Another Day at Work
Apis Workers' Party
Predator
Some of Your Beeswax
Sedum Bumbler
Look of Defiance
Chicory Bee
Bumbling Bees
Garden Cafe
Buzz By Here - To Infinity and Beyond
Pick Your Poison
Blind Side Attack
On a Mission
Honey Bee on Sedum
Covering the Cosmos
Center of the Cosmos
Three's a Crowd
Popular Spot
On A Pedestal
Big Harry Fireworks Display
To Impress the Girl
Different Perspective
Sweet Ride
Perfect Little Piggies B&W
Flipping the Light Fantastic
Festival of Flights
To the Crowd's Delight
Amish Go Round
Wondersome One
The Stars In Her Eyes
Tuesday's Child
Sleeper Hold
Considering the Next Move
Sugar and Spice
Front Porch Portrait
Caged Competitor
Early Adoration
Child In the Ligtht
Stroll Through the Weeds
Attention Grabbing
Eye Contact
On the Line
Eyes of Wonder
Rounding the Curve
Troubadours of Basin Spring Park
Down by the Creek
Sun Day
Catching Some Light
EAA Fireworks
Hear Me Roar
Algoma
Fireworks Over Algoma
Another view of the fireworks display to wrap up Algoma’s Shanty Days.
It was a perfect night for fireworks – pleasant temperatures, no wind and a beautiful full moon reflecting off Lake Michigan. (Unfortunately, I couldn’t get the full moon in my shots from the position I was in. My camera was pointed north and the moon was in the east.)
More fireworks images from the Shanty Days show to come. Check back soon.
(If you have a large monitor, you may be able to see a larger version of this photo by clicking on it.)
Shanty Days Fireworks
One of the charming aspects of small town life is the annual (fill-in-the-blank) festival. Every community commemorates and celebrates some aspect of its heritage or culture. In the case of Algoma, WI it’s “Shanty Days.” The finale of every Shanty Days festival is the Sunday night fireworks display.
The launch site is at the Algoma harbor. I set up my camera on the beach, near the water’s edge. Those who are familiar with Algoma’s harbor will recognize the tiny red light near the right edge of this photo as the famous pier light.
I snapped several interesting images from this show. I’ll be posting more, including one that reminds me of a green spider on its web and one of the most unusual fireworks effects I’ve seen, so check back soon.
(If you have a large monitor, click on the image may offer a larger view.)
St. Paul’s Spire
Here’s the church, and here’s the steeple
Open the door and see all the people.
Here’s the parson going upstairs,
And here he is saying his prayers.
The tallest points in Algoma, WI are the steeples of its churches. (I suspect that would be the case in most small towns.)
This is St. Paul’s Lutheran church – the tallest structure in the downtown area.
The highest point in town would be the steeple of the Catholic church, towering above the city from its location on a hill in a more residential area, north of the downtown.
Click on the steeple image above for a larger view.
Auto Adornment
Every year Algoma hosts a car show in their downtown area. It’s a just a block away from the church – where I spend most of my Saturdays – so I made a brief visit and snapped a few photos. All the cars are cool and I think the old hood ornaments are the coolest. They don’t make them like that anymore. These images represent just a sample.
The one at the top of this post was my favorite because it appears to have two faces…maybe a human head wearing a lion-face looking helmet. (Click on the images – the one above for a larger view and the smaller one to the right for larger, even closer look.) Looking now, I wish I would have taken a side view shot.
I also thought some of the classic wheels and hub caps were unique and may post a few of those in the future.
I should have been taking notes so I could identify the cars these fancy hood adornments comes from. I would bet there are some true classic car fanatics who could tell you just by looking at these photos. If you’re one, by all means, tells us what you know in the comments.
I could be wrong, but I’m guessing this Indian head is on a Pontiac.
The nose cone on this car is the feature that stood out to me…though, I like the hood ornament, too. I also like the way a near by building’s reflection wraps around the hood. Studebaker?
I feel like I should be able to identify this by it’s V ornament. Something very familiar about it. Maybe a Buick.
Clicking on any of these images will open up a separate window with a larger view of that photo.
Lighthouse Bling
The early morning sky and it’s reflection off the Algoma, WI harbor make this one of my favorites. The lighthouse gets a bit of bling from the sun rising directly behind it. (Technically, it’s not a lighthouse. It’s a “pier light,” but everyone refers to it as the Algoma Lighthouse.)
