Lake Michigan. January 27, 2022

 

January 27. A little bit after 8am. Around 20° with light winds.

Shot with a 20mm, I don't know why I focused on the moving ice. I should have focused on the ice cluster as it barely made it into the depth of field.

I didn't feel like shooting this morning, feeling tired getting up at 6:30am and I knew that the wind would not be making any waves. But I knew that I could not miss the opportunity, whether or not an opportunity existed at all. I always have my gear packed and ready, just in case. So I headed out late at 7:30am with the school buses and commuters. And 15-20 minutes later I am at the lake. From my car I could see that new features had formed in the ice.

To my surprise, I saw that a recent section of ice had formed in the last few days, but instead of piling on top of the existing ice to make more shelf ice, it stayed about 50' off the shore. I isolated this section of ice and hoped that the transition of the time, light and ice might make something happen.

Lake Michigan. January 15, 2022

January 15, 2022. 7:13am around 23°.

Pretty strong winds this morning, 15-20 mph. I only shot for 20-30 minutes, stopping when the camera and I were hit with water and ice. The tripod legs were frozen and the filter had ice on it. When the wind comes off the lake it's colder than the air temperature and the water it picks up from the lake turns to ice when it hits me and the gear.

This was shot with a Batis 25mm, a lens that has always worked well for me, though I've been trying to use a Loxia 25mm more. The Loxia is probably sharper under controlled conditions but at the edge of the lake there is not much under my control.

Lake Michigan. January 1, 2022

 January 1, 2022 1:44 pm

34* with 20+ mph winds coming off the lake so it felt much colder. The sting of the snow hitting my face required glasses. Batis 40mm - 2 sec @ f8 with ND 6stop. After 8 straight years of coming here it felt like I was walking onto a new stage, the same as it has always felt.