… more November goodness out at the Tolleston Dunes. Muted colors under a grey sky are so much fun to work with, and the sparse foliage provides more options for composition.
The Tolleston dune complex is older that the dunes closer to the lake and supports a rare Black Oak Savanna ecosystem. Black Oak Savanna once covered 5 million acres in the Great Lakes region. Today only about 30,000 acres remain and about 10% of that is found within the Indiana Dunes National Park.
By mid November much but not all of the ground cover has receeded. But this just means that there are more options for subject isolation and compositions that feature strong lines.
In another post I quipped about people seeming surprised that I would come out to the park to photograph dead leaves. Dead and dying leaves are so interesting though. The colors and textures are fascinating and beautiful.
Dead leaves and water always a good combination.
Mosses, Lichens and Fungi are year round subjects. The patterns and textures they present make for interesting closeups.
Outside of a three week span in January, winter 2023/24 has been a bust. No real snow, no real cold, just a whole lot of bummer. At least so far as I am concerned, I am pretty sure that most of the rest of Chicago has been happy not to have to deal with much winter weather.
Between the lack of appealing weather and my busy winter work schedule, I have not been outdoors much. But I have managed to get out a bit which is always nice. One way to work a mild winter along the southern shore of Lake Michigan is to take advantage of warm moist air from the gulf running up and into the 38 degree lake water which creates some great foggy and misty conditions. Perfect for capturing water droplets.
Wetlands and misty, foggy mornings go together like peanut butter and jelly. On this day there were some nice atmospheric shots to be had down in the Great Marsh at the base of the Dune Ridge trail.One of the reasons I am so drawn to taking photographs from down low and close up perspectives is that you can capture an otherworldly effect. A fairly ordinary patch of moss at the edge of the trail can become an alien landscape when you frame it right. The tiny droplets of water on the stalks provide the icing on the cake.A super closeup of another patch of moss. Now the stalks appear almost as a dense forest. And within each water drop can be seen images of this miniature world.
Another frequent occurrence are clear and cloudless days which provide good opportunity to work on my landscape techniques, which really can use some work.
I guess I really like getting up close to patches of moss. By removing almost all context, these brightly lit stalks have a very pleasing, abstract quality. From atop one of the taller foredunes in the West Beach complex, you get a nice view of the Chicago skyline which is about 28 miles away. You will get a good stair workout making it to this vantage point as you have to ascend a flight of 150 stairs which were put in place to protect the still unstabilized face of the dune.
The figure in the distance is cresting the sand bluff looking out over the beach and Lake Michigan.
