night light

There are so many beautiful sights in nature during our summer months. It’s difficult to pick favourites but reflections of the moonlight in a lake surface is definitely one of my top ten. Whether glass calm water mirrors the light or a light chop causes the light to dance, it provokes wonder in me.

In my constant hunt for an exceptional moon rise shot and with my trusty The Photographer’s Ephemeris application (which I discussed in this post), I headed out to Raleigh Lake just west of Ignace to scout a location in advance of the May full moon. I was delighted to find a little island between shorelines. The moon was scheduled to rise 40 minutes before  sunset so I knew the moon wouldn’t be very bright in the still lit sky. Sure enough, it rose where I expected and was quite faint. I was still pleased with the angle and foreground/water. Here’s a resulting shot.

moon rise at Raleigh-20130523-6916.jpg

Do you see the moon? Here’s a closer look.

moon rise at Raleigh-20130523-6918.jpg

The schedule for the following day, Friday, May 25 was full moon at 23:24; moonrise at 20:35; sunset at 20:55. The conditions would be better for a brighter moon on the horizon. I brought along a friend and a couple of flashlights so we could help each other find our way back in the pending darkness. Thankfully, the sky was clear (again), the bugs tolerable and the water calm. It was worth the wait!
Here it comes!
moon rise over Raleigh-20130524-6961.jpg

moon rise over raleigh-20130524-6968.jpg

What a night! Could it get better? In a way it did. Take a close look at the moon reflection in the image I selected and brightened for my July desktop calendar.

free desktop calendar July 2013 1440x900
The ripples were a result of a fish surfacing for a snack.

For specific screen resolutions of the calendar, drop down the Free Calendar tab at the top of the page or click here.

PS It was only a few days ago that an observant follower of my blog discovered that I had 31 days on my June desktop calendar! Oops. Sorry about that.

June moon at dawn

The June ‘super moon’ was setting as we rose for work this morning. It may not look like a super moon but by the time it dropped to the horizon, the sun had brightened the sky so much the moon faded completely from view. I’ll share a few shots of it rising in my next post.

passing storm

The rumble of thunder at dusk drew me away from Game 2 of the Stanley Cup finals. I grabbed my camera and tripod and set up with a finger on the shutter button to try to catch a lightning strike before the pending rain.

summer storm rolls in

lightning brights sky

Got it!

The mosquitos were abundant and hungry in the calm air. Thankfully, I was reasonably well covered and held out for a few more shots before the wind and rain. Here are two more:

thunderstorm at sunset

aircraft silhouette with lightning strike

Oh, and the game went into overtime! Bonus.

Sunset Country

Spring brings a spectrum of colour as flowers burst with life.

The skies around here display a spectrum as well. If you didn’t see my video on Ignace Outposts’ YouTube channel, FaceBook or on The Weather Network (they insert a commercial, sorry)…

just soak in the snapshot below (straight out of the camera).