Nautica Queen on the Cuyahoga River

It was a great night for cruising up the Cuyahoga and here is the Nautica Queen with a full load of Friday evening partiers.

Soft evening light. Quiet waters. Skyline off to the side.

Canon 5D
24-105mm L @ 45mm
Exposure: 1/400 @ f/11
ISO 400



This second version was enhanced by adding a red filter in Adobe Lightroom to give it more nostalgic look. Which do you prefer?

Copyright © 2008 James D. Fisher
All rights reserved

Desperate for Spring - Part 2

The desperation continues. It's Easter weekend and we are getting snowed over again. Is there any hope for Spring?







All images shot with a Canon G9 and processed using Adobe Lightroom 1.3.

Copyright 2008 James D. Fisher
All rights reserved.

The Falls at Chagrin Falls

Friday was a beautiful day in the Cleveland area. The sky was blue, the weather was mild and the leaves are lovely. I took a short stroll around the Triangle in Chagrin Falls. Enjoy!


The falls are a perfect place for couples taking pictures.


Here's a closer picture of the falls itself.


On the other side of the street is the "pre-falls". The wall or dam makes a pretty pond before the river starts cascading over the rocks.


Feeding the ducks is fun for both the young and the experienced.


The bridge over the river had nice planters with flowers.

Copyright 2007 James D. Fisher
All Rights Reserved.

Boats of the Cuyahoga River

*** CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO ENLARGE ***

I took a ride up the Cuyahoga River this summer on my friend's speedboat. It was near dusk and the light was failing fast. So these aren't the greatest pictures (you try shooting on a moving boat with a telephoto lens at dusk!). Consider this more of a documentation of the types of boats you'll find.


Let's start with the Wm. Mather, a massive ore boat that was converted to a maritime museum. It's a pretty cool museum if you're into marine and local history. The rest of the boats support water/harbor tasks and maintenance. The last one is a City of Cleveland fire boat (in case the river catches on fire again. Ohmygod, I just told a Cleveland joke. Yikes!). Enjoy.

Copyright 2007 James D. Fisher
All Rights Reserved.

West Side Market Redux

The Flats, the river, and the West Side Market are the perfect solution to a lazy Saturday.


A gull watches the boat traffic along the Cuyahoga River.


A beautiful clock tower at the West Side Market.


Street-level view of the historic West Side Market.


A view from the balcony inside the West Side Market.


Three little piggies!


Gimme that melon! The shopkeepers kids get into the fun at the West Side Market.

Copyright 2007 James D. Fisher
All Rights Reserved.
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Attention Photographers: Spend less time in front of the computer and more time behind the lens, with the new Adobe Photoshop Lightroom.

Squaw Rock

No, it's not Jabba the Hutt. This is a hundred+ year old rock carving found in South Chagrin Reservation in Cleveland.

Copyright 2007 James D. Fisher
All Rights Reserved.

Into the sun-set

Another image from Wayne's boat. We were flying back to the Rocky River marina. The boat was bouncing around as we headed toward a great sunset. As always in photography, you take what the light is giving you, and if it ain't giving you what you want, then make something of what's there. Enjoy.



Canon 5D, 45mm, ISO 800, 1/6 @ f4.0.

Copyright 2007 James D. Fisher
All Rights Reserved.

Hot fun in the summertime

*** CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO ENLARGE ***

I shot this jet-skier from the back of Wayne's boat on a hot night on Lake Erie. The skier was jumping across the wakes created by our boat.


This image was de-saturized a la' "300".


Another version adding a warm look.


Another version using de-saturize.

Which one do you like?

Canon 5D. 105mm using 100-300mm IS DO lens. ISO 100. 1/320 @ f7.1

Copyright 2007 James D. Fisher
All Rights Reserved.

Cuyahoga River Bridges

Here are some images of the terrific bridges over the Cuyahoga River. They were taken on a hot evening while cruising up and down the Cuyahoga on Captain Wayne's boat. Each bridge utilizes a different filtering effect in order to enhance its features using Adobe Lightroom. Enjoy.

Copyright 2007 James D. Fisher
All Rights Reserved.

American Courage

I love these ore boats that whisk their way up and down the Cuyahoga River. They are as tall as a building and as long as a football field. How the captain can navigate these giants through our "crooked river" is simply amazing.

Copyright 2007 James D. Fisher
All Rights Reserved.

The Goin' to the Sun Road

One of the oldest gems of the National Park Service is the Goin' to the Sun Road. Built in 1932 as a scenic route through the Rocky Mountains, the road traverses the park running east-west for 52 miles. I've waited many years to finally take this trip and was not in the least disappointed.


The road starts at the base of Lake McDonald in Glacier National Park.

The lake is fed by mountain streams. The rocks in the foreground are park of the roadway. As you can see you get pretty close.



The streams cascade down to the lake very quickly. It's quite spectacular.


One of the best views is the top of Heaven's Gate.

These are just some the many stunning views you see from the road.

Many visitors travel the road in this buses. They were built in the 1930's in Cleveland by the White Motor company. They were restored in the 1990's by Ford and are fueled by propane.


The road hugs against the walls of the cliffs and the drop is straight down on the other side.


This is called the Weeping Wall. You will actually get a car wash on this side of the road. It was useful in cleansing off the bug specimens I collected along the way.


Night time is a good time to drive the road. Every part of the day offers new views of the mountain ranges. We drove the road three times during our stay.

Copyright 2007 James D. Fisher
All Rights Reserved.

Heading North

I forgot to provide a picture of Old Faithful at Yellowstone. It is the only regularly predicted geyser in the park.


Here she goes blasting about 60-80 ft. in the air.


Many people wait and watch and photograph.


Leaving Yellowstone we head north to Glacier National Park. We stopped in the town of Virginia City, Montana, which has an interesting and lively history. It was a rough and tumble place in the 1800's with gun-slinging and rustling and everything else. The town even has a Boot Hill with the graves of criminals hung by town vigilantes. Virginia City maintains about 100 buildings from those days.


Next stop before Glacier is Missoula and a weekend visit with old friend Steve Begleiter. Steve teaches at the Rocky Mountain School of Photography. He has a wonderful wife and former actress, Katy, who teaches at the local schools. They have two young children, Makesh and Makita, which keeps them young at heart. This is the first picture of Steve and me since college.


Now off to Glacier. Here is a view from Many Glacier Road on the east side of the park.

Next I'll post images from the Going to the Sun Road.

Copyright 2007 James D. Fisher
All Rights Reserved.

The Falls at Kent

Some things have changed in Kent. They did a nifty reconstruction project and made a very enjoyable park. Gone is the old falls and in is a man-made waterfalls with a walkway. The walkway leads to an observation deck. Also, there is a stone-laden shore next to the river perfect for fishing. Check it out.


This is an overview of the new configuration. The river water level is pretty low on this day but even with high-water, I don't think any drunk, college students are going to dive off the bridge anymore.


This is a great place for fishing. There were several father-son-daughter teams working their lines. Where are the moms?


The waterfalls has a long pool along the top which cascades over the edge to create a gently but sparkly effect. Note the observation deck in the upper right corner.


The Cuyahoga River flows south through Kent and Akron and then makes its reverse journey to Lake Erie.

On the other side of the bridge is the river and rail line that runs through Kent. I don't think there is any economic activity utilizing the railroad in Kent anymore.

Copyright 2007 James D. Fisher
All Rights Reserved.