This Week at the Lake – 11/52

/0 Comments/in , , , , , , , , /by

This Week at the Lake - 11/52

This week I made two lunch break trips to the lake. I have been so busy at work the last few weeks that it is hard for me to break away. I’m glad that I’m doing this project because it really forces me to make time to get there. After I leave the lake, I’m always glad I went. It’s a great break in the middle of the day.

The above shot is the same bridge I lead off with last week, just a much different perspective. I took that shot on Friday. That day I actually carried my camera bag with me, something I don’t usually do. Because I did, I was able to switch lenses and get a much different view of the same bridge. You really should view it LARGE on Black – it looks much better that way!

IMG_1158 copy
This deer greeted me at the very beginning of the trail on Wednesday. I got very close to her. I processed it a couple different ways and I let my wife choose what she thought was the best – black and white it is!

IMG_1193 copy
This is a different deer, this shot was taken on the east side of the Lake Trail on Friday. She appears to be very pregnant. Again, black and white seemed like a great fit to the photo.

IMG_1163 copy
Finally, I caught this heron on Wednesday. I wanted to wait a while to see if I could get a shot of it taking off or flying, but I had to get going to get back to work….

This Week at the Lake – 10/52

/0 Comments/in , , , , /by

This Week at the Lake - 10/52

My 10th week was a very short one. I was traveling for work on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. On Friday, I spent the morning registering my son for Kindergarten! Wow, I can’t believe he’ll be in school!

So the only chance I had was Thursday on my lunch break. So I had about 30 to 40 minutes to get something decent for the week. I’m not sure I really got anything great, but I guess that’s how it can go sometimes during a year long project.

There were some big storm clouds in the sky so I parked at the west entrance hoping to get a wide shot of the lake with the clouds overhead. I was going to walk down the road some to get a good view when I came up to this:

So, scratch that idea. I walked back to see what I could see along the lake trail through the woods. That trail starts off with the bridge at the top of this post. While crossing this bridge I noticed a deer laying down in the mud:

I almost completely missed it.

By then it was time to head back to the car – yes, 40 minutes really goes by that fast… (also because while I was on the road, I spent some time stalking a turtle that resulted in no photos)

On the way back to the car, I caught this woodpecker:

This Week at the Lake – 9/52

/0 Comments/in , , , , , /by

IMG_1065 copy

Well I struggled to get anything decent this week. I was only able to visit the lake twice, for 40 minutes on Wednesday and 40 minutes on Thursday. Most of my best shots come when I can get there first thing in the morning – unfortunately, I was not able to do that this week.
On top of that, most of the road was closed due to storm damage. Radnor Lake received heavy damage along Otter Creek Road in the recent heavy rains that flooded Nashville. Check this photo out on Radnor Lake’s website! It’s absolutely incredible the damage that can be caused by water…

Along with the damage to the road, they said over 50 trees were down. Most of the Lake trail that I usually walk seemed ok. You could tell there was heavy rain and a lot of water but there didn’t appear to be major damage.

The above shot shows a deck they had to close. This deck overlooks a creek that results in the water flowing over the dam. During the heavy rains, the sides of the creek were washed away right up to one of the posts of this deck. It was very close to washing the entire deck away!

IMG_1068_69_70_tonemapped copy
This shot shows where they have closed Otter Creek Road

IMG_1071 copy
Here is a big snapping turtle trying to escape the muck! There is a lot of extra debris and mud in the water because of the heavy rains.

IMG_1058 copy
One of the many benches along the Lake Trail

For more information on my 52 week project at Radnor Lake – Click Here

This Week at the Lake – 8/52

/0 Comments/in , , , , , , , , , /by

This Week at the Lake 8/52
Camera: Canon Xsi
Lens : Canon 70-200 2.8L
Exposure: 1/160
Aperture: f2.8
Focal Length: 200 mm
ISO Speed: 100

For more information on my 52 week project at Radnor Lake, see my first blog entry about it called This Week at the Lake – 7/52

The above shot was taken Thursday morning, before work. I got there at about 6:30 am and walked a little of the trails. There were several deer down in the water and I got a few shots but this one was the best I think. If you look close, you can see it was a buck!

