A Walk in the Monaghan Forest

Not too far from my house is a farm called the Little Animal Farm. This is a small animal farm and petting zoo with play areas for kids, all within the context of a working farm. Hay Rides are offered in summer and fall, and you go out through the corn fields. I really rather nice.

And across the street is yet one more set of walking trails in the Monaghan Forest. These trails are generally kept open in winter, at least until the snow makes the parking lot impassable for four wheel drive automobiles such as my CR-V.

I popped in there today because the sun was peeking out, so I rushed over with my D700 to see if I could capture the sun glinting through the ice that lined the branches. It was reall fun walking through there and hearing the ice falling in showers as a piece or two would break away and then cause a cascade as other branches were struck and gave up their clothing ...

This sound was a constant background and made the time I was there quite musical.

On the way there, I noticed how nice the layers looked today as the sun lit everything and the branches were still holding more ice in certain areas. I stopped for a moment to capture a few images and this one almost captures the look ...


When I got there, I immediately realized that the brain fart of the day was to be my leaving the macro lens at home. Duh. So I made do with close shots using the 70-300VR at 300mm. Not bad, since the long focal length throws the background nicely out of focus.


I am forever trying to capture the way the trails look when covered in a blanket of snow. I just can;t quite seem to nail it, but here are a few more attempts.



One thing I enjoy is trying to capture a single small point of interest and a pattern in the background that holds your interest for a few seconds ... like this, only better :-)


Off and on, I will see a branch that is isolated and covere din ice ... also trying to replicate some great shots I've seen in the past. But those tend to be with macro lenses, really close. This is the best I can do with this lens.


It should be obvious by now that I like the forest as backdrop, out of focus, for branches when I can get that shot. This is also similar to the branches shot in Morrisburg where I used the shoreline as backdrop.


And another ...


Another shot at a single point of interest ...


And those who read my post on my walk on the Beaver Trail last week will remember my fondness for the contrast between wood and snow ... the classic snow covered stump image.



And finally, the sun peeks through with some authority. For a few minutes, anyway ...


Here's a shot I am fairly pleased with ... the ice looks pretty real here ...


And another opportunity arose to shoot a stump. I crouched a bit here in order to compose with the two stumps in the background. Looks like this area got cleared out a bit.


And what's this? The evidence that some dog owners take the view that the whole world is a toilet. It takes just one rotten apple ... (read: lazy jerk that needs a beating with a stick.)


I switched to the 85mm f/1.8 portrait lens for another attempt ...


And the forest as background again ...


And a shot of what I think are thistles, although a bit different looking from the species that inhabits my yard :-)


This lens has a nice smooth background, but the short focal length means that the background remains fairly busy.

The sun was really spotty and I got tired of waiting ... since I had things to do, I cut this walk short at this point.

Just to make a point, the sun out in all its glory for five minutes as I got out of the car at home. But then is started snowing ...