Idlewild Falls

A few weeks ago I went back to the waterfalls at Lake Idlewild just outside of Waterville, Kansas to see if there was much water running and if there was any ice on the waterfalls. It turned out that there was moderate water flowing and still some ice frozen over the waterfalls.

Getting around the waterfalls was a bit tricky with all the snow covered rocks, but the climb over the rocks was worth it. There are 2 major waterfalls here, I first went down to the lower level falls and then worked my way back up the falls right below the lake. This was my third trip to photograph these waterfalls and I'm sure I will be back many more times. Click on the link below to view my photographs:

Photographs of Idlewild Falls outside of Waterville, Kansas.

Carnahan Creek in the fog

We have been having a lot of foggy days lately, but today was by far the foggiest. I don't think I've ever seen fog like we had today. I headed to the Carnahan Creek area on Tuttle Creek Lake to get some photos. Visibility was only about 30-40' down around the lake. Click on the link below to view my photos from this morning:

Carnahan Creek Park foggy morning photos.

Alcove Springs

My Dad and I braved the cold Saturday to head up to Alcove Springs between Blue Rapids and Marysville in search of a frozen waterfall. A couple of years ago we had gone up there during a really cold spell and the ice formations were amazing. This year though no such luck. It looked like the waterfalls had frozen over, but either the ice had naturally broken or someone had helped nature along. In any case, I was able to get some pictures of the setting sun and the shadows falling across the snow. Best thing about this evening was the silence, there was virtually no sound...I could have spent a lot of time there, except for the cold! Click on the link below to view my photos from this trip:

Alcove Springs, Winter Photographs

Last of 2009

I was out at Stockdale Park on Tuttle Creek Lake to catch the last sunset of 2009. Turned out it was a good one (aren't they all?). I set up on a boat ramp to shoot the sun as it was dipping down below the far hills. It was really quiet that evening and I could hear the ice on the lake making all sorts of eerie noises.

After shooting the sunset, I drove farther down the cove where it opened out onto the lake to wait for the moon rise. This happened to be a "blue moon" which despite the name isn't blue. A blue moon occurs when you get 2 full moons in one month, which on average occurs every 2.5 years. The next time a blue moon will occur on Dec 31st will be 2028. Maybe if I'm still around I'll come back to this spot and try to photograph it again!

The moon photo shown in this post is from a sequence of shots showing the moon rising above the hills. These were taken over a 4 min span.

I also got to see a couple of foxes crossing the frozen lake and one of them came right up to my vehicle. One the way that evening I saw several deer and some quail. I'll take that over Times Square any day!

More photos from this evening are at the link below:

Last Sunset and Blue Moon, 2009, Stockdale Park, Kansas.

Winter at Pillsbury Crossing

With all the snow lately, Pillsbury Crossing has a lot of water flowing right now. I came home with some really cold feet after shooting these, but it was worth it. Click on the link below to view the photos:

Winter Photographs of Pillsbury Crossing, Kansas.

Happy New Year!