Grass anyone?

Not that kind of grass!! Who calls "it" grass these days anyhow? No, this is some kind of landscape grass that's quite popular these days. There was a beautiful deep blue sky today and I thought the contrast of this wispy pale grass against the sky would look nice.

Not too many nights like this left!

After a cold, cloudy, wet opening to this September Saturday, it actually ended up being a nice day(or evening).  Since the wife and kids were in Chicago, I grabbed the camera and went in search of a sunset.  I ended up at the beach.  The sunset was really nice, but it was bittersweet.  I'm glad I got this shot, but then I kicked myself for not dropping the boat in.  I had thought about it, but then my lazy gene kicked in.  The sunset would have looked beautiful either way, but there is definitely a different feeling when viewing while floating on the water.  There won't be too many opportunities left this year.  This definitely is one you want to doubleclick on.

Any Day Now

The signs are there: constant honking of geese starting their migrations, plunging into darkness earlier and earlier every day, pumpkins for sale, and last but not least, CHANGING COLORS. But, while the color change is not extremely evident yet in the trees, it is becoming more and more noticeable in the fields in the area. If you look for it, you'll see fields of gold at this time of the year. Fields that were a solid green during summer, are now various shades of green yellow, orange, red, and a little brown. Here is a nice farm scene that gives an idea of what I'm talking about. Remember, you can view a larger size of the picture by clicking on it. Also, if you notice, I have included a poll to the right if you want to place your vote. Fall is coming......any day now.

10,000!!!!

It was only 10 months ago that I got my first Digital Single Lens Reflex Camera(DSLR) and today I am celebrating my 10,000th picture taken with it. When I do the math, it's hard to believe that I have taken that many pictures in 10 months. I'm sure those of you who followed my 120 day project thought I sent you all 10,000 photos, but no, just a small fraction of that have been sent out or even kept for that matter. That truly is the beauty of digital. I don't sweat experimenting and trying new things with digital since it cost me nothing more than some time, unlike film.
I always make a committment to use what I purchase, and usually, I keep that committment. This, I think, is one of those times. Here's a shot of some fountains I have driven past several times and I always think "You should get off the highway and see if you can get a nice shot". I usually keep driving, but today I did it.

Close to home

It never ceases to amaze me what I can find somewhat close to home when I look for it. I was up quite early Sunday morning as usual, grabbed some coffee, and plopped down in front of my computer to check emails, sports scores, etc. I had no intention of heading out for any picture taking. BUT, then out my office window, I caught a glimpse of orange in a clear sky with the sun rising. That little voice came on in my head, "Mark, don't be so lazy. What is so important with your emails at 5:45 am that you can't go out and catch a beautiful sunrise? So I said to myself, "Self, you're right". I headed west and right away I could see there might be some opportunity for some nice landscape shots, with all the fog that was going on and a somewhat clear sky. After driving about 15-20 minutes, I decided to turn down a "paved" side road. Paved might be giving it too much credit. I drove another 5 minutes and saw a County Preserve sign that was set back off the road and the gates were open. (Notice: If for some reason, you feel you need to have gates across your entrance to your land/home, and they are open, I will drive down that road.) I drove down it and while driving for about 5 minutes, I could tell there was going to be water of some kind in the preserve just by the type of vegetation along the road.A little sidenote. Many of my landscapes will include some kind of water in the shot,river, lake, fountains. With the absence of any kind of mountains or large hills in Illinois, you gotta grab what you can . Sure enough. I found one of the most beautiful lake scenes I've ever viewed in the area. The preserve was well kept, but I really think its a well kept secret to most people. There was at least one loon on the lake ( I have never seen a loon in Illinois until now, besides the drivers on the tollway), some geese and during my hour and a half there I saw 2 deer, 2 Blue Herons, numerous hawks, and, of course, the prerequisite geese and ducks.
This area has since jumped up to number one on my list of places to visit more this fall. You can see in the pic colors are on the verge of turning. I can only imagine what this place will look like in about 3-4 weeks.

Pearls of Dew

Another beautiful morning to go on a photo drive. Heavy fog rolled in last night. My drive today took me to a forest preserve marina on the Fox River. With the fog, distant vistas weren't happening, so I focused on what was in front of me. The first picture is of a spiderweb dripping with dew with the Fox River in the background. The second is peaceful ripples in the water. And the third is a perspective view to show the density of the fog. Enjoy.

Last night of summer

Another year at the beach over. Two sad kids on the way home last night. But, even though summer got off to a slow start, there was a lot of beach activity that gave them memories to hold them through winter.

The beginning

Post Number One!!!! This blog is my new adventure. As many of you know, I am an avid amateur photographer. I got my first DSLR almost one year ago and decided that in order to learn how to use it, I better use it. That lead to a 120 Day Photo Project where I sent out at least one photo a day for 120 days to a select group of friends and family. That project ended recently and since then I feel a little lost without the focus it gave me. Its one thing to just go out and shoot and view my pics. But, for me, it's a totally different animal to shoot and share my pictures with others. So that is how this blog got started.
The name? Well, that's been a nickname given to me by my wife and used when she's not very happy with me. It's really kind of a joke, but when she calls me "EvilBear", I know to behave myself. Somehow it has become the name of this blog.
I hope to keep advancing my photography skills with this project and I am eagerly looking forward to comments by followers of my posts. I will try to be somewhat consistant with my posts. It might not be everyday, but at least a post every couple of days.
Here's my first image to post. It is a beautiful scenic night at the beach that is just up the street that my children and me frequent often. I hope you like it.