Color on the Rise

by Carol

Every photography workshop, someone suggests a sunrise photoshoot. I always feel that I am not a real photographer if I say no and stay in my warm, soft antique B and B bed, looking forward to to the smells of bananas foster french toast and bacon cooking. The alarm goes off, the victorian lamp goes on, and I look out the window to the cold,dark, deserted street below. Am I crazy ??

Its a slightly damp three block walk to the beach where I meet up with the other crazies between Congress Hall and the jetty. The iconic Cape May skyline is a dark silhouette to our left. The seagulls are starting to call. I am still wishing I was warm in my bed. I'm wondering if I can catch a ride back when we are done. I clutch my sweatshirt tighter around me.

Then the oranges and reds start up.

The sand starts to reflect the golden light. The smallest footstep or pile or beach straw becomes a work of art.

The Victorian beach houses start to catch the light at their highest point.

The blues then come in, and the purples and the puddles in the sand reflect it all. Meanwhile the birds are louder, and the constant sound of the ocean waves is a calming soundtrack.

And then the recognizable morning begins in earnest, a few cars sound over on Beach Avenue. The doors of the coffee shops are swung open. 

I refuse a car ride back to my B and B. I prefer to walk. I end up walking the town, watching the gingerbread houses light up, the daffodils and wisteria catching the sun. I walk for almost 40 minutes, and I feel great! I head back towards my french toast. 

Cape May is awake and so am I.

"After God created the sunrise, he created artists, photographers and poets 

   to ensure his feat remained immortal."

                                                                                                      Terri Guillermets

Happy New Year!

by Terri

Just popping in here on a Sunday to wish you all a very Happy New Year!  I hope your holidays have been full of peace and joy and that, like me, you’re ready to get back to normal!  December seemed to fly by but I’m ready to move on to new things.

Speaking of new things, the other reason I’m here today is to introduce a few new changes to the look of the FOL blog.  You might have noticed that our header is a little different, with a new font, color and a new slideshow where each photo is featured on its own.  We thought you might enjoy seeing a larger version of these header photos and it gives our contributors a little more real estate to showcase their beautiful photography. I hope you enjoy seeing them as much as I do.

We are also working on a few other tweaks that will be implemented near the end of the month in conjunction with our 5^th anniversary.  Wow, five years!  It’s hard to believe we’re still going strong five years after starting this little space and we hope you’ll continue to stop in and visit with us when you can. We always love hearing what you have to say.  So thanks for being here and cheers to a new year together!

Another Photography Trip

by Deanna

White River Lighthouse

This had to be one of the hottest and muggiest summers we have had in a long time, but I didn't let that stop me from enjoying my travels these past few months. If you know me at all, you know that I love to travel, finding new vistas with camera in hand. I took quite a few trips since spring...Texas, Dayton, OH, Southern California, Michigan (twice), and Galena, IL. They were all fun and memorable trips, visiting family for some, visiting friends for some. The one that was a standout for me was my most recent trip to Michigan with a group of fellow photographers (many I did not know) to photograph the lighthouses on the shores of Lake Michigan.

St Joe Lighthouse

Our two instructors and leaders were part of the "Out of Chicago" Photography event I attended in June. Chris and Tony led the way from Tuesday thru Friday morning as we wound our way up the coast, stopping at various lighthouses and shooting at dawn and dusk. You know that"magic hour" that begins about 1/2 hour before the sun sets or rises and 1/2 hour after the rising or the setting of the sun. Don't ever leave a sunset as soon as the sun sets, the most beautiful time is that 1/2 hour after when the lights and the sky are the absolute most stunning. The first stop we made during the middle of the day was in St. Joseph, MI  where we met for the 1st time. It was hot and humid making me crabby. Sometimes I am defined by the weather, in fact I know I am. I am crabby when it is really humid, sad/depressed when the sun doesn't shine for awhile, happy when the sun shines and a light breeze blows. Does anyone else feel that way, or is it just me?  Thank goodness a cool front moved in and it was pleasant the rest of the trip.

