UP Trip Continues

Well the UP trip has continued to bring good luck and weather. I am up in the Tahquamenon Falls -Whitefish Point area. Unbelievable the number of hawks gathered here for the big jump over Lake Superior. Also, I visited the Tahquamenon Falls today. Unbelievable the amount of water going over the falls. This is the spring snowmelt runoff. Since everthing else is still brown and because I could I decided to try an abstaction.

Then I tried getting some photos of hawks. But as so often happens I found something else to photograph. A Northern Flicker was kind enough to pose for me. Actually, this took about 1 hour or more of mostly standing still. Not much on bird identification but believe that this is a female as it lacks a mustache. Been up since 5:00 this morning and got a pretty good sunrise over Lake Superior. Will try for a sunset over the Lake this evening. Hope that the good weather holds out for another day or so. Comments are always welcome.

Greetings from the UP (Upper Peninsula) of Michigan. I am up here hoping for the spring hawk and owl migration. Well today, though I saw a few hawks, no owls, my bigger find was the sandhill cranes. There were a group of three in the woods near wetland areas. Here is one of them. Have a new rented lens a Nikon 500 mm F4 which is doing a bang up job so far. Tomorrow may be more opportunities. Thanks for looking.

New Poster Available

I now have a new poster available. It is of Michigan Barns. Michigan has many classic barns of different sizes, shapes and colors. One of the red barns has an interesting story; the owner fell out of the loft and broke his collar bone. Once in the hospital it was discovered that he had a heart problem, so I guess that falling out of the loft saved his life. This is one case where I actually met the owners and they were really nice people who not only allowed me to photograph the barn but shared their stories.

Spring Finally??

http://www.tomhaxbyphotos.com/
There are a few signs of spring in the north country and one of them is when the ice starts to melt. This was taken from the lakeshore along Lake Michigan on March 29th. A couple of weeks ago (March 2nd) there were large ice formations along the shore. The sunset image is actually a several second exposure. The sunset image will be offered through my website. Soon I hope to be posting more images as the spring season progresses. Thanks for visiting and please check back for updates.

New DVD

I have created a DVD with many of my images (some not previously published or available on the website). A thank you goes to Steve Eisele of Manton, Michigan (Steven D.) for providing the music. To view the web version of the video see http://www.photodex.com/sharing/viewalbum.html?bm=85339

The DVD is a slideshow created using the Photodex Pro Show Gold. You may have to download a Photodex Presenter which allows the show to run. To start the show select the slide icon, you will see a brief promo slide for Photodex and then select "Loop All". If you have speakers and a sound card, turn them on. The music is very upbeat and compliments the images very well. Enjoy. Any feedback is welcomed. Especially if you have trouble running the show.

Photo Posters Available

A new line of posters is being created featuring some of my favorite images in a collage. The first in a series is the Michigan Wildflowers. More flower posters feature different wildflowers will be available later. Also, a series of Michigan Waterfalls posters has been started. These posters are a sample of the woodland flowers found throughout Michigan and the waterfalls of which most are found in the Upper Peninsula. Bulk orders of these posters will be accepted at special reduced prices.

Ice Boat Regatta

Perhaps unilke any other sport, ice boat racing is a true northern tradition. These photos were taken on Elk Lake on March 16, 2008 as the annual regatta was being held. Though still quite cool the warm sunshine made the day feel very comfortable. The ice conditions were good and the wind was just about right. Some of these boats can easily reach speeds of 80 mph. Ice thickness is at least 18 inches which is a testament to the the cold this winter. Though the ice is thick, in some places cracks form, which can catch the runners on the boats. The races in the regatta are a series of ovals around the coarse and as the boats chatter on by the wind fills their sails. Looks like a good time.