Winter Aftermath

We got quite a bit of snow yesterday and last night.  While I don't really like driving it, I don't mind taking pictures of it.  Pristine snow can be quite nice, especially if there is some in the trees.  I did end up going to work today, so that's where I got my pictures.

 There was a nice layer in the trees.  One of the things that I like about where I work is that we have some pretty nice surroundings.

 it wouldn't be a series of pictures of my workplace without pictures of the birch trees in front of the building.

 The wheat stalks weren't quite was I looking for though.

 Another angle of the birch trees.  Unfortunately, the cherry maples didn't have as much snow as I would have liked.

 Then I went behind the building.  We have some really nice trails back there.

 Some of the snow in the evergreens.

 The milkweed looked particularly cool.

 Same with the thistles.

 Didn't like this one as much though.

 This was pretty cool.

 then I tried to seek out some pine cones.

One more shot before moving on.

Winter's Last Blast...Hopefully

After a fairly nice weekend, we got a fair amount of snow today.  It started with rain earlier in the morning and turned to snow as I was heading into work.  That made things interesting as I was trying to get into work.

 I normally take Ellsworth towards work and it was a zoo.  I was thinking of turning around but I was too far into it.

 For as bad as this looked, I-94 looked worse.  I saw a couple of cars on the side of the road but for the most part it was fine if you were careful.

 For a more idyllic picture, I decided to take a picture of my favorite barn.  There was enough snow on the ground that it looked pretty nice.

 As you can see, the snow was falling pretty hard as I was taking my picture.  It was also a little windy side, so it was going straight.

As much as I don't like driving in it, snow does make for nice scenery.

Shots of the Full Moon

It looked like it was a full moon tonight, so I decided to get some pictures.

 I didn't have my big lens but that was okay because I was trying to get the star in the shot.  I shot this using my normal settings for the moon.  The moon came out fine but the star didn't.

 I slowed down shutter speed to let more light in.  The moon is still fine but the star is faint.

 A little more.  The star is getting clearer but the moon is starting to look like a gaseous ball.

The star is just about perfect but the moon is definitely a gaseous ball.  I'm going to have mess around with HDR I think.

Eastern Michigan Basketball Vs. Western Michigan

Tonight found me at the Eastern Michigan basketball game again.  As always, I'm just going to post my favorite picture from the game and other pictures at the game.  If you would like to see my game shots go to Eagle Totem.

 James Thompson as he goes up for a dunk.  I discovered tonight that I miss many dunks because I pay too much attention to the ball and not enough to the trailing guy.  I'll have to watch for that.

 Coach Murphy talking strategy.

 One of the Eastern Cheerleaders before the game.

A pair of Eagles celebrating a hard fought win.

Stopped by the Wolverine

As I was heading to the basketball game tonight, I heard the train horn and saw the gates go down.

Fortunately, I had my camera and could get a decent shot of it as it passed.  Granted, it's a little blurry.

Monday Night Planewatching

It was kind of a nice night and I saw a plane flying around, so I decided to stop at the Ann Arbor Airport.

 There was only one plane flying around tonight and it was this Piper Cherokee.  I don't think this plane is from around here though.

 It was taking off to the east though which meant that I didn't get my normal angles.  The lighting was just about perfect for me.

 It was flying closer to the airport than normal and that made for some different angles as it flew around the airport for touch and goes.

Except it only did one more circuit and then it landed after this shot.

A Day Trainwatching

I haven't gone trainwatching in a while.  Well, trainwatching where I go to catch something other than the Wolverine or the yard in Jackson.  So I decided to head down to Deshler and Fostoria today.

 Since I was leaving at about the same time, I decided to wait around for the westbound Wolverine to Chicago.  I know I have several pictures of it, but I can't pass up the opportunity.

 Another shot of the Wolverine.

 This bridge is in Grand Rapids and is used by the Toledo and Lake Erie Railroad.

 An old Chessie System caboose.

 This is a switcher of some sort.

 An old steam engine that belonged to Detroit Edison at one time.

 I saw this schoolhouse (or church) on the way to Deshler.

 A detail of one of the windows.

 I've never seen an engine belonging to this company before but I have seen several cars that belong to it.  The Kansas City Southern railroad was formed in 1887 by Arthur Edward Stillwell.  It began operations in Kansas City and expanded south towards Mexico.  It is the smallest and third oldest Class I railroad in North America still in operation.  It mostly operates in Kansas, Missouri and points south but like other railroads, it makes forays into other areas.

 I wanted to try to catch the Kansas City Southern engine in Fostoria but as I was leaving Deshler, I saw this one heading west.  Just a CSX engine pulling a bunch of coal.

 One other shot of that one.

 The Infinity Engine...or something like that.

 Another Norfolk-Southern engine heading west.  This was carrying a mixed load.

 Another shot of that engine.

 This particular engine was carrying a bunch of intermodal stuff.

 The Kansas City engine as it passes Fostoria.

 A CSX engine heading south, but then I think it got on the curve and headed west.

 Well, not one engine but five.

As I was heading north on I-75 to head back home, I saw this guy off to the side.  I got off I-75 and caught up to it.  Since I don't see CN engines all the time, I figured I needed a picture of it.

It was actually pretty fun going out trainwatching.  I found a new place in Toledo that looks interesting and I think I will check it out next weekend.