The close up image on the left, gives you a better view of the effect created by the star filter I used.
If you like these images, by all means, share them with your friends.
To see a larger version of either of these images, click the photos.
All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me for digital purchase and licensing options.
Return to Port
A small fishing boat returns to the Algoma, WI harbor after an early morning on Lake Michigan.
This was the first morning of the Kewaunee/Door County Salmon Tournament. You can still see remnants of the heavy fog that kept a lot of boats from venturing out early this day.
The K/D Tournament is a big, big deal in these parts. According to their Facebook page…
The KD Salmon Tournament is an amateur sport fishing tournament that runs for 9 consecutive days each summer. Approximately 2,300 to 2,800 contestants participate each year and over $40,000 in prizes are awarded. The largest fish caught will win the lucky fisherman $10,000 CASH. Most years the prize payout reaches 200 or more places.
The Tournament wraps up today. For information about it, visit http://www.kdsalmon.com/. Results for the tournament are posted to their Facebook page.
(For a larger view of this image on a black background, simply click on the photo.)
Somewhere Out There
When you look at this image, does it evoke feelings of hopeful expectation or foreboding…or some of both? The unknown can be both exciting and unsettling.The morning of this photo shoot started out with thick fog but, eventually, the sun had it’s way. This image portrays the epic battle. The field of battle was a Lake Michigan harbor at Algoma, WI.
To see a larger version of this image, simply click on it.
All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me for digital purchase and licensing options.
Point of Inspiration
This is one of my favorites of the many photos I took Saturday morning (07/23/11). It’s not the image I was going after but, believe me, I am not disappointed.
I made a special point of getting up early and heading to the harbor in Algoma, WI in hopes of capturing a beautiful sunrise. The sky looked promising as I drove, however, when I got to the harbor, it was enveloped by fog. There wasn’t going to be a sunrise to photograph. I decided to stick around anyway and capture some images of the lighthouse in the fog. Since fog has a way of draining everything of color, I switched to shooting in black and white.
Eventually the fog lifted some, the sun got higher and I kept snapping. This is the first of several images I’ll be sharing from that morning. Check back often.
I haven’t done much in black and white but after this series of photos, I think I’ll be doing more.
(To see a larger version of this image, click on the photo.)
All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me for digital purchase and licensing options.
Billboard Beauty
Someone recently asked me if I sell my photos. Yes I do…anytime I can. I’ve sold a good number of prints in a local store and I’m working on stepping up my game and expanding to other markets.
I recently sold one of my photos to a billboard company that ended with an an unexpected and humorous twist. (At least from my perspective.) Here’s the story…
I’m gaining a little bit of a reputation as a local photographer with some good pictures of this area. Last February, a billboard company called me, looking for a picture of the Algoma lighthouse and harbor. I sent them some samples to choose from. They wanted something that offered plenty of open space for adding their message and was generally blue in tone.
I asked them what the image would be used for and they said their client, Dairy Dreams, wanted a 12 ft by 6ft billboard to use during an open house they were planning in the spring. I thought it would be pretty cool to have one of my images blown up to 12×6 size.
They selected the photo above. I had previously posted a cropped version of this photo on this blog under the title Between a Rock and a Calm Place. (The image to the right.) After we settled on the conditions of use and a price, I re-sized the image to proper proportions for their purposes, sent it to them and asked their design artist to send me a copy of the finished design.
A few weeks later I received email from the designer with an attachment of the billboard image. Needless to say, I was excited to see how they used my photo. I opened it up, looked at it for a moment and then burst out laughing. (See the image below.)
I never would have guessed they would use my clean, serene, harbor scene to promote Biogas Anaerobic Manure Digesters. I guess it fit with the image they are trying to convey about their manure digesting process.
All in all, I was glad to make the sale and happy that a whole new group of people would see my work. My only regret was that I never had the chance to go by during their open house to see it in all it’s full-size glory.
Morning in Blue
I got up earlier than usual Saturday morning with the hope of capturing the dazzling red and orange hues of a Lake Michigan sunrise. As you can see, the clouds were too thick for the sun to break through.
This photo was taken around sunrise (5:10 am) at the harbor in Algoma, WI.