Author: Ashleigh Page 87 of 94
This past weekend was the big parade weekend around the country. I braved the cold and drizzling rain to check out Howell’s Fantasy of Lights parade. This is a nighttime parade and all the floats are aglow with lights! Even the marching bands deck themselves out with lights. Of course, Santa comes to town at the end of the parade, ringing in the Christmas season! I love how the lights on the firetruck combined with all the strands of lights decorating it make this photo so red! I have to agree that this truck really embodies the Spirit of Christmas!
Shooting this parade was really a learning experience for me. I brought my 50mm f/1.8 because its the fastest lens I have, but for a lot of the images, I wasn’t able to freeze the motion like I wanted. I kept my ISO at 1600 so I could’ve upped that to 3200 but I was worried about the noise. I think next time, I might bring a monpod and see if that helps.
Thanks for stopping by! If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page, follow me on Instagram, and Flickr!
This past weekend, Southern Michigan had its first snow of the season. Where I live, we hit a November record of 16 inches! It snowed all day, up to 1 1/2 inches per hour! It’s not even Thanksgiving yet and it looks like the heart of winter around here!
The photographer in me had to get out and experience the snow! Of course, the roads were horrible, so I didn’t attempt to leave my yard. This shot goes to show that a little change of seasons can inspire you to capture something you walk right by every day!
Thanks for stopping by! If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page, follow me on Instagram, and Flickr!
This summer, I made the trek over to Silver Lake State Park. Unbeknownst to me, this is a big ORV park and at first I was curious as to why all the cars had flags on them. We parked and began climbing the dune and we started hearing the sounds of engines revving and people laughing. The view at the top of the dune was unbelievable! White sand dunes as far as the eyes can see and off to the right, the flags made sense; cars were driving up and down the dunes, stopping in a cloud of falling sand. Dune driving is not really my cup of tea, so after we enjoyed the view, we drove over to The Little Sable Lighthouse.
The lighthouse was built following the loss of the Schooner Pride in 1866, although it was delayed until 1874 due to lack of roads in the area. The natural brick exterior of Little Sable Light was a blessing for the lighthouse keeper as he did not have to whitewash it. When electricity reached the lighthouse in 1954, the lighthouse keeper’s dwelling was destroyed and the light was automated. If I could go back in time, it would be pretty cool to live in a lighthouse. Although, I don’t know that I would want to be the one to carry the kerosene up those narrow, winding steps.
For this trip, I had just got my telephoto lens and I was very excited to use it. Shooting a lighthouse is not exactly the perfect use for a telephoto, so I had to get creative. One of my favorite shots of this day was a panorama of the lighthouse that I stitched together in Photoshop. I would really like to go back here with a wider lens to better capture the feel of the lighthouse.
Thanks for stopping by! If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page, follow me on Instagram, and Flickr!
Its that time of year that the weather is getting cold and all the leaves have fallen off the trees here in Michigan. Its that time of year where the urge to Go, See, and Do really starts to get me again! I’m not planning anything major in the near future (we’re saving for a Mediterranean cruise in 2017), just a little weekend trip somewhere not far from home. I was thinking, I need an app that will let me input my location and how far I’m willing to drive and it will tell me all the places I could go. And guess what? I Googled it and it exists! Check it out: How Far Can I Travel
This shot was taken at the cruise pier on Key West. I think I’ve mentioned here that my first visit to Key West was on a cruise ship. That day, we were the only ship in port. I was shocked when I made it back to the keys and there were three cruise ships docked in Key West! I think it is safe to say that when the ships left that day, the island had half the people it had midday!
Thanks for stopping by! If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page, follow me on Instagram, and Flickr!
If you have any teachers in your life, you may have heard that this past week was both Halloween and a full moon. If this means nothing to you, you are not a teacher.
I have been meaning to visit Highland Recreation Area for some time now. I attempted last weekend to try to capture the fall colors but made it just in time for sunset. I shouldn’t complain because the sunset was fabulous and I did manage to capture this beautiful full moon. I definitely want to get back there and explore more in the light of day!
This was my first attempt at a moon shot and I think it turned out pretty good. I used my longest focal length (200 mm) and a tripod, although at that focal length the camera moved so much I realized I need a sturdier one. Even at 200 mm, I had to crop in a bit to get rid of a lot of empty sky.
Thanks for stopping by! If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page, follow me on Instagram, and Flickr!