I was asked to be a sponsor and official photographer for Rochester’s 2010 Pond and Garden Tour. The tour featured several gardens, rain gardens, and ponds mainly at residences throughout Rochester. It was an interesting day of driving and shooting. The sites ranged from very elaborate to simple but inspiring. There was a reception at Rochester Community and Technical College the evening before the tour for the sponsors and hosts.

There is a beautiful garden on the south side of the Heinz Center which includes the pond and gazebo above. Some delicious food and wine were served. I was shooting so trying to limit my wine intake! My friend, Deb Thompson, was one of the organizers and my connection to the tour. She had a busy day ahead of her.

This waterfall was at one of the first sites I visited. The water cascades down the sloping yard along side the house, ending in a small pond. I did some fairly long exposures at some of the locations to capture the water’s motion. Although I had a tripod in the car, I elected to stick with hand-held throughout the day. Mostly that worked. A tripod is always better, or at least safer. But it adds legs, so to speak, that slows you down and makes you less agile. Trade-offs.

One interesting site was essentially surrounding a city-owned parking lot. It was built to show how run-off can be controlled. It sure adds interest to an otherwise stark environment. And the butterflies (or is it a moth?) find something they like, too. You can make out a white parking lot line in the background of this shot. When I happened upon this critter, it struck me as symbolic of what this rain garden, and maybe the tour in general, is all about. I’m happy it cooperated and struck a nice pose.

This shot was taken at one of the more elaborate gardens on the tour. A large (40 foot) waterfall in back and a spring-fed fountain in front of the house. All quite beautiful.

This rather small and quaint garden with its little waterfall was actually one of my favorites because of the story behind it. It was constructed as a sanctuary during the wife’s battle with cancer. The calming sound of the waterfall was said to be heard even inside the home with closed windows. Unfortunately, cancer won this battle, but the garden remains living on. A stone is etched with an inscription that touched my heart.

Life can be cruel, and cancer takes many folks much too soon.

I found this fellow at a site which was out from the city. The featured pond was near him and used a man-made bog to help maintain the pond. It was one of the few with fish (at least, that I noticed). Nearby were other fountains and another much older pond.

A sign greets visitors to this labyrinth garden inviting them to take a worry pebble and carry it to the center of the labyrinth, where it and the worry it represents may be deposited. The thyme-lined trail was best traversed barefoot. It’s a pretty design, with many native flowers. Apparently, milkweed is among them and Monarch butterflies are a feature later in the summer.

Two of the sites were open late in the evening to enable visitors to see how lighting may be used to enhance the ambiance. This was the first I one I visited, and it had a nice waterfall into a creek running from the back of the house to a small pond in the front. I like the walking stones and the very natural look. In general, the ponds and waterfalls were all nicely done.

This was my final stop on the tour. Several of the sites had speakers to discuss various features, and here the visitors learned about lighting and the use of solar-powered lights. Lighting is melded into the landscape and water in a way that makes it blend in with the rocks and water and plants. Taking a shot like this is a similar balancing act. We want enough light to see the setting, but not enough to blast away the lighting design. Although the sky seems to show quite a bit of light, it was actually becoming fairly dark. A little bit of bounced flash along with fairly high ISO (thank you 5D MkII) and a touch of post-processing gave me the balance I wanted.

This sort of challenge is why I love photography.

Memorial Day 2010 in southeastern Minnesota was beautiful! Very low humidity and temperatures in the mid-70s. We rode our motorcycles out to Carley State Park to spend a few hours having a picnic lunch and wandering around some of the trails. The north branch of the Whitewater River flows through the park and our trail took us along the river’s edge. There was a stand of these flowers which resemble Queen Anne’s Lace vaguely, but are atop stalks seven or eight feet tall. I tried to find out what they really are online, but I’m still unsure. My best guess is cow parsnip. The other choice seems to be giant hogweed. Both are said to be rather poisonous.

In any case, they were all rather amazing. I can’t remember seeing flowers so large that weren’t sunflowers.

This guy appeared nearby. There were many of these caterpillars hanging by a thread, so to speak, in the woods. I normally have to fight with the speckled light of a bright sun coming through the leaves into the forest. It makes for exposure extremes that are difficult to cope with. But this day, I tried to work with that light, and our hanging friend above is an example. He was brightly lit by the sun, and I could move a bit to place him against a dark background making him pop.

I might have zoomed in a bit, but on this day, I was using my 50mm f/1.4 fixed length lens – no zoom. In that case, you “zoom with your feet,” but this is not a macro lens which limited how close I could be to the little guy and still be in focus. Nevertheless, I like the resulting image.