South Haven Lighthouse

South Haven at dark 

We moved on up the coast to South Haven and we were blessed with a beautiful sunset. Arriving when the sun was still bright and staying until dark immersed in the changing colors in the sky. 

The next morning we arrived at the White River Lighthouse (see above) just as the sun was rising, again beautiful morning, stunning skies.  

It must be good fishin' in Lake Michigan, we witnessed many a fisherman heading out in the early morning bringing back (believe it or not) Salmon. 

After breakfast and check-out we again headed north, this time stopping at the Muskegon Lighthouse. Loved the red against the blue of the lake and those white rocks made this a very American red, white and blue scene.

Muskegon Lighthouse

Next stop, Little Sable Lighthouse for another evening of terrific weather and stunning sky-scapes.

The next morning, again bright and early we drove to Big Sable Lighthouse and then walked a mile on a sandy drive to my favorite lighthouse of the trip. I wasn't crazy about walking a mile on sand, but it was so worth it. But....before we even began our walk, it started raining, not a hard rain, softly in turn it created this.....a stunning double rainbow over Lake Michigan.

Big Sable Lighthouse

The following morning we had lovely, pink skies. There is an old maritime way of gauging the weather, pink sky at night sailors delight, pink sky in the morning, sailors warning. But in this case I don't believe it was true. We left shortly after breakfast to return home, the sun was shining brightly with no threats of weather warnings.. 

Frankfort Lighthouse

This is the 2nd photography trip I have made this year, first to Texas and now this one to Michigan. I highly recommend an opportunity to enjoy the company of other passionate photographers, learn more about your camera and adjusting exposures to different lighting situations, pick up tips on composition, and not have your non-camera friends, spouses or partners tapping their toes waiting for you to take that one last shot. 

A Lark or an Owl

by Terri

Are you a morning person or a night owl? Do you rise before dawn or stay up well past midnight? What time would you get up if you were entirely free to plan your day?

The natural time your body prefers to sleep is called your chronotype. Everyone is unique on where they lie on a spectrum. They say that early birds (sometimes called "larks") and night owls are born, not made. There are tests all over the internet to help you determine what your chronotype is but most of us don’t need a test to tell us. We probably already know what our type is. Self-awareness of chronotype is a very accurate predictor.

 
The majority of people are an intermediate or average type and prefer to get up in the morning between 6:30 and 8:30 and go to bed at night between 10:30 and 12:30. I’ve always said I’m neither an early bird nor a night owl, but a “daytime person”. I don’t like getting up before 7:00 if I can help it and am not fond of staying up later than 11. 

But what do you do when your chronotype vastly differs from your spouse or person you live with? My husband is usually up between 4-5:00 in the morning and asleep by 8:00 at night – definitely a morning person. While I’m not by any means a night owl, my preferred times to wake and go to sleep are vastly different from my husband’s – I prefer a 7 to 11 schedule, making me an intermediate or average person. 

Most experts advise sleeping at the times when your body prefers to when possible and we have managed to work around each of our preferred sleeping times. However, when we are planning a trip and my husband wants to take the 5:00 a.m. flight, I draw the line! 

So what is your chronotype? Are you an early bird or a night owl or somewhere in between? Are you an early bird out of necessity because you work but would really rather be a night owl if you had your choice? Is the sunrise something you never see because you'd rather sleep in? Do you stay at a party with your night owl husband long after you'd rather be home in bed? If your chronotype differs from your spouse, how have you been able to work that out? Please share your thoughts in the comments below or in our Facebook group. We'd love to hear!

Happy April, everyone! Don't forget to check out our new focus for this month up in the Monthly Focus tab at the top of the blog and share your photos with us in our Flickr group.  We love seeing them!

