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
Orange
Morning Dance On the Beach
The waves seemed to be dancing with delight on the western shore of Lake Michigan as the Kewaunee, WI lighthouse and pier greet the new day.
As you can see, I had excellent conditions to try this type of image. Normally, at sunrise, the overwhelming brightness of the sun has a tendency to turn everything in the foreground into a silhouette. On this morning, there was some serious haze in the sky and clouds that blocked the harsh light and gave me enough to work with. The lake was a little rougher than it usually is at sunrise giving me the challenge of capturing a wave splashing on the shore.
There is plenty to like in this scene. The calming color of the sky, the landmark lighthouse with some fishermen on the pier, the texture of choppy water, the refreshing wave splash and reflection of light on the beach. This will be one of my favorites for the year.
If you have a larger monitor, you can view a more detailed version of this image 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.
Bride and Bridesmaids
Sometimes, it’s the simple beauty that most easily captures me. Pleasing colors. Interesting shapes. A bit of texture. Uncommon perspective.
I found this collection of flowers while on another photographic mission. I was out early one morning to snap some photos of a couple of tall ships that were docked in the Kewaunee harbor. I parked my car in a lot near by and started working. At some point, I looked back and noticed a beautiful flower garden surrounding a nearby home. These flowers – the white one, in particular – immediately caught my eye.
I took quite a few photos of the ships, but this one may be my favorite of the morning.
You can see a much larger version of this image by clicking on it. When you do, another browser tab will open.
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.
Abundance of Atmosphere
There was plenty of atmosphere to spare, just after sunrise, above Lake Michigan and the Kewaunee, WI lighthouse. Nothing but miles and miles of beautifully, dramatic atmosphere.
The sky was so interesting, I was compelled to capture the entire horizon. I took six individual shots and “stitched” them together to get this panoramic view. There are a lot of pixels in the compilation file. (22,526 x 3,681, a 58.6 MB file)
It’s a shame, of course, that you can’t see the full majesty of the morning with this small image due to the unfortunate width limitations of this page. However, you can get a better view with the larger version available just by clicking on the photo. That will take you to the full-screen-wide image where you can enjoy much more of the drama and detail. The wider your screen, the better. If you look close, you can see fishermen on the pier and near the lighthouse.
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.
Splash of Light
The waves seemed to dance on Lake Michigan’s western shore as the sun emerged from behind the lighthouse at Kewaunee, WI.
I snapped this yesterday. It was the kind of morning perfect for an early stroll along the beach. The temperatures were comfortable with a slight breeze, the sun provided comforting color and the fishermen – on the pier and in boats further out – provided points of interest in the distance.
Photographing waves, and capturing the light in them, is a challenge that I still want to improve on. Of course, as you can tell by the relatively calm lake, these were very small waves and tiny splashes. Some good rolling waves might provide a bit more action and, consequently, opportunity.
You can view this image in greater detail with the larger, full-screen version – available 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.
Tree Hugger
I love macro photography because it brings things that are small, and often missed, closeup and in sharp focus. It reveals the detail that we rarely have the opportunity to observe and enjoy.
This small butterfly was one of several I found mingling around the base of a tree in the woods of Missouri. It seemed like a gathering of old friends. Unfortunately, I was’t able to get a good shot of the group’s activity because, at the base of the tree, there was a good deal of tall grass that shielded my view. This momentary loner was kind enough to sit still long enough for me to snap its image. An online friend helped me identify this as a Hackberry Emperor butterfly.
By the way, the image you see here was flipped 180-degrees. When I snapped it, the butterfly was facing downward. I thought it seemed more natural and a little easier on the eyes to have it positioned upward.
There is much more detail to be seen in the larger version. To see it, 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.
Sunrise and Splendor
A magnificent, pre-sunrise, panoramic display by the morning sky and clouds seems to envelop the Kewaunee lighthouse and pier. The warm reflection off Lake Michigan’s calm waters only accentuates the exhibition.