Being the end of May, there were still plenty of wildflowers around the forest floor. Here the wonderfully shallow depth of field of the 50mm lens made for a nice shot. I love the green of the woods; it makes for a terrific backdrop for the tiny flowers.

When we were preparing to leave the park, we had one more stop to make, of course. Lynne heard the shutter click and asked if I was taking a picture of the outhouse. Well, sort of. Actually, just the sign. I’m not sure why. Sometimes you find the shot and sometimes the shot finds you. In the latter case, you take the shot not knowing what it’s for or what you’ll do with it. It just needs to be taken. Maybe, you’ll just post it on your blog.

Thursday, we drove out to Nerstrand Big Woods State Park. It’s a relatively tiny remnant of what once was the Big Woods. I always wondered if this is the same Big Woods from the Little House series. Certainly, the Ingalls spent a lot of time in Minnesota, but a little web searching reveals that Big Woods was in Wisconsin.

But Nerstrand is a nice park. Never mind the trees of the Big Woods, the highlight was the wildflowers. Above are (I believe) sharp-lobed hepatica. They are abundant now. The dwarf trout lilies are nearing the end of their blooming season, it seems. I really never saw a good specimen to photograph. Too bad, since they are only found here. I’ve been unable to find the name of these flowers, but they are tiny and delicate, and a worthy subject, I think.

I love spring and the green that it brings. The floor of the woods was, in places, covered by wonderful ferns, and green was just everywhere. There is a small falls in the park, Hidden Falls. I have a few shots of the falls, but frankly, the light was not great with the sun high in the sky and shining off the water at the top of the falls. I have to settle for other lovely subjects.

It helps when you have a subject that can easily move into better lighting! Especially if she’s willing. I was traveling light, so I left my reflector and flash in the car. I’m growing fond of sculpting the light, adding to it, moving it to suite the subject. Natural light can be good, but it’s far from ideal no matter what you might think. If we’re going to just grab the camera and lens and go, though, we need to be able to cope with what nature gives us. Lynne’s smile, fortunately, makes up for imperfect lighting.

There is also post-production, where we can alter the reality and try some creative ideas. Some will work, others not so much. Lynne’s light skin and light colored top made me think about trying a high-key lighting effect. These tend to be flattering for women, although I’m not sure how well I like the technique. But art is about trying, exploring boundaries, finding new expressions. Here’s my version of a high-key shot. I think I like it.

Whitewater State Park (click for more photos)

We had a long winter with only a few days above freezing causing our snow from December 1 to last into March. Then, the skies dried up, the temperature warmed, and we had our first recorded March with no snow. Yesterday, the thermometer hit the 70s, so Lynne and I headed out to Whitewater State Park in the S2000. Top down, of course.

We didn’t hike, really, more strolled. I had my new camera along, fresh back from Canon service (another story), so I took a few photos. I love green and warmth and life. The lingering browns of winter don’t speak to me very loudly. But there were bits of green life springing forth here and there. There was the little waterfall testing how well I could hand-hold a slow shutter speed. There was the texture of the tree bark which changes little through the seasons. And, there was Lynne – always a great subject for me!

Humpbacks!(click for more photos)

 We really didn’t just do a bunch of tours on Kauai, even though my posts may lead you to that conclusion! On our first visit to the garden island, we wanted to do a catamaran tour to the Na Pali coast. After all, Lynne didn’t accompany me on the helicopter ride then, and the only ways to see Na Pali are by air or boat, or to hoof it several miles along a trail. But we waited until we were there on the island and found that all the tours were booked.

This time, we planned ahead and made arrangements well before our trip. We decided on Captain Andy’s based on their web site, various reviews, and that they set out from southern Kauai. In fact, their port is nearly in the same place as the Port Allen airport used by Inter-Island Helicopters.

We arrived at their facility well ahead of the time they recommended. It was sort of a drizzly morning, like many others during our visit. March is still the “winter” season in Hawaii which generally means fairly high surf especially on the northern shores. This day was no exception. If I remember right, the reported surf was something just shy of 20 feet, but here on the south side of Kauai, the surf was quite mild. As we checked in, they informed us of their decision. The surf was too high near Na Pali, so we were going to have a cruise on the south.

Many of the passengers were bummed and opted out of the trip. But, like our helicopter tour, this is a captain’s decision when confronting Mother Nature. She deserves respect. We were happy that Lynne had now seen Na Pali a couple days earlier, and the sailing adventure still sounded like fun. Indeed it would be.

