Category: Landscape

In July of 2023 we took a trip to Michigan to visit friends. On the way back home, we had made plans to visit one of our favorite places, Saugatuck, Michigan.

Very near Saugatuck is the town of Douglas. Both lie in very close proximity to Lake Michigan. We wanted to see if we could get some good sunset pictures, so, we decided to drive the short distance to Douglas. Never having gone there to find the beach, it turned out to be quite a trial-and-error adventure. Much of the property along the beach in Douglas is privately owned and inaccessible but after some searching we did find a small stretch of beach that was open to the public. We parked the car on the heights and took the well-maintained wooded steps down to the beach. There were a couple places built on the short decent, like decks with benches, where you could sit and enjoy the view.

Sitting on one of the decks I got this view of the sun peeking through the tree and reflecting on the water as it began its final trip of that day toward the horizon.

Other pictures taken that day that you will find in our Etsy Shop are Flowers – Untitled #99 and Landscape – Untitled #110.

The many colors, textures, and layers of field and forest are found in this September 2022 picture taken at the Morton Arboretum, Lisle, Illinois.

We pass this field often during our drives through the arboretum and to see it slowly but constantly changing as the seasons change has been a foundational part of our frequent trips there.

As in life itself, a completely different picture emerges as one employs just a subtle change in perspective.

While we only took less that 30 pictures that day, two appear in our Etsy Shop; this picture of the field and woods and Trees – Untitled #34.

In the summer of 2008, I was an engineer of an electric commuter railroad that operated between South Bend, Indian and Chicago. During my many trips to and from South Bend I would pass this wheat field which, in July of that year, had captured my attention.

On that 4th of July 2008 I drove about 15 miles to be near the field and then walked the remaining two miles, or so, to the field to be personally rewarded by this sight, recorded by my camera.

I love the colors, texture, detail, framing of the sky, and memory of that part of a journey within my journey.

Another picture, among the 60 taken that day, that appears in our Etsy Shop, is Untitled #5.

As I’ve often mentioned in these stories, Lake Marmo, within the Morton Arboretum, is one of our favorite places to visit.

This picture was taken in October 2022 as the fall colors began to come to life. It was a beautiful, gentle day; the lake placid, the sky brushed with hints of clouds, wildlife still all around us before the onslaught of cold, changes, though nuanced and subtle, happening everywhere in the plants, bushes, and trees.

I took 58 pictures that lovely day and among those we placed four of those in our Etsy Shop. For a further glimpse into that part of our journey we invite you to see Trees – Untitled #33, Landscape – Untitled #50, and Trees – Untitled #68.

Lake Marmo, inside the confines of the Morton Arboretum, Lisle, Illinois, a favorite stop of ours, offers a mirror reflection of the October 2022 trees as they slowly begin their colorful transformation into full fall color.

This is one of five pictures taken that day that you can find in our Etsy Shop. Trees – Untitled #33, Landscape – #49, and Trees – #68 can be found in our Shop and their stories found here, on our website.

Every time we would drive to see family, we would pass this barn. We have passed it dozens and dozens of times over the years, nestled, just off the highway, in that corn field each summer.

It presents an interesting contrast, not only in color, texture, and form, but as the crops are planted, grow, are harvested, and then disappear for the winter, the barn remained constant, never changing, almost sentinel-like.

This picture was taken in June of 2017. Within 4 years, age and the elements had their way and one of the sides gave way. The barn is still there, leaning as if to fall yet more, in time . . . but still remains though broken.

Update, January, 2024. We were sad to see that the barn had been removed. While it is no longer physically there, the sweet memories of seeing it, knowing we were minutes away from family, will linger forever.

This picture was taken on Christmas Day, 2011. The day prior, a trusted friend had told me that his sense was that I need to go to Coffee Creek (Watershed Preserve) to take pictures. While this was the only one of 42 images in that shoot that day that we decided to put into our Etsy Shop “AbbasImages,” it was still a glorious day, as I remember, and the sunrise beautiful that Christmas morning.

Over the years I think there have been some redundant themes with regard to my style of photography; the sun, water, and nuance.

I love playing with the sun though it demands common sense but some sense of risk. One must obviously not compromise the eye nor the equipment. Nevertheless, it’s fun, and challenging, to try to frame the sun in such a way as to make it like hide and seek . . . just enough of the sun to highlight its presence as it highlights that which is framing it.

In this picture, the stone and mortar structure is like a gateway to a stone walkway. Just as the sun is reaching the ideal height, I was able to frame a part of it in the concave part of the mortar. I like the rays as they radiate out from the body of the sun and the way the grass is highlighted and colored with a golden glow. A memorable, illuminating, colorful Christmas morning that never seems to lose its appeal.

Sunrise, October 9, 2011. We’re at Coffee Creek Watershed Preserve. It’s that time of year in northwest Indiana when the nights are becoming cool but the days still relatively warm. In these woodlands that lie on hills and gentle valleys the fogs and mists appear at first light only to be “burned away” by the sun as it rises and warms the air.

In capturing this moment, we see virtually everything being painted and tinged with the oranges and yellows of the illumination of the sun. Even the fog in the valley, typically more whitish in color, has yielded to the warmer effects of the sun’s rays and power.

I took 93 pictures that morning, two of which are presently in our Etsy Shop, “AbbasImages”: Landscape – Untitled #1, and Trees – Untitled #8. It was a beautiful sunrise which opened a beautiful day.