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.
At the start of 2023 I set a goal to make it out to the park an average of once per week. I hit visit #52 with two weeks to spare!
This visit was to the Bailly Calumet trail. The lack of winter around here is getting pretty annoying, but by going out a bit early I was able to catch some of the lingering morning frost, hidden in the deeper shadows. Ice is nice, just wish we had more of it.
This time of year the ground is covered with a bed of dry leaves. But the ground underneath is usually nice and moist, so it really pays to turn over logs and rocks. You never know what will come crawling out, or what might be sticking to the bottom.By the time I get out to the trails the early morning frost is usually long gone. But if you look in the shadows you can still find remnants. Click on the image to view it full size, the details of the ice crystal growth are simply amazing. The way they grow off of the edges of the leaves really highlights the incredible amount of detail in the undergrowth.This time of year the fallen leaves are still nice and crisp. So they provide a nice foundation for crystal growth.
