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.

Medina Raptor Center

In early December, a group of photographers visited the Medina Raptor Center.   This is a rehabilitation and rescue facility run by volunteers to care and hopefully return to the wild, birds that have been injured.     Here is the web link for this amazing facility:

Medina Raptor Center

A group of about 15 photographers got the privilege of photographing some of the education birds.  These are birds that have injuries that are too severe to release back into the wild.   The raptor center uses these beautiful birds around the area to educate schools and other groups on the fragile existence of these beautiful animals.  

A special photographic opportunity with a special staff and beautiful birds.

You can view all of my images at my photography gallery:

Medina Raptor Center

Happy Holidays

Photographed by Norm Jelinek

Happy Holidays!!!!

Hope your holidays are going well and you are enjoying the warmth of family and friends during this special time of year.

Speaking of special, check out the cute little guy above.  That is me around 1968 or so.  My dad was the enthusiastic photographer for the family.   The above has always been one of my personal favorites.   Captures the innocence of youth along with my trusty companion (St. Nicholas).   Come to think of it, I still have that same feeling of wonder this time of year.

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For the second year in a row, I visited the 'North Pole' to photograph elves.   This is part of the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroads Polar Express.  Thousands of families travel on the scenic railroad and listen to the story of the polar express.    The North Pole is greeting hundreds of elves give the families.

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I'll leave you during this holiday time with a special note from one of my favorite authors:

Rachel Carson - excerpt from a letter written to Dorothy Freeman - 12/11/1953

"Christmas brings most of all a sense of rather starry wonder - from the wonder of the first one that still shines through the years, to the miracle of friendship and of the warmth and joy that fill the human hearts when it experiences that rare and beautiful thing, a sense of perfect communication with another. And so tonight I want to say thank you for those precious gifts of friendship and love and understanding, that cannot be bought and could never be replaced."

Holiday Lights

Happy Holidays.   Hope everyone is enjoying the beautiful holiday season.   It truly is my favorite time of year.   Sharing time with friends and family is a blessing that I never outgrown.

Also looking at holiday light decorations is another favorite past time.   Last year we didn't get our first good hard snowfall until Dec. 26.   So I rushed out after Christmas last year and captured some beautiful scenes from Chagrin Falls.

 

 

 

 

 

This town is always beautifully decorated and lots of fun to explore with the holiday lights.

 

The top image in this blog posting is an abstract display of the main holiday tree in Chagrin Falls.  The final image below is from one of the beautiful storefront displays.

 

Enjoy the holiday season.

 



Abstract Sunsets

Winter is a challenging time to find creative images within nature.   In past years I have enjoyed playing with 'light painting'.   Using a longer exposure and moving the camera during the exposure can create abstract images.

Last night I decided to head out to a favorite spot to try and create some of these abstract thoughts.  Fun technique and I think I have found a winter long project to explore.