Most of the time, the wind is my nemesis. But on this bitter afternoon, instead of fighting it, I decided to go with the blow. The trick is to slow down the shutter speed to a point where the grass tops render as discernable and sweeping at the same time. Otherwise, you just see a confusing blurry mess leaving viewers to wonder what they’re looking at. (It helps to zoom in to see the effect.)

This scene of Illinois Beach State Park is interesting because it shows the Dead River flowing into Lake Michigan. This isn’t a common occurrence, as its name comes from the fact that it doesn’t seem to flow. But sometimes it does, breaking through the sandbar that separates it from the lake. Here, the water flows beneath a thin layer of ice and emerges around the bend.