Soul Centered Photography: July 2020

Monday, July 13, 2020

Comet Neowise

The Comet 'Neowise" is the most exciting comet in the northern hemisphere since Hale-Bopp in 1997. I don't remember if I saw Hale-Bopp so I wanted to make sure to see and photograph Neowise. I did some research online and read that a good time to view the comet is 45 minutes before sunrise looking towards north east, pretty low on the horizon.

On day one (July 11) I arrived at my location an hour before sunrise but was not able to see the comet. The sky was already too bright. I decided to wait for the sunrise - with hundreds of mosquitos buzzing around me.

On day 2 (July 12) I got up earlier and went to an open field not far from my home and arrived there at 3:30am. I spotted the comet right away - wow, what a beautiful sight!

I stayed until 4:15am and headed home.

On day 3 (July 13) I wanted to go to a lake and see if I could capture the comet reflecting in the water. I had to get up at 2am to arrive in time at the Chippewa Flowage (Wisconsin).

I am so glad I put in the effort as the view was breathtaking. To stand in the dark and listen to the night sounds, watching a comet with a long tail is quite a special experience.

On my way home I stopped at a few places to capture the colors of dawn and the sunrise at a bog.

The comet Neowise will still be around through the month of July and can be seen in the evenings after sunset looking towards north west.

Addition on July 16: I added 4 more photos from an outing on July 15 in the evening. Best time of viewing was 10:30-11pm, towards North North West.

It was a very peaceful and quiet night at a lake in the Blue Hills. I heard frogs, splashes in the water and a loon. The fireflies were dancing (the mosquitos as well, ha, ha...) - very magical!!

Some more tit bids I found online:

When was NEOWISE first discovered? Comet C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) was discovered on March 27, 2020 – not from Earth’s surface – but from by a space observatory some 326 miles (525 km) above Earth’s surface. It’s named for its discoverer, the Near Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, aka NEOWISE, which was launched by NASA in 2009.

Comet NEOWISE was closest to the sun on July 3, 2020, passing at about 26.7 million miles (43 million km) from the sun, or a bit closer than the average distance from the sun to Mercury. Unlike some comets, it survived the close encounter with our star and went on to become widely seen by binocular observers and astrophotographers.

Enjoy, Susanne

Click on the photos for a larger view. Interested in purchasing a print? go to my website: www.soulcenteredphotography.net
Get 15% off with code Beauty2020, minimum purchase $35

Sunrise in the Blue Hills (near Exeland) on day 1

Comet Neowise -day 2 at 3:45am

Comet Neowise -day 2 at 3:50am

Comet Neowise -day 3 at 3:37am, Reflecting in the water (Chippewa Flowage)

Comet Neowise -day 3 at 3:38am, Chippewa Flowag

Comet Neowise -day 3 at 3:57am with Venus to the right, Chippewa Flowage

Colors of dawn and fog - Chippewa Flowage

Colors of dawn - Couderay River near Radisson, Wisconsin

Sunrise in a bog

Comet Neowise, July 15 at 10:30pm, in the Blue Hills, WI

Comet Neowise, July 15 at 11pm, in the Blue Hills, WI, photobombed by a firefly

Comet Neowise with reflections in a lake, July 15 at 11pm, in the Blue Hills, WI

Thursday, July 9, 2020

Loon watching at Audie Lake

My first kayak trip to Audie Lake (in the Blue Hills, northern Wisconsin) this summer was magical. I know I have used this word several times in some of my previous blogs but it has been a very special year for me in spite of all what's going on in the world right now.

It was a very quiet and calm evening and the lake was like a mirror or glass. For the first time I brought my good camera and long lens with me in the hopes of seeing some loons.

I started out exploring the south west part of the lake and saw two immature Green-backed Herons in a tree which didn't seem to mind my presence. But no loons. As I was heading back towards the campground I saw one loon and got very excited. I watched him or her for quite some time and took several photos but I was too far away (or my lens wasn't long enough!?!? The longest zoom lens I own is 70-200mm, not long enough to get good wildlife photos.) Then the loon disappeared and I was paddling towards another area of the lake and all of a sudden I saw the loon again and a second one was swimming towards him/her.

They came closer and closer towards me and I just watched. It was the sweetest thing to see how the two met up, greeted each other and spent time together. I assumed it was a pair (unfortunately no chicks in sight). Male and female loons have identical plumage, which makes them nearly impossible to tell apart by sight alone.

I included the whole series of photos I took of the two as it tells a story. The loons were in the shade so the red eyes don't show but the background was in sunlight and very colorful.

I found a very good website about loons with sound recordings of their different calls. Check it out: https://loon.org/about-the-common-loon/

Now of course I am dreaming about getting a longer lens, though I am not really a wildlife photographer.

As always, thanks for viewing and Enjoy! Susanne

Click on the photos for a larger view. Interested in purchasing a print? go to my website: www.soulcenteredphotography.net
Get 15% off with code Beauty2020, minimum purchase $35

Cell phone photo - perfect reflections

Audie Lake like a mirror

Immature Green-backed Heron in tree

Beaver house in a floating bog

First loon sighting

The two loons meet

I cropped this image as I was so touched by the way these two looked at each other

Getting closer together

So sweet!!

Magical evening light 1

Magical evening light 2

Magical evening light 3

Saturday, July 4, 2020

Kayak trip to the Sea Caves, Lake Superior

I have visited the Mainland Sea Caves/Ice Caves near Cornucopia, Wisconsin many times in the Winter. And also hiked the trail above the sea caves several times but never had a chance to explore the caves in a kayak. I thought this would be a good outing for my 60tieth birthday. I signed up for a half day trip with an outfitter in Cornucopia (Lost Creek Adventures). A good friend of mine joined me as I wanted to take photos and needed someone in the back of the tandem kayak.

We met at 4pm at the outfitter and headed to Meyer's Beach where we got some basic instructions. It was an incredibly warm and humid day, very unusual for early July at Lake Superior. It felt good to get out on the water to cool off a bit. Our group consisted of 3 kayaks (6 people) and one guide.

It was a gorgeous summer day with blue sky, a few clouds and the orange - reddish sand cliffs were lit up by the late afternoon sun but taking photos was challenging. We had to stay with the group so I had no time to explore on my own and the waves were big enough to bop the kayak up and down which meant lots of blurry pictures. But it was a fun afternoon and I recognized many of the locations from my visits in the winter.

The guide shared some history of the area and geography which was interesting.

I hope I get another chance to get out there on a calmer day and without the time pressure.

The day ended with a moody sunset at Meyer's Beach and a late supper in Bayfield.

Enjoy, Susanne

Click on the photos for a larger view. Interested in purchasing a print? go to my website: www.soulcenteredphotography.net
Get 15% off with code Beauty2020, minimum purchase $35

Wednesday, July 1, 2020

Lake Superior Magic, part 2

This is part 2 of my recent Lake Superior trip along the north shore (Minnesota).

Please see part 1 for more photos. https://soulcenteredphotography.blogspot.com/2020/06/lake-superior-magic.html

We had amazing weather with blue sky, clouds and sunshine!

I let the photos speak for themselves.

Enjoy, Susanne

Click on the photos for a larger view. Interested in purchasing a print? go to my website: www.soulcenteredphotography.net
Get 15% off with code Beauty2020, minimum purchase $35