A Cold Start to the New Year

Spending New Year's up north on Legend Lake was a wonderful way to relax.  It was cold though.  But there was also a blue moon.  I caught a few shots but the one shown here is a setting moon on the morning of January 2nd.  It was about 5 below zero but the winds were calm and it was quiet.  It was so quiet that all I could hear was my own breathing.  Soon the sun came up and I was able to watch my little world wake to new day.

Return to Legend Lake

It's been a long winter. With my move to downtown Milwaukee, I haven't been 'up north' since November. While the lake is still frozen, the weather is starting to warm. However the ice is still thick enough that trucks still ride across the lake to enjoy ice fishing. For me, it was a chance to 'walk on water' or at least frozen water, camera in hand. The weather was mostly overcast creating an all too common winter scene.

The birch trees stood out more than anything else in the landscape. Even with the bright white of the frozen lake, these trees appeared to rise from the ground like white veins popping from the shoreline against the darker trees. Although the light was even and flat, the contrast was most striking.

I was able to get out to do some shooting yesterday and it's a good thing I did it then.  Yesterday morning was a "balmy" 15 F.  Today, it's a much different story at -4 F with wind chills in the -35 F range.  Definitely a day to stay indoors.  The scene here is a boat launch in the Third Ward of Milwaukee.  I find this boat launch somewhat curious as it is located in a very industrial area of the city but offers quick access to Milwaukee Harbor and Lake Michigan.

The skies warn of the coming snow which, in this case, was only a couple of inches but adds to the foot of snow we received on Friday.  And there's another storm brewing for Tuesday.  Ahhh, winter in Wisconsin . . .

Brrrrrr

Brrrrrr, originally uploaded by RJIPhotography.

Winter has arrived and for the second consecutive December, we seem to be getting snow storm after snow storm. Another is on it's way as we speak. This means it's cold outside which translates to ice along Lake Michigan.

So, I visited North Point (again) this past Sunday to find the old pier covered with ice. The four pillars resemble four gnomes marking into the icy waters of Lake Michigan. It was a frigid morning for sure with temperatures in the single digits but I had to continue to play with my Canon 5D Mark II. The detail this camera captures continues to amaze me.