Tuliptree Blossom with Guest
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
Lighthouse
Emotional Distancing
In times of darkness and difficulty, it is only natural that we look to The Light.
This is a very emotionally moving image for me. Without getting too sappy; this image speaks what my heart has been feeling amidst the recent chaos, confusion, and wholesale upheaval of our world.
In these times, I’m not looking to some activist group or the government or some celebrity or even well-intentioned family and friends for clear guidance and direction. I look to the Light of the World, Christ Jesus and His Word to bring understanding, direction and peace to my life.
I got up early to capture the sunrise at Algoma, WI. However, the sun and sky didn’t provide what I was hoping for. Still, I kept shooting. After all, I’d made the effort to get there, maybe something of interest would emerge. I thought it was pretty much a “learning experience” until I viewed this frame on the computer. The color was pretty bland, so I decided to convert it to monochrome and… Well, I think I found a diamond in the rough. It’s not a great “photographic effort” technically, but it moves me. (That’s why we call it, “Art.”)
I think this image is much more powerful when viewed larger. You can see a full-screen 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 (pops@popsdigital.com) for digital purchase and licensing options.
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.
A Little Light Reflection
The waves were calm but the sky seemed to portray a warning. This red sky appeared, in the pre-sunrise morning, over Lake Michigan; behind the Kewaunee, Wisconsin lighthouse and pier.
Scenes like this often reminded me of the old adage, “Red sky at night, sailors delight. Red sky at morning, sailors warning.”
This thinking was cited by Jesus in Matthew 16:2-3, “…When it is evening you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red’; and in the morning, ‘It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening…” Shakespeare wrote something similar in, Venus and Adonis. “Like a red morn that ever yet betokened, Wreck to the seaman, tempest to the field, Sorrow to the shepherds, woe unto the birds, Gusts and foul flaws to herdmen and to herds.”
According the Library of Congress website, there is some validity to this saying (within limits). They write…
When we see a red sky at night, this means that the setting sun is sending its light through a high concentration of dust particles. This usually indicates high pressure and stable air coming in from the west. Basically good weather will follow.
A red sunrise can mean that a high pressure system (good weather) has already passed, thus indicating that a storm system (low pressure) may be moving to the east. A morning sky that is a deep, fiery red can indicate that there is high water content in the atmosphere. So, rain could be on its way.
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.
Burned Into My Memory
I was able to grab a couple of shots of the Kewaunee, WI lighthouse yesterday. Even though the sun seems to be above the horizon, this is actually a pre-sunrise shot. That faux sun – the round, yellow area in the middle right – is not the sun. It is just a lighter area of cloud cover that allowed a brighter area of light to escape. The actual sunrise was still a good 15 minutes away.
The last few times I had an opportunity to get some sunrise images the weather didn’t cooperate. It was foggy or rainy or totally dreary with clouds. Yesterday wasn’t bad and I was able to pick up a few good images. Stay tuned – they’ll be more to come.
You can view a larger, full-screen 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.
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.
Awaking the Calm
On a calm Lake Michigan, the sun prepares to rise behind the pier and lighthouse at Kewaunee, Wisconsin. It was a glorious, eye-opening morning!
If you look closely you will see a fishing boat or two and people fishing off the pier.
This is one of the very few sunrises I was able to photograph through the summer…and, thankfully, it was a good one. I posted the first photo from this same morning a few days ago and will have a number of others that I will share in the coming weeks. Good stuff!
Nothing tricky about this shot – other than having to be there early in the morning. No HDR on this one, just a simple, single exposure and Lightroom processing.
To view a larger, more detailed 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.
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.
Warm Emotions On A Cold Morning
On a cold morning, the promise of warmth is conveyed by the subtle hues of a developing sunrise over the frozen harbor of Kewaunee, Wisconsin. Kewaunee is located on the western shore of Lake Michigan.
This is a very large panoramic image. To enjoy the full effect, please click on the photo. When you do a full-screen image will open in a new browser tab. On a small screen you will want to zoom in to see more of the details.
A look at the full- screen, panoramic image will reveal the Kewaunee lighthouse (a small bump, off center, just to the right of the trees on the left) and a historic WWII tug boat, the Ludington decorated with Christmas lights (to the left of the trees on the right). Unfortunately, even in the largest view I offer here, the Christmas lights are not really bright enough to see them. You have to view the very large, original file on my computer with a large monitor to make them out.
This is one of my favorite images of 2018. It is also the last image I shot of the year. It was a cold, December, Sunday morning. Sunrise was early enough I was able to catch it before getting ready to head to church. I decided to shoot the sunrise in Kewaunee from a different perspective – from the harbor facing southeast.
You can see the cracked ice in the foreground. It wasn’t frozen solid. The large sections were floating and gently, and almost imperceptibly, moving ever so slightly in waves. You could hear the slight creaking/cracking of the ice movement more than you could see it. I was at this spot for nearly an hour and ended up painfully cold by the time I decided to pack it in.
To create this wide-view, I had to combine (stitch) six separate images.
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.
First and Last Lights
As the sun breaches the horizon, bringing its first light of morning, the Algoma, Wisconsin lighthouse is bringing its last light of the night.
I’ve not had much time lately to get a lot of photography done so I began to visit the archives to see what gold I might be able to find. This is a shot from May of 2013. I was actually thinking of making it a monochrome image, but decided I couldn’t pass up the warm tones of that background.
You can view a larger, more detailed 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.