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
Pops Photos
Gold Standard
A rising autumn sun warmly caresses the Algoma Lighthouse. As you know, this is one of my favorite photographic subjects. Located at the harbor entrance to Algoma, WI, most folks refer to it as the Algoma Lighthouse. It’s also called the Algoma Pier Light or the Algoma Pierhead Lighthouse. I don’t know that you could consider it a true “lighthouse,” as it is not a habitable structure. It is listed by the United States Coast Guard as “Algoma Light;” number 20975 on their light lists.
Here’s a little history and other details found on Wikepedia…
The lighthouse was first established in 1893 as a set of range lights. It was rebuilt in 1908 at which time it was a conical tower built of 5/16 inch steel plate, 8 feet (2.4 m) in diameter at the base and 7 feet (2.1 m) in diameter at the parapet. It stood 26 feet (7.9 m) high. In 1932 it was modified again and the entire structure was raised to a height of 42 feet (13 m) by placing the older tower on a new steel base 12 feet (3.7 m) in diameter. The original lens has been replaced by a plastic lens.
To see a larger version of this photo, just click on it.
On Golden Rod
This bee was keeping busy on a patch of golden rod at the Green Bay Botanical Gardens. I took a lot of photos of the bees that day. This may be the only one that was worth sharing.
Click on the photo to see a larger version.
Red Sky at Morning
This scene reminded me of the the old adage “Red sky in morning, sailor’s warning. Red sky at night, sailor’s delight. ”
I don’t recall the weather turning bad on the day this photo was taken, but then I wasn’t sailing either. We did have overcast skies with a little drizzle.
I did a little research on the common saying and found this interesting comment on Wikipedia…
The rhyme is a rule of thumb for weather forecasting, dating back over 2,000 years, based on the reddish glow of the morning or evening sky, caused by haze or clouds related to storms in the region. Due to the rotation of the Earth, from west to east, storm systems tend to travel eastward across a local region of the globe. A reddish sunrise, caused by particles suspended in the air, often foreshadows an approaching storm, which will be arriving from the west, within the day. Conversely, a reddish sunset often indicates that a storm system is on the east side (opposite the sunset), travelling away from the viewer. A similar movement is noted all around the world, in both the northern and southern hemisphere. There are occasions where a storm system might rain itself out before reaching the observer (who had seen the morning red sky). However, for ships at sea, the wind and rough seas, from an approaching storm system, could still be a problem, even without rainfall.
To get a better view, click on the photo and a larger version will pop up.
Found on the Web
Let me introduce you to a web master. Spider web, that is. This beauty is commonly called a Yellow Garden Spider. The technical name is Argiope Aurantia. They are common in most of North America. We have them in our garden and flower beds each year. This one was photographed while on vacation last summer in Missouri. I saw the spider web and spider with a background of yellow wildflowers and thought it created an interesting visual.
Here are some interesting facts about Argiope Aurantias from the University of Arkansas Anthropod Museum…
Females build large webs, up to two feet in diameter. The female usually eats her web each day and constructs a new one, often in the same place. The web consists of dry spokes supporting a spiral thread of adhesive silk. The hub is separated from the spirals by a free zone. The spiders rest head down day and night at the hub of the web over a conspicuous zigzag band of bright white noncapture silk known as a stabilimentum. The stabilimentum apparently affords protection, perhaps by camouflaging the spiders, startling predators, or acting as an aposematic warning of the presence of webs. It seems to be especially effective in preventing birds from flying through webs.
For another view of the same type of spider, see my earlier post : By A Thread.
If you have a large monitor, clicking on the photo may provide a larger version.
Wide Awakening
This is a panoramic view of the sun rising over Lake Michigan just beyond the Kewaunee, WI lighthouse.
Sometime I create the wide, panorama images by joining together several individual shots. This one, however, was created in the camera. My Sony SLT-A55V has a “sweep shooting” mode. When in sweep shooting mode, you hold the shutter button and slowly pan across the scene you want to capture. The camera takes multiple images and then joins them together in the camera.
As you can see, sometimes the results are pretty good. Sometimes, it’s better to put together individual images on the computer.
For a better, wider view of this scene, click on the photo.
Dreamscape
I’m always on the hunt for another alluring sunrise. It means getting up very early, packing up the gear and heading out in time to be at the scene well before the sun will rise. Often times, the best shots happen before the actual sunrise.
A view like this makes it all worth while. This is the lighthouse at Algoma, Wisconsin…just before sunrise.
To get a better view, click the photo to see a larger version.
Fall’s Last Stand
Summer has long past. Fall is finishing. Down by the river, these wild grasses are making their final stand. Soon biting winter winds will assault them and Wisconsin snow will smother them.
This photo was taken early Saturday morning about half a mile from my home. I posted a black and white photo from this same morning a couple of days ago, entitled: Highlights by the River.
A larger view is available by clicking on the photo.
Wide Eyed Sunrise
Good morning Algoma! This is the sunrise greeting Algoma, WI Sunday morning, November 13, 2011.
There are several normal sized images I’ll post from this shoot, but there’s something special about being able to see the panoramic, wide-view – the big picture. This is a combination of three separate images “stitched” together.
To see a wider version (wider is definitely better) click on the photo.
Highlights by the River
This is a photo I took down by the river near my home. Its some of that tall fuzzy-topped grass that grows along the banks. This was taken in the early morning light – around 8:00.
In addition to the quality black and white processing adds, the lighting makes this image happen. The sun was behind and slightly above this scene. The bright areas that look like lights are created by the sun illuminating stalks of this same type of grass on the other bank, across the river. And, of course, I tweaked the image a bit – darkening the edges for dramatic effect.
This is not my typical type of image. Let me know what you think by leaving a comment. And, if this photo appeals to you, feel free to share it with friends.
To see a larger version, just click on the photo.
Sun & Surf Rising
Rough seas and a rising sun create a nice contrast in this image. Normally the early morning, beach-side view of Lake Michigan is calm and reflective of the sun as it emerges above the horizon. The morning of this shot, the tension of the rough, rolling waves quash the calm.
The structure near the horizon is the lighthouse at Kewaunee, WI.
A larger version of this image can by seen by clicking on the photo.