Happy New Year

Happy New Year!!!! Have a joyous new year celebration and a prosperous 2014.

A few images from my latest winter explorations near my home.   A beautiful marsh that I'm dedicating some time to this winter to explore with the camera.

Fall Color Continued

Our fall color is starting to wind down.   It has been a longer than usual spell of colorful trees and the oaks are just starting to turn there deep reds and browns.    

Been trying to see as many color spectacles as I can.   The images above and below are from the South Chagrin Reservation of the Cleveland Metro Parks. 

From Indigo Lake a sunrise with the beautiful fall colors lighting up the morning trees.

After the sunrise, I walked to a beautiful spot of sumacs in flame red color.   Decided to get a different perspective of the fall display.

While exploring the beautiful woodland scenes, capturing the feel of the intimate fall color amongst the trees is always fun.   The following from Brecksville Reservation of the Cleveland Metro Parks.

This past week, we had an semi-unusual snow during our peak fall color.   It was a lot of fun to try and capture as many scenes as I could with snow and fall color before the snow melted away.  From the Bedford Reservation of the Cleveland Metro Parks.

The final image from a Tinkers Creek overlook in Cleveland Metro Parks.   Trying to capture the snow amongst the fall color again.  

Fall Color is Underway

The prettiest time of year around my home is underway.   Fall color is always a special treat.  Crips air, and beautiful colors in the trees makes fall the prettiest time of year.

The above image was from a beautiful sunrise this past weekend.  Bedford Gorge Overlook is the easiest location to enjoy the sunrise and Saturday morning it was at its most beautiful.

This scene is in Brecksville Reservation of the Cleveland Metro Parks.  Usually a beautiful display of early fall color.   This scene peaks in the first week of October.

These last 2 images are from a beautiful small waterfall in South Chagrin Reservation of the Cleveland Metro Parks called Sulfur Spring.

More fall color to come as we hit the peak in the next 2 weeks.

Summer Insects

It has been a slow start for insects this summer, but finally the insects are getting mature and easier to find and photograph.

Getting out on a dewy morning, with my wader boots and camera, is like therapy for me.   Slowly walking and looking is part of the true joy of this time of year.   I can lose myself for hours as the meadows start coming to life each morning.

The first image was a newly emerging black swallowtail that I found last week at the Brecksville Prairie.  One of the most beautiful places in Northern Ohio during the months of July and August.   The small restoration prairie is easy to get to and just a real treasure to explore.

From the Brecksville Reservation, here is a maturing katydid enjoying a morning meal of pollen from a swamp rose mallow wild flower.

The black eyed susan wild flowers are a favorite of many insects.   Here are two bush katydid nymphs enjoying the morning a few weeks ago.

A fun capture was finding this crab spider perched in the center of a black eyed susan.  Not very good camouflage, but a fun image to capture.

Recently I had been lamenting my sparse finds of butterflys and dragon flys, but over the last week, it has been a bonanza of these flying jewels.

Pearl crescent (pictured above)have been very visible and make for wonderful summer insect photography.

The eastern tailed blue butterfly is another small flier that I have seen abundantly lately.

Here is the large common green darner all nice and dewy.  It made a very co-operative subject on a cold morning.

Finally was my favorite find of the week - my first praying mantis of the season.   This one was very photogenic and seemed to enjoy the attention from the camera.

GORGEous New Year

Happy New Year!!!

Hope you had a joyous, healthy and loving holiday season.    Around northern Ohio, mother nature has graced us with some beautiful snow to make it feel like winter.

The above image and the following images are from the beautiful Chippewa Creek Gorge in the Brecksville Reservation of the Cleveland Metro Parks.   One of the true gems of the emerald necklace.   That is the nickname the park system has, and it is very appropriate.

After I have been sharing some time with the winter beauty in the Cleveland Metro Parks, I traveled to the Everett Road Covered bridge in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park to see the bridge perched above Furnace Run.

Enjoy the new year and all the best for a prosperous 2013!!!

Fall Color Explosion

The fall colors are coming AND going very quickly.    Literally everyday the colors change.  A fun challenge to capture as many locations as you can.   Here are some ideas I've been lucky enough to share over the past week.

From Bedford Reservation in the Cleveland Metro Parks.

Here are a few from a wet afternoon in the Chippewa Creek Gorge of the Brecksville Reservation in the Cleveland Metro Parks.

Finally some fall color displays from Brecksville Reservation of the Cleveland Metro Parks.

Don't wait too long, you might just miss the beautiful display.   Colors are changing faster than ever.