Category Archives: Outdoor / Wildlife
Culver Indiana Photography: Culver Sunset
Ginny and I tried at the last minute to catch the April Fool’s Day sunset. We managed to get a few photos of the end of this beautiful day.
Culver Indiana Photography: Academy Horses on Break
Today, Ginny and I decided to take a short break from work and take some pictures of the horses that were out in one of Culver Academies’ fields. It was a beautiful, sunny day, and I think the horses liked the company, though they get a little bashful around clicking cameras. Here are a handful of the shots we took. Enjoy!
Culver Indiana Photography: Sunsets and Full Moon in Culver
Yesterday and today, Ginny and I went over to Culver Academies campus and took some shots just at sunset. Tonight, we were fortunate enough to enjoy a full moon as it rose over the lake and cast a golden glow across campus. This is a collection of our shots on campus during this time of the evening when all is quiet on campus. It has been especially quiet the past two days, as the kids and faculty/staff are on Spring Break. It’s a beautiful time of the day to take a few moments to capture the quiet calm of campus and the lake. Ginny wanted to photograph all of the trees on campus. We hope you enjoy this collection of moments at sunset on the lake and beautiful Culver Academies campus.
Indiana Photography: St. Joseph, Michigan Sunset
While nature photographer Corey Hilz was here, we (Grant and Corey) decided to drive north to St. Joseph, Michigan. We weren’t sure what we are going to see, but we thought it would be nice if we could catch a sunset. We did get some sunsets and other scenes, such as guys fishing, a beautiful light house, and some boats that seemed to play on the water the entire time we were there. In addition to what is included here, there are more of these photos posted at www.culverphotos.com. Ginny’s favorite are the ones with a pink sky. I like the lonely fishing pole. There didn’t appear to be a lot of fish coming in on those poles, but I thought they made for a good shot. I didn’t shoot them, but we also saw a lot of couples who came out to the pier just to see the sunset. I can honestly say that I know now why they do and I hope to take Ginny the next time I make that trip with a camera.
Indiana Photography: Indiana Dunes
Today, we (Grant and Corey Hilz) explored some of the many state parks located at the Indiana Dune’s waterfront. It was hot with a lot of hiking involved, but once the sun started to set, the shots were worth the sore feet I had when I got home. In several of the sunset shots, the skyline of Chicago can be seen on the right side of the photo. I couldn’t believe you could see that skyline from where we were. I was grateful to capture some of it.
I had to play around with a lot of settings, as it’s easier to blow out the sky on sunsets than it is to capture some color. I also find it more difficult than it would seem to capture foregrounds, such as the shoreline, while trying not to completely blow out a shot. You have to work rather quickly once the sun gets low in the horizon, as you lose the light quickly, but I enjoyed trying to get a few shots while there was enough light to adjust the settings until I found a shot I liked. Though we got home really late (after midnight), I enjoyed making that trip and hope to make it again next summer.
Indiana Photography: Bridges and Barns
While nature photographer Corey Hilz was here, he wanted to shoot some country scenes, so I took him out to do what Ginny and I like to do–roam around the country roads until we see something interesting. On this trip, we found some bridges and barns. Corey spends several minutes (up to an hour) setting up a scene shot. He uses his tripod and waits for all the right elements to fall into place. He’ll wait half an hour for the clouds to line up as he wants them. Those who know me know I tend to show signs of ADHD, so I’m not as patient as Corey; however, I did try to pay more attention to my lines, the sky, and composition. Here are a few shots of our day of shooting bridges and barns.
Indiana Photography: Corn and Country Roads
As noted in other entries, Ginny and I like to hit the country roads and take pictures. For some reason, on this day, we tended to take photos of roads and corn. Maybe it’s because the lines popped out at us, or maybe we were just craving corn on the cob. We ended our day taking shots of some wild flowers along the side of the road. Ginny took several pictures of bees pollinating the flowers. Their wings move so quickly that it was difficult to get a focused shot. Ginny claims she needs to purchase a certain lens from her dream list, so she can take more close-ups of bugs. She did seem to like those bees. She also likes to take wooden posts and signs along the road. We might need to avoid the pictures of signs that say “Private Property.” We tend to not pay attention to details that could get us in trouble. We promise that we don’t cross that particular line and we do stay off private property, however. Hope you enjoy some of lines we discovered among the roads and the rows of corn.
Culver Indiana Photography: Country Shots
We like to get in the car and roam around the country roads around Culver and take pictures of whatever we see. Ginny was reading a photoblog of a photographer in Pennsylvania who shoots only within a 15-mile radius of her home. So, we thought we’d try to do the same thing to see what surrounds Culver. What we discovered is that there is beauty all around us. Our first trip out found us wandering the cornfield-lined roads for hours. Included here are a few shots of what we found. We hope it’ll inspire you to take a few minutes to “wander Indiana.” On our route, we saw a woman collecting wild flowers. We found this simple task to have its own inherent beauty. Ginny decided to ask her permission to photograph her as she rode her bike away from us. She smiled and said, “I guess that would be okay.” If for some reason she finds her way to this blog, we hope she will see the beauty we saw in her as she traveled down the road on this day.
Bahamas Vacation Photography: Cat Island
For Ginny’s birthday, I surprised her with a trip to Cat Island. She had no idea where we were going until we reached the airport. It was a lot of fun keeping that one a secret from her. We arrived in Nassau where we had honeymooned about 14 years earlier. We spent one night there, and then we took a small (and I mean small) airplane to Cat Island. Cat Island has literally no commercial development on it. It’s considered and “out” island, in that it’s out there in the Bahamas. 
We had the beach there to ourselves, and we had a chef who prepared our meals. Each afternoon after lunch, the chef would ask what we wanted for dinner. She’d tell us what fresh foods they had on hand, and then she’d prepare these incredibly wonderful meals. We had no television to speak of, so we laid by the beach and read books. In fact, I read photgraphy books while Ginny read fiction for the first time in years. (Ginny is an editor and reads all the time, but she doesn’t often have time to read fiction.) It was, as Ginny says, “The most relaxing time I’ve ever had.” We highly recommend a trip to this part of the world if you seek only the sounds of the ocean, the dogs running down the beach, and your spouse. It was the best vacation I’ve ever taken with Ginny. She claims the same, so I’m sure we’ll be going back. I hope the photos reflect the beauty and relaxation we found on this trip.
