lake of the woods – Bill Anders' Rambling, Photos & Beating Feet

McLoughlin Stormy Sunset

Goddess sure is patient with me. Which is a good thing, otherwise I would really be in trouble.

Really.

Take this day, for example. We loaded up the car, then spent the next eight hours and 300 miles chasing clouds, views and photographs.

We were just over 30 minutes from home when I passed the entrance to the campground that gave this view. We had never stopped there before and I could already see the clouds over the tree tops. It’s a narrow road with very limited sight distance, so it took another half mile or so before I could turn around safely.

When I do maneuvers like this without saying a word, which is typical, Goddess knows I have an image in mind.

This image.

There were a few people on the lake side hoping to catch fish. A few gentlemen approached and asked if I saw the sunset the night before.

I had, but Goddess and I were walking home. It was glorious.

And I didn’t have a camera.

Needless to say, they let me know how much I had missed it at this specific spot.

No doubt.

Seeing the clearing in the distant west gave me an idea for a hopeful sunset shot from a different vantage.

And it is a good thing that Goddess is patient, since we didn’t get back to the house for another two hours.

Off Kilter

It’s blooming season, so everything is in the air. Some things get to one that do not bother another. Some things really get someone, other things not so much.

This week, it has mostly been just enough of an effect that I’ve been feeling off kilter.

Just like this image.

Lake of the Woods, Klamath County, Oregon.

Character

While the last two posts have been longer exposures (15 seconds and 5 seconds, respectively) to lend a mood, an atmosphere if you will, to the image, an element of character ends up missing.

For the “Stormy McLoughlin“, the 15 second exposure, the character was really in the clouds. Sweeping across the frame, each cloud was its own character. In the longer exposure, the textures disappear in the sky and water and give a sense of an oil painting.

A fun feel, but missing some of the texture.

Here’s a similar angle, with a different orientation, and with a much quicker exposure (1/40th second) to capture the character of the clouds and lake.

Do you have a preference? If so, what does it for you? What doesn’t do it for you?

Stormy McLoughlin

While the last post was looking west towards the approaching storms, this view is around the bend in the shoreline, looking north across Lake of the Woods to Mount McLoughlin.

The showers were moving quickly.

Fortunately.

You might recognize this view from March of last year, when the lake was frozen solid, which allowed me to approach the downed tree more closely. That day there were folks out in the middle of the lake ice fishing and there were tracks in all directions left by snowmobiles.

If you’ve been following, you’ll recall that we haven’t had much of a winter here this past year. So everything looks like it’s ready for a summer of frolicking, even though the water is still too cold for that.

Finally, I’d like to thank everyone who took advantage of my spring sale on photographs. I do appreciate your support and encouragement!

April Showers

Looking west across Lake of the Woods, watching a snow shower form and spread over Brown Mountain in the distance, blocking the sun and dropping the temperature quite rapidly where we were standing. It was fun to watch the curtain of snow slowly move towards us, but stay just to our south (frame left).

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SALE ENDS TODAY!!

In case you missed it, I’m having a spring sale on my photos – 20% off of your pre-shipping costs. Just use code Spring14 at Bill Anders Photography. It’s that simple.

As always, I do appreciate your support.

Cracked

Even though the ice layer on Lake of the Woods was quite stable, there were still cracks in it.

When I was about 100 feet from shore, I straddled this crack and looked both directions. It stretched all the way to shore and as far out into the middle of the lake as I could follow it.

This view was from shore.

Standing Branches

A natural fenceline, thanks to a fallen tree, sticking up through the frozen surface of Lake of the Woods, Oregon.

Attempting to block the view of Mt McLoughlin in the background.