Also from the same morning:

Camera: Canon Xsi
Lens : Canon 70-200 2.8L
Exposure: 1/125
Aperture: f2.8
Focal Length: 200 mm
ISO Speed: 100
It’s funny because when you carry around a large lens, everyone you see on the trail feels like they need to tell you everything they saw (not really a bad thing I guess). I was heading back and I passed a lady who told me about a wood duck sitting on a log. These wood duck are so hard to get close to. I left the trail (which is not allowed at Radnor) and got as close as I could. Got a few shots and he flew off. I would love to be able to find a good sitting spot off the trail one day and just spend some time there.


Camera: Canon Xsi
Lens : Canon 70-200 2.8L
Exposure: 1/125
Aperture: f2.8
Focal Length: 70 mm
ISO Speed: 800
I’m not real happy by the way this turned out but I liked the idea. I wanted him to stop and look at me but while I was trying to get these shots a group ladies came power walking by and the deer ran off.
There are still plenty of wildflowers blooming all around Radnor Lake. On the way back to the car I grabbed these:

Also last week I visited Monday morning. It was still raining off and on then and the sky was very dark and stormy so I didn’t stay long:

Camera: Canon Xsi
Lens : Canon 28-135 3.5-5.6
Exposure: 3 exposure HDR (1/200, 1/50, 1/13)
Aperture: f9
Focal Length: 28 mm
ISO Speed: 100

This was taken Monday morning also. The wind was blowing too much for HDR, so I did some “Orton” processing on it and I thought it looked cool

Camera: Canon Xsi
Lens : Canon 28-135 3.5-5.6
Exposure: 3 exposure HDR (1/5, .8, 3.2)
Aperture: f8
Focal Length: 135 mm
ISO Speed: 100

By Friday, I needed a lunch break at the lake. Stopped by and caught this deer in the water:

Camera: Canon Xsi
Lens : Canon 70-200 2.8L
Exposure: 1/400
Aperture: f2.8
Focal Length: 200 mm
ISO Speed: 100

This Week at the Lake – 7/52

/0 Comments/in , , , , , , , , /by


Technical info:
All shots with the Canon XSi
Sigma 10-20 f4-5.6 at 10mm
3 exp (-2, 0, +2)
f10, (1/1000, 1/250, 1/60)
Hand held (only because I left the tripod at home!)
ISO 100

I’m 7 weeks into a 52 week project called “This Week at the Lake”.
“The Lake” is Radnor Lake in Brentwood/Nashville Tennessee
[googlemaps http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=36.045629,-86.786842&spn=0.041292,0.123596&z=14&output=embed&w=425&h=350]

It’s a great place for photography and it’s very close to where I work in Brentwood. I’m able to go on my lunch break and occasionally early in the morning. There’s always plenty of wildlife and beautiful wooded or lake scenes. If you walked all the way around (which I don’t have time for usually) you will hike almost 2.5 miles. 1.8 of it is a wooded hiking trail, the rest follows Otter Creek road, a road that has been closed.

My main goal in visiting there so often is to see an Eagle or an Owl, both of which are definitely there. I’ve already got a shot of a Red Tailed Hawk, Turkey and plenty of Deer.

Every Saturday I’ll post a collection of shots taken that week at Radnor Lake.

This week I was only able to make two short lunch break trips. Along with the benches above, I got these:

70-200 2.8 L at 200mm
f2.8, 1/2000
ISO 100


Canon 70-200 2.8 L at 200mm
f2.8, 1/320
ISO 100


Canon 70-200 2.8 L at 200mm
f2.8, 1/250
ISO 100