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
Blue
Two-Thirds Blue Hue
The sky was filled with clouds of blue for this Lake Michigan sunrise. You can see the Kewaunee, Wisconsin lighthouse and pier on the horizon.
This is a panoramic view – where I combined four separate images into one big (and in this case, long) image. I took this approach to gather in more of the sky, which I thought was the most interesting aspect of this moment.
If you look very closely, you can see a charter fishing boat heading out for the morning behind the pier, just to the left of the lighthouse. Click on the image to get a larger, better view.
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 (pops@popsdigital.com) for digital purchase and licensing options.
Great Awakening
The sky is beginning to wake up behind the Kewaunee lighthouse and pier. It was a calm morning on Lake Michigan.
This is a panoramic image – created by “stitching” together three separate shots. For the three shots combined here, I had my camera in portrait orientation. This method gives me a much wider view of the area I was photographing than a single image would capture.
One problem with this method, is it gives the waves an odd look because the water doesn’t pause its movement for the few seconds I takes to snap all three shots. So, if you look closely, you will notice the horizontal lines of the slight waves don’t line up well. The hope, of course, is that the beauty of the sky will capture your attention and you won’t pay a lot of attention to the water. (Unless you take the time to read my notes.)
You can view a much larger version of this image by clicking on the photo. When you do, a new, full-screen version will open in a new browser tab.
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.
A Clear Calling
The vibrant color of a summer sunrise along with the wooden pathway to calm waters provide an irresistible invitation to the Lake Michigan shoreline at Selner Park Beach in Kewaunee, Wisconsin.
When I glanced out my window and saw the early morning sky – long before the sunrise – I thought it looked promising for a cool sunrise. I dropped everything to get to the lake shore and was able to capture a great batch of lighthouse sunrise photos. (Watch for future posts.) Just as I was packing up my camera (I was running late for an early morning appointment elsewhere) I decided to throw my wide-angle lens on and see what I could capture. At this distance, the wide-angle makes the lighthouse just a dot on the horizon but it captures a whole lot more of the sky, which was the goal. Framing up the wooden path in the foreground makes it all the more interesting.
This is the last shot I snapped that morning. This is actually an HDR image. HDR stands for High Dynamic Range. To try to capture the full dynamic range of this scene I blended four separate shots at different levels of exposures (from light to dark). Without blending the images/exposures you would end up with either a normal looking sky and everything else in darkness or a normal looking lake and land in the foreground with a colorless, completely white sky. The camera is not able to adequately handle such a wide dynamic range on its on so a little processing magic is needed to get these results.
This is one you will want to view the larger, full-screen size. To do so, simply 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.
Flipping the Light Fantastic
Talk about a wild ride! This spectacular light painting was created by a pair of acrobatic airplanes flying huge loop-the-loops in the night sky while shooting fireworks off their wings. Though this long exposure image gives the impression of a colorful chaos, it is actually very graceful and beautiful to watch. This was part of the night airshow at the EAA’s AirVenture 2019.
Because this is a long exposure shot, the people on the ground have a ghostly/blurry quality to them caused by them moving during the 26-seconds the shutter was open. The airplane on the ground didn’t move, so it remains sharp.
The night, fireworks-enhanced air show has improved over the years. You can view some long exposure shots I took at AirVenture 2013 by visiting this earlier post – Pathway to Glory.
You can view a larger, more detailed version of this image by clicking 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.
Flattering Imitation
The harbor seemed to be trying to imitate the deep red color of the pre-sunrise clouds behind the Algoma, Wisconsin lighthouse. Algoma is located on the western shore of Lake Michigan.
I was impressed with the vivid colors in the water’s reflection. The red reminded me of blood in the water. I almost named is something like that, but thought it was too grim for such a pretty scene.
I took this photo off the south pier, lying on my stomach, trying to get the camera as close to the surface of the water as possible. At those moments, you can be sure I have a death grip on the camera. It would not be a fun day if the camera slipped out of my hands and under the water.
You can view a much larger, full-screen version of this image by clicking on the photo. This is one of those, “bigger is better, ” 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.
Red-spotted Purple Admiral Butterfly
I found this butterfly resting on the ground. I searched the Internet to identify it and found it to be a “Red-spotted Purple Admiral.”
This was a pleasant find while biking on the Ahnapee State Trail near the Bruemmer Park Zoo northwest of Kewaunee. This was the second such butterfly I saw. This one was kind enough to allow me to get close enough to snap a portrait. I”m not sure how it got the name Red-spotted, since its spots seem mostly orange which seemed consistent with other images I found online.
You can see more of the detail in this image by viewing the full-screen version. To do so, simply 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.
Exceeding All Expectations
The Algoma, Wisconsin lighthouse and piers stand guard over the harbor as they await the sunrise over a calm Lake Michigan morning. Algoma is located on the western shore of Lake Michigan.
As with other the images I captured and have posted from this particular morning, I’m impressed with the colors and textures in the sky and how they’re reflected in the water.
Though it doesn’t look like it here, this is a huge image. It’s large size comes from the fact that I joined (or “stitched”) three separate shots into one image in order to capture as much of the scene as I could. When snapping the shutter, I’m careful to overlap the edges of the shots so the software can find similar pixels and match them to each other.
Unfortunately, this panoramic format doesn’t show well here because of the limited space allotted for images. However, as I usually do, I urge you to view its full-screen version by clicking on the photo. Hopefully you have a large monitor – the bigger the better.
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.
Charmed
Every year I find wild geraniums blooming in the woodlands near our home in northeast Wisconsin. I think this is delightful wildflower which, I guess, explains the numerous images I have featuring them.
I titled this one, “Charmed,” because the stem with those hairy buds reminded me of a lady with a charm bracelet dangling from her wrist.
You can view a larger, more detailed, version of this image by clicking on the photo. When you do, a full-screen image will open in another browser tab.
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.
Voluptuous Iris
Look at this gorgeous, spring bloom! This exotic beauty is a bearded iris.
While driving along Miller street in Kewaunee, Wisconsin I noticed an area with several blooming flowers. There were several of these iris’ in the area but most were just beginning to open. This early bloomer was begging to be photographed.
You can view a larger, more detailed version of this photo by clicking 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.
Precious Reminder
Tiny in size but big on charm. The Forget Me Not blooms are some of my favorites. I don’t find them often, but when I do it’s a delight. I found these blooming in the shade at the small, Lincoln Park zoo in Manitowoc.
Forget Me Nots are part of the Myosotis genus. This unusual Greek name means mouse’s ear, which is a pretty literal description of the shape of the flower’s small petals.
You can view a larger version of this image by clicking on the photo. When you do, a full-screen version will open in a new browser tab.
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.