We ended up with 17 passengers on a boat that could take 40. A nice start for us. As we left port, we were greeted by porpoises before we were out of the bay. As we left the bay, a huge manta ray swam just off the side of the boat. This was going to be an interesting cruise.

Before our trip, I did some internet research to find out when the humpback whales are in Hawaii. I was wondering if we would happen to be there when they were, before they head off to summer in Alaska. We were excited to find out that, yes, they are in Hawaii in March. Maybe we’d see some from a boat?

It wasn’t long before someone spotted a spout. Soon, there were breaching whales. We had a mother and calf nearby for quite a while. I was able to snap a few shots, although I wish I had more than a 200mm lens. After a bit, we had a whale swim right up to the boat. The white (or light grey) underside of the whale would shine green in the water below the boat. It was incredible!

We sailed east and found an area to snorkel. There, we encountered a large sea turtle, and we were swimming along side it until it got bored with us and dove out of sight. The water was cold, but it was still a great experience. As we made our way back to port, there were breaching and spouting whales all around us. Did I say it was incredible? We kept thinking of the folks who decided to cancel. They missed quite an experience. The crew kept insisting, no, this isn’t typical! They truly seemed as excited as us.

I guess the lesson is: take what life brings. Disappointment is a point of view. If you book a flying or sailing adventure, be ready for anything. And, if your captain or pilot decides to put safety ahead of entertainment, be respectful and grateful, and move on. You never know what lies just around the corner.

Prepping the bird (click for more photos)

I can hardly believe it’s been a year since our Hawaii trip. Lynne and I spent several days on the garden island of Kauai last March. While there, I attended one of Moose Peterson’s Digital Landscape Workshops. It was intense but amazing. We extended our stay to do some sightseeing and general touristy things. I thought I’d write a bit about the trip here in two or perhaps three posts. Today, I want to talk helicopters!

This was our second trip to the island state. On our first trip, we were flying from San Francisco to Honolulu. I overheard a flight attendent talking to the couple in the row in front of us. “…helicopter…Kauai…doors off…” What? Doors off? As she started to move toward the back, I called out, “excuse me!” What’s this about a helicopter company that flies with the doors off?

She provided the name, Inter-Island Helicopters. They fly from Port Allen airport on the south side of Kauai, not far from Waimea Canyon. Their helicopters are hot little Hughes 500 birds that seat five – three in front and two in back. With the bubble canopy in front, this means everyone has a window seat. And, indeed, they fly with the doors off.

What difference does that make? Well, even flying in a small plane, the experience is somewhat disconnected and surreal. I always liked opening the window to feel the wind rush in, hear the sound outside the cabin. It’s hard to explain, but it’s different. As a photographer, the difference is obvious. No plexiglass between me and my subject. Flying around the mountains and close to one of the wettest places on the planet, you feel the dampness, the coolness. I guess I’d say it is no longer a scenic tour but an experience.

On that first trip, Lynne was not thrilled by the idea of a helicopter flight, so I did the flight without her. This trip, she decided to give it a go. She doesn’t like flying all that much in general, but as we lifted from the pad, her eyes and her smile lit up. I’ve assembled a few shots from that flight. I was clicking away pretty much the entire time, but I did stop now and then to really take it in without the distraction of framing and exposure. It is an incredible place and an incredible experience.

Inter-island Helicopters offers two types of flights. One is a tour just shy of an hour, and the other includes a stop at a waterfall in the interior of the island. Although we had opted for the latter, the weather did not cooperate. Strong winds were making entry into the valley unsafe. Our pilot made two attempts then made the command decision (pilot lingo) to skip the waterfall. It was the right decision, and I understand how the agreement between mother nature and aircraft works! They refunded us the difference and gave us a discount on their logo products.

They are a small outfit, and you won’t find them advertised in all the tourist brochures. I saw someone’s complaint online about having a flight cancelled due to the other passengers rescheduling. I can see that happening. It’s not a low-cost business. But they feel right to me. You can see their green hanger in the photo of Port Allen. This is not where you go to relax in a large helicopter with air conditioning and music and a video of your tour. Instead, you wear David Clark headsets connected to the pilot, and stick your lens out the side to get the shot. Wear a jacket: it’s windy.

Oh, and by the way, Inter-Island Helicopters is also Air 1, Kauai’s search and rescue outfit. While we were there last March, a surfer went missing during some unusual (we heard) high surf on the east coast. News reports mentioned Air 1 being called in. I think they were also involved in looking for some folks lost in the high river after several days of rain.

Here’s one more shot that Lynne took in-flight. These are the expressions we had on our faces the entire flight!