Nichter Photography Plus...The New Blog

Our new blog, Nichter Photography Plus, is up and running. We'd love it if you could visit, and leave a comment on your impressions.

Starting in January, 2016, I will be posting at least once a week. The focus and topics are still in the planning stages, but will include the nature photography and naturalist essays, and travel photography and travel essays that people have told me they enjoyed in this blog.

See you there!

Good-bye, and Hello

Sunset Bench

This blog started when we started our photography business, almost seven years ago. Karl and I took up photography seriously again as we both decided to take an early leave from the business careers we both enjoyed up to that point. It was time for a change in our lives, we wanted to be outdoors more, have more control over our schedules, expand our creative lives, and perhaps most importantly, work together.

All this and more has happened over the past seven years. We both grew as photographers. Karl ventured into fine art photography and black-and-white images. I started writing again in addition to expanding my photography, and found they compliment each other nicely. We enjoyed our commercial success, but chose to limit the commercial aspect and concentrate on the message of our work, along with improving the art and craft.

I revamped this blog several times over the years. It languished this summer due to some life changing events we experienced, and I finally accepted that it was time to retire this blog and start another. The posts will remain up for reading and reference as long as I see traffic coming to the site.

Thank you for the tremendous support over the years. Some of you I met in person in our classes and hikes, some left comments which I enjoyed, and some just loyally read each entry. The new blog is in design, and I will announce it here when it launches.

I am sad for the end of this part of our journey, and excited to start the next part.

Gallery: Everyday Things Series #6

Karl's still life series of Everyday Things was published in an earlier blog, which was archived. This ongoing project features everyday items portrayed by themselves in a black-and-white still life. Some are composed in studio, some are seen and photographed in other locations. For the next few months, each Wednesday I will re-publish the current gallery of these photographs.

Mortar and Pestle

Lake Erie from Preque Isle State Park

We spend a few weeks visiting family each summer, and for the past several years we take the time to drive the 1250 miles to give us an opportunity to do some photography and sightseeing along the way. The last few years we scheduled these trips around family weddings, which mean the "stopping to smell (and photograph) the roses" part of the trip was sacrificed for the "need to be there by a certain date and time" part of the trip.

This year was no different, but we did manage to stop at Presque Isle State Park in Erie, PA. This park has been on our to-do list for years. The weather was cold for an early July day and very blustery. I grew up on Lake Erie, and forget how incredible the size of the Great Lakes appear to someone who has never seen them before. I thought of this as we walked the beach, the only people there except for another photographer and a group of students from a nearby university geology program. The waves crashed on rocks and rolled ashore as the wind tore through our light jackets.

I enjoyed trying to get THE photograph of the waves. For the blog I chose this one. The lineup of the rocks mimics the horizon line leading the eye right to the crashing wave. The rule of thirds works well for this shot.

More on Preque Isle State Park in the next couple of postings.

Living Near the Gulf of Mexico

In December we celebrate our 17th year of living in our little house/cottage near the Gulf of Mexico. This is the longest Karl has lived in the same place, and nearly the same for me. We considered moving several times, but never found a place to compare. Starting in June we check the NOAA website daily for tropical storm and hurricane activity, our flood insurance has increased by a factor of 10 over the years, even though this nearly 40 year old house has never flooded to date, even through the storms. We made the house as hurricane proof as money and modern technology allows, but a direct hit and storm surge could still result in major damage. The area has grown incredibly since we arrived with more and more people making this their home, and winter traffic on the main road just outside our community is unbelievable.

So why are we still here? Quality of life, that is the only way I can describe it. We are both outdoor people and our small fenced backyard dominated by a concrete deck and caged pool becomes part of our living space most of the year. We are both naturalists, and the creek behind our fence provides a home for many birds and animals. I can compile a pretty decent day list just sitting in our pool area reading on a Spring or Autumn day. When I run in the morning, I stand at the end of the road and look into the Gulf, seeing wading birds, the occasional nose of a manatee, the less frequent fin of a dolphin, the reflection in the water of a setting full moon, and I feel good. I know most of my neighbors, and they know me. Someday we may evacuate and come back to no house, but no one can take away the memories made here.

This scene greeted me a recent morning as I went outside the door for my morning run. I ran back in to get my camera, and Karl did the same. We both got good shots, this one of Karl's was the best, but a photograph still can't take the place of being there and seeing the towering clouds with many colors of white and gray and blue seeming to rise from the dark water of the Gulf of Mexico.

Gallery: Everyday Things Series #5

Karl's still life series of Everyday Things was published in an earlier blog, which was archived. This ongoing project features everyday items portrayed by themselves in a black-and-white still life. Some are composed in studio, some are seen and photographed in other locations. For the next few months, each Wednesday I will re-publish the current gallery of these photographs.

Fork and Plate

The Water Lily and the Dragonfly

That sounds more like the title of a children's book, but I captured both while taking photographs of the flower. A few water lilies dotted the shore of a pond. While shooting one, I noticed a dragonfly land near another. I took a quick shot, then realized my camera settings weren't right for the scene. Luckily the dragonfly had found a good perch, and stayed still while I changed and took a few more shots.

Around Home

I often talk about living in central Florida on this blog. We've been here for 18 years, the longest by more than a decade that we have lived in one area. We have lived in our current house, more of a cottage, for almost 17 years. With a creek and conservation area behind us, the Gulf of Mexico withing sight from the front of the house, and the canals in the neighborhood we see a lot of wildlife just relaxing in our yard.

