of the Bad Axe River the Springville Branch.

Alas.  It was too late in the afternoon.  By 4pm we made the dam and Morris introduced himself to some Vernon County Land and Water Conservation workers that had been working on the dam.

They were very pleasant and it seems that we were the only people plus one dog in the whole valley.  They gave me tips about getting back to where I wanted to take some photographs.

Morris is pictured on one of the foot bridges provided for hikers.  This park has a lot of hiking and equine trails.  Sidie Hollow has an easy hiking trail and some very challenging mountain bike trails.

There are more parks but I want to stick with this one for now.

The rock formations at Duck Egg are incredible.  In fact the views were so beautiful that I couldn't hike very far without stopping and taking photos.

Water under footbridge #2

Bad Axe, Springville Branch

under footbridge #3

On top of footbridge #3

The trail winds around two ponds that I found just as captivating as the Bad Axe itself.

Duck House in pond

The trail and the late afternoon light really lit up the Eastern end of the valley.

Looking slightly eastward from the second pond

As I said just before 4pm we got to the dam.

You can see it from the lookout above the valley, but to see it from the valley floor is more impressive.  Other county dams are not as huge.  

If you look very hard in the shadow on the top of the dam there is one of the Land and Water Conservation people working there.

Duck Egg Dam

I figured I'd better turn around and march back to the car, it would be after 5pm before I got back to town. To save some cooking time, I'd grab a pizza for supper.

Morris led the way, he is such a trooper.  At our 'favorite' bridge, the one I call #2, he stopped and stood for a while as if taking in everything around him.

Morris stares wistfully 

at his favorite trail.

Looking back

We probably made it in record time back to the car.

I know it will only be a matter of time before we get back to where I really wanted to get some shots.

Morris will always be up for the adventure.

Although, I must say he was a bit stiff and tired last night before we went to bed.