No Words Necessary

by Leigh

By now I'm sure you are all familiar with the fact that we all met up in Galveston a couple weeks ago.  And I'm sure you heard about what a wonderful time we had.  My fellow FOL'ers have done such a beautiful job summing up the experience so really what else can I add?  I guess I could tell you about all the laughs…..all the tears….all the gear talk….the post processing chit chats….and the mosquitoes.  I could definitely tell you about the mosquitoes and there is still evidence on my legs!  

………BUT……I bet you wouldn't expect me to talk about the silence.  Yes, you heard me right….silence.  No noise.  No laughter.  No talking.  Just stillness.

At this point you are probably thinking to yourselves…what the heck is Leigh talking about?  You expect me to believe that with a group of 10 women that there were any moments of silence?  But there were.

We gathered together early one morning at the beach led by our sunrise leader Kim.  Everyone found their own spot along the beach as we waited for the first glimpse of the sun.  We chatted as we set up our tripods and discussed our settings and then it was time for the show.  As the first sight of pink along the horizon the chit chat stopped and all that could be heard were the waves rolling in and out.  We stood there witnessing an amazing sunrise.  There were really no words that could have been spoken to make the experience any more grander than it was.  As the sun continued to rise and shine through the clouds the world started to wake up.  The birds began to fly in as they sang their morning songs.  The seagulls flew low along the water waiting for their first catch of the day.  It was a mediative moment for me...a time to breathe in everything around me and just be still and witness the amazing world that we live in.  Joy filled my soul when I realized that everyone else felt the same way and there were no interruptions.  We were all there for the same purpose and stood in silence together.  No words were necessary.

One evening we found a spot to watch the sunset.  We must have caused quite a stir because cars kept slowing down and people asked "what's going on out there?  What are you looking at?  Is there something out there?"  Yes, the sunset we would reply and the people just shrugged their shoulders, rolled up their windows and continued on their way.  I guess it's just a photographer thing.  That beautiful golden hour light makes us slow down and focus on what's happening in the here and now.  The sunset was pretty that evening, but it was the golden glow that really stole the show.  

We returned back to our beach house and realized that there was a spectacular view just across the street.  As you can see….we all did our own thing….totally in our element.  And it was quiet.  And still.  And peaceful.  No words necessary. 

Our last evening in Galveston was spent on the west end of the island where we found a perfect viewing place along a pier.  At one point Kelly and I both stopped shooting and just took it all in.  It was no longer a time for shooting, but a time for reflection.  I'm pretty sure there were tears in both of our eyes.  No words were necessary.

This is what we were watching.  How could you see this and not stop, be quiet and pause for a moment? Watching a sunset never gets old especially when you have this view! 

"It's almost impossible to see a sunset and not dream" 

Thank you to my FOL sisters.  Not only for the laughter and the tears, but thank you for those moments of silence together.  They were truly special.

Worth a Thousand Words

by Susan

 At first I was going to just title this post, 'No Title' and then realized after writing the post... I did indeed have a title. After sitting at this computer for the past several hours going through tens of hundreds of photos, all from our FOL Galveston trip, I was at a loss as what to 'focus on' for my post.  My brain seriously felt... fuzzy... like I'm still trying to process everything from last weeks gathering... too quickly.  Does that make sense?  Have you ever had that moment when you have soooo much to talk about that you just don't know where to begin? That's where I am... 

 

We've all heard the saying 'a photograph is worth a thousand words' right?  I was finding it difficult to find the words to express my gratitude (and it is beyond great) for this past gathering... so I'm going to let my photographs help me out here and speak for themselves.

Carol and Kelly - ready to go! And yes, we did travel like this... well... once. :)

Kelly and Leigh... one, two three JUMP! Not bad at 7:00am in the morning!

To my FOL sisters... thank you, thank you for all the inspiration, laughs, tears, hugs, early morning rises and late night talks... and on and on.  I love you all and will always remember our time together!  ~ xo's

Pretty in Pink

by Kim

"Pink is a beautiful color, because it is one of the colors that the sun

makes at twilight and in the dawns."

- C. JoyBell C.