After my last check up and finally getting my leg brace unlocked I am able to do a little more walking now. I drove through Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge and I was blown away as to how frozen over the lake was. I took a walk to what I though was going to give me some good shots. I tried long lens with ND filters to slow things down. I went wide lens and tried focus stacking. When I got to look at them on the compute I was pretty disappointed by the results. It just didn’t work for me.

The day was not a fail though. As I drove away from the first spot some orange bouys caught my eye and I figured I would come back to them later. Driving around the lake I saw some deer and hawks but none stood around long enough for me to get a good shot. The spillway was roaring with water escaping the full frozen lake. The back side of the lake led me to my favorite shot of the day. I just took a quick snap and I love the results. It just looks peaceful and serene to me.

I finally came  back around to where I started. These orange bouys almost straight in a line. I set my camera as low as I could and took some shots. I played around with editing and just cant make up my mind on my favorite look. There is one with depth of field and the other 3 are focus stacked for clarity but some color changes and fog effect in a couple for different feelings. If you would leave me a comment and let me know your favorite one.

1.) Full color with Depth of Field

2.) Color selected on the buoys. (with added fog)

3.) Black and White (with added fog)

4.) Full color all sharp no fog.

If you want to see a video about the capturing of these pictures click here.

“Silence is a lesson learned through life’s many sufferings.”- Seneca