Tough Day for Photography - Hobbs Woods

© 2015 by Dawn Braun

If you need a place to escape and feel like you have been dropped into a scene from Legend, this is where you want to go. When I allow my gaze to drift up the creek there is always an intriguing bend that I have to follow that could possibly have a unicorn on the other side.
My daughter had agreed to come with me to Hobbs Woods on July 1st as I wanted to experiment with some ideas. Let's just say I have a LOT to learn and she was the perfect model and had the patience of a saint.

On this fateful day we discovered it was too buggy to take any real serious shots and the canopy of trees made any actions scenes impossible. Did I mention it was buggy? It was. What made it bearable was the discovery of a few kittens that greeted a few hikers. You can barely see the calico kitten on the upper left picture, but he/she followed us for about a half hour or so. Really just adorable.

So what you may not recall, Dear Reader, is that Hobbs Woods is across the way from a very large farm, therefore it is a reasonable conclusion that the cats came from there. I hoped I have assuaged your concerns for the cats as I continue with this story as the tale of the kittens does not end here. The calico/tiger kitten had approached us and our plans for actions scenes were focusing on including our new friend. I have about 100 shots with this cat but there is only a few usable ones due to the slow shutter speed.  We spent maybe an hour here before driven back to our car to escape the mosquitoes, vowing another trip the next day.

© 2015 by Dawn Braun

Fast forwarding to tomorrow, the mosquitoes were still just as bad, but we at least had a plan, and a tripod. Here is a sample of what kind of scenes I am developing. When I have a chance, I'll be headed back to Hobbs Woods with my model and costumes in tow. Who knows what will come out of that photoshoot. All I know is that I need to seriously step out of my comfort zone. My next scenes may be similar to the movie Legend or it might be a zombie.

Or both.

Winter Walkabout - Hobbs Woods

Taken February 2015

It's been awhile since my last upload.    I was driving with my adult son Aaron, looking for inspiration and ultimately ended up on Fond du Lac.

For winter subjects I look for brooks or streams with open water and at Hobbs Woods it was exactly what I was looking for. There were a few cars there but the park is big enough (60 acres) that you occasionally crossed paths each other.

One woman was with her two spaniels when one of them broke through the ice. Aaron and I were close enough to help if needed, and within about 10 seconds she was out of the cold water.   The now wet dog saved herself and made a bee line for us.   She had to tell us her story and shook herself off next to us before running back into the snow.   Not exactly the greeting I was looking for and made sure my camera was tucked away.

So if ever you are in the area - Hobbs Woods is located on Hickory Street, heading east, looking for the farm with 7 blue silos known as Cotton Wood Creek Farm.


Wheretofind: Hwy 41 to Hickory Road Exit, head west (away from Fondy) and you will be going through an industrial park. Continue following this road until you reach the stop sign which is the corner of Hickory and Larsen. Ahead of you is a farm to the right, and right across from that is the entrance to Hobbs Woods.

What to expect: Shallow creeks, natural trails, steep hills with some rest benches, cross country ski trail. No bathroom unless you count the privacy provided by trees and shrubbery.