The Barton Dam in December

Well here we are almost at the end of the year, which means that I'm at the end of another project.  Last year, I took pictures of the Mackinac Bridge, Tahquamenon Falls, the Bell Tower and the Michigan Union each month of the year.  I really liked it but doing to the two buildings made me realize, I really needed a place of nature to show the impact of the year.  So this year I decided to do the Barton Dam and Nichols Arboretum.  I kept to schedule on the Dam but I strayed a couple times on the Arboretum.  I think I may do the Arb again next year but more on that in my next post.

 This is a picture of the oak tree near the parking lot.  I think trees are the best things to show the impact of the different seasons.  In the winter, they are barren and in the spring they showing signs of life.  In the summer they are full and green and in the fall they start to change color and lose their leaves and we return back to winter.  It was actually a nice day today so I didn't get the nasty winter light.

 This is looking up at the other tree.

 This is a shot of the footbridge that leads to other parts of the park.  I kind of liked the reflection on the water.

 The path across the footbridge.  Although I never tried it, I think you can walk to the other park at the beginning of Huron River Drive.

 A shot of the railroad bridge.  Followers of this blog know that I like trains.

 The dam itself.  I really like the looks of this building and I hope that they don't tear it down.

 One of the things I like about the dam is the waterfall effect that it creates.

 Looking across the dam at the building.

 Using a slow shutter speed to give the illusion of motion.

 Looking down at the water.  I used a faster shutter speed for this and I kind of liked the look of the light on the falls.

 Same shot using a slower shutter speed.

 Looking down the tracks.

 Some of the seeds of a tree.

 Looking down the Huron River.

A closeup of the oak.  I kind of like the look of the gnarly branches.

I will put together another post showing the whole year.