I’ve always believed, the best part of a sunrise is not the sun, but the clouds. The sun creates the light and color, but the clouds provide the character. Not heavy cloud cover, but the light, wispy kind that provide natural texture and interest to a scene. To me, a cloudless sunrise is pretty bland.
It seems I’ve been writing a lot about how I don’t often post panoramic images because their wide-view perspective doesn’t fit well within the typical web site parameters. Well, I must be on a bit of a panoramic kick these days, because I’ve posted more panoramas in the last few weeks than I have in as many years. I guess, when the mood and the beauty hits me, I can’t pass it up. It’s a little more work in processing, but I believe the results are well worth it.
Of course, when I post a panoramic image I must urge you to click on the photo so you can view a much larger version. There are a lot of birds in this photo, but you’ll miss most of them if you don’t view the larger version. Again, just click on the photo and 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.
In the Spotlight
The calm of morning is accentuated by the warming hues of a sunrise, poised for effect, over the lighthouse at Kewaunee, WI.
It is difficult to grab the sun in just the right position because it’s always moving…and faster than you think. By the time I get into position and get the camera set, I have to adjust a few more inches to the left…and a few more inches down…and a few more inches…. Well, you get the idea. Try it sometime. It seems to be moving very slowly until you are trying to get a precise placement. Same problem with the moon on similar shots.
The other difficult aspect of this shot is trying to get some detail in the subject in front of the sun. With the overwhelming brightness of the sun, everything else can become a black, silhouette. The morning haze helped mute the brightness a bit. However, to get the level of definition you see in the lighthouse and navigation marker, I blended several shots of varying exposures.
You can view a full-screen version of this image 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.
Bird of Paradise
Flowers are one of my favorite photography subjects. They provide an infinite variety of appealing color and form. This exotic beauty was photographed at a botanical garden. This is the bloom of the Bird-of-Paradise plant; also known as the crane flower.
Bird-of-paradise (Strelitzia reginae) is a native of South Africa and is closely related to the banana plant. The name is derived from the unique flower it bears. Some say it resembles a brightly colored bird in flight. I think it more resembles the bird’s head with a colorful plumage crest. Either way, it is a striking and unusual flower.
You can get a better look with a larger, more detailed view of this flower 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.
Be Still My Soul
I find this to be a very therapeutic scene. It is the Kewaunee, Wisconsin lighthouse with the waves of Lake Michigan rolling and reflecting the sunrise in the foreground. To add and extra measure of calming grace, six Canada geese fly past the lighthouse. (If you look close, you’ll even see a sea gull above the geese, on the right side.)
This is one of my favorite images. I captured this at the end of last February – the same morning I captured, Morning Rolls In, posted March 1st. Look back and compare the two. This one was after the sun was up and into the clouds. Morning Rolls In was shot earlier, before the sun breached the horizon.
I like both, but I like this one more. The sun’s reflection among the waves and the near perfect timing of the geese flying by make this an easy favorite.
Do yourself a favor and view this image in it’s largest available format. It’s easy, just click on the photo and 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.
Glorious Expanse
My ideal photographic mornings are ones where the sun and clouds come together in concert to create a symphony of comforting color and soothing, natural beauty. This is one such morning, captured from the Lake Michigan shore at Kewaunee Wisconsin. The colors reflecting off the lake enhance the effect.
This is a panoramic image created by “stitching” together three separate shots. It’s a technique photographers use to get a wider view than the camera can capture in a single frame. Of course, when you combine high-resolution images, the final image ends up being a much larger file. That large file size also makes large prints possible. For example, this image is available on my sales page to be printed up to 9-feet wide. Wouldn’t this look great filling a wall?
I don’t post a lot of panorama images because wide images don’t display as well on the website – they have to be reduced, and appear quite small, in order to fit the page width of my website. However, if you click on the photo, a larger version stretching the full width of your screen will appear.