Here is a shot from the top of the road leading to our community. We had just finished a wonderful lunch in a nearby restaurant, the day was sunny, bright, and warm, and I just felt like using my camera.

Happy 4th of July!

Gallery: Everyday Things Series #4

Karl's still life series of Everyday Things was published in an earlier blog, which was archived. This ongoing project features everyday items portrayed by themselves in a black-and-white still life. Some are composed in studio, some are seen and photographed in other locations. For the next few months, each Wednesday I will re-publish the current gallery of these photographs.

Cutting Board and Knife

Snakeskin

Karl noticed this snakeskin during a recent hike. Apparently the snake used the main made pipes and building to help it shed its skin.

Black Crowned Night Heron in the Swamp

This Black-crowned Night Heron fished quietly, watching us pass by on the nearby boardwalk. He moved a little, but not much. As long as I remained quiet and somewhat still, I had time to really compose my shot. With birds in the wild, that luxury is rare.

The fallen branch made an excellent framing device, and the duckweed-choked creek provided a clear background. I did move to get this final shot with the elements I wanted, but I did it slowly and as softly as possible. And, as this shot shows, he watched me the entire time.

Gallery: Everyday Things Series #3

Karl's still life series of Everyday Things was published in an earlier blog, which was archived. This ongoing project features everyday items portrayed by themselves in a black-and-white still life. Some are composed in studio, some are seen and photographed in other locations. For the next few months, each Wednesday I will re-publish the current gallery of these photographs.

 

Scissors and Twine

Summer Arrives Officially

Summer arrived officially yesterday, but a couple of days of near record or record heat made the official start of summer somewhat redundant.

Still, clear, humid, hot, sunny....all these things describe a typical summer morning for us. The breeze picks up later in the day. If the summer proves to be normal (it hasn't for several years now) late afternoon thunderstorms start to announce their presence with the occasional thunder around 3 or 4 p.m., followed not long afterwards by the dark clouds. Suddenly, drenching rain falls. Less than an hour later, the sun is back out, the sky is blue, and puddles are everywhere soon to dry up in the heat.

Still, sunny, clear summer morning with the grass and trees reflected in the water

Sandhill Crane and Two Colts

We watched the Sandhill Cranes walking their colts around all spring, as the colts went from yellow, fuzzy little chicken sized birds to the size of their parents. We were surprised to see these the other day, as it seemed late for colts this young. I checked, and breeding season here in Florida is Spring and Summer, so this is not apparently as unusual as we thought. Here they follow "Mom", running to keep up with her slow walk. "Dad" was behind them a bit.

Gallery: Everyday Things Series #2

Karl's still life series of Everyday Things was published in an earlier blog, which was archived. This ongoing project features everyday items portrayed by themselves in a black-and-white still life. Some are composed in studio, some are seen and photographed in other locations. For the next few months, each Wednesday I will re-publish the current gallery of these photographs.
 

Heads of Garlic

Blue Hole Springs at Florida Caverns State Park

We visited Florida Caverns State Park two years ago, and camped several days. The caverns are wonderful, and very worth the trip. Blue Hole Springs, a natural spring with water around 68 degrees year around, is part of the park. We did a lot of photography around the spring. Our favorite is one Karl took, showing the bridge beautifully reflected in the pool of water.

Gallery: Everyday Things Series #1

Karl's still life series of Everyday Things was published in an earlier blog, which was archived. This ongoing project features everyday items portrayed by themselves in a black-and-white still life. Some are composed in studio, some are seen and photographed in other locations. For the next few months, each Wednesday I will re-publish the current gallery of these photographs.

Group of brooms in a barn

 

Capture the Moment: A Feather Just Lost

The floating fern plants covered most of the water, and from the bridge we saw a bright, white feather, looking fresh and clean and dry. It gently rested on top of the ferns and the water, light enough not to sink. It must have just fallen off of the bird, who was no where to be seen. Soon the feather would start to absorb water, discolor, and begin to sink, perhaps sinking even faster once the afternoon rains started. People passing by even an hour later would not see what we saw.
 

Byways: A Moment in Cedar Key

Walking along in Cedar Key a few years ago, enjoying the day and taking photos as I saw interesting subjects, I took this shot. I liked the large rocks in the foreground, and felt the overall gray of the sky and water highlighted the melancholy of the ruined structure. On a recent trip, we found out that a storm had knocked down most of it, leaving only a few of the vertical pilings. Karl remembered us both spending time photographing it, so he searched our archives, and found this.

Last Hike of the Season

Karl and I led our last hike of the season at Brooker Creek Preserve this past Saturday. We stop for June, July, and August because the heat and humidity common those months made it uncomfortable for hikers, and who can forget the ever present mosquitoes out in force.

I take a pre-walk before the hike, to see what I can spot and also to get a good feel of the light we can expect. The quiet early morning and soft light through the tree canopy, now filling in so light is even more filtered, made the creek look so calming and surreal. I took this shot, and then stood and enjoyed the view before remembering my time and moving on.

The hike went well. We saw a lot of dragonflies, and snakes. One of the hikers spotted a pygmy rattlesnake right off the trail, and near the Education Center we saw three black racers. While the rattlesnake moved slowly, and as a result some of the hiker did get photos, the black racers moved like their name, very fast.

At the end of the hike, this small alligator moved into the sunshine and stayed, allowing all of us to get good shot of him.











Each year we change the format and theme of the hikes. I will let you know as soon as we develop next season's plan.