A Sample of Pop’s “Bee” Images
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
A Sample of Pop’s “People” Photo Collection
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
Tiny Dancers
This spray of Forget Me Nots remind me of giddy, forest sprites dancing among the greenery.
With the dreary, winter weather we’ve been experiencing lately, I thought a spring-like image would be welcome. (No need to thank me.)
Forget Me Nots are some of my favorite flowers. However, they are so small, I have rarely captured an image of them that I really like. I really like this one.
I put my index finger into the photo on the right to give you a reference for how tiny these little beauties are.
According to Wikipedia:
Myosotis (maɪ.əˈsoʊtɪs; from the Greek: “mouse’s ear”, after the leaf) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Boraginaceae that are commonly called Forget-me-nots. Its common name was calqued from the French, ne m’oubliez pas and first used in English in c. 1532.
To see a larger version of the main photo, just click on it.
Sailing Past the Sun
Here’s an artsy, surreal, minimalist kind of image for you.
One morning last fall I visited the beach in Kewaunee to capture the morning’s sunrise. There was a good deal of low fog muting the sun. I happened to snap just as a sea gull flew by.
Click the photo to see a larger version.
Enlightening
A low hanging cloud bank was making a futile attempt to suppress the sun rising over Lake Michigan. The foreground is ice and snow covering the harbor. The black line at the edge of the ice is a flock of Canada geese waiting for the warmth of the morning sun. And, of course, the tall structure is the pier light at Algoma, WI.
I prefer the kind of sunrises where a majority of the sky turns beautiful shades of red, orange and gold. Unfortunately, I just haven’t been offered much on the days I could be out shooting. Most of them have been cold, dull, dreary days. This time of year, the days are so short, I have to leave for work before the sun rises and don’t return home until after the sun sets. My best opportunities are the weekends and weekends haven’t been cooperating lately. (I know…excuses, excuses, excuses.)
To see a larger version of this image, click on it.
Mellow Morning in Kewaunee
The sun is just slipping above the horizon of Lake Michigan, providing a very mellow mood to this view of the lighthouse at Kewaunee, WI.
This is similar to another image I posted in mid December that I entitled Serenity Beach. They are very similar in composition, but differ greatly in tone. The difference is just a matter of minutes in time. It’s a great illustration of the rapidly changing mood of early morning light. (Click the link and compare them. Which do you like best?)
Click the image to see a larger version of this photo.
Smoldering Sunrise
The Christmas gift that keeps on giving… This is another image I captured at sunrise on Christmas morning, 2011. This lighthouse is positioned on the western shore of Lake Michigan – at the harbor opening of Algoma, WI.
Algoma has had some sort of structure providing light for navigational purposes since March 1st of 1893. This current version, standing more than 40 feet tall, has been in place since 1932.
If you’d like a better look, click the image for a larger version.
Kewaunee Lighthouse in B&W
The simplicity of this photo is what appeals to me most. It’s not a dramatic, eye-popping image. It’s a simple, normal view of the lighthouse at Kewaunee, WI…taken early one morning from the beach.
Click the image to view a larger version.
Photo Restoration – Before & After
Chalk this one up to the magic of Photoshop and hours and hours and hours and hours of tedious work.
The background story: A good friend came to me with this photo and asked if I could fix it. The photo is a little more than 50 years old. The subjects are siblings that were separated shortly after this picture was taken – I believe, due to the death of one or more parents. My friend’s father (little boy in the overalls) is the one who had the original, and only known copy. It was recently discovered rolled up and literally falling apart. My friend wanted to have it restored, as much as possible, and present it as a Christmas gift to his dad.
The original was a bit smaller that 16×20 inches. It had been printed on a thick paper that time had made very stiff and brittle. My first step was to scan it and create a digital file that could be manipulated in Photoshop. The My scanner will only scan 8.5×11 inch images. To get the full photo I had to make multiple scans of it, being sure my scanned images would overlap. The photo itself presented a lot of problems, because of its stiffness and the areas of major wrinkles actually had small small pieces of the image that were falling off. That stiffness also prevented the image from laying flat on the scanner. I was very worried about damaging the original just by unrolling it.
After scanning was complete, I had to join all the pieces of the puzzle to come up with the image you see on the left. (Actually, some work had been done to it try to even out the tone and remove the tiniest of wrinkles before I saved the “before” image you see here.)
Once I had the “before” view you see above, it was a matter of removing the big wrinkles and recreating some of the areas where the image had flaked off, like on the boys knee or the tall boys face and neck.
When I first saw the photograph, I wasn’t sure how good I could make it look. Trust me, the “before” image doesn’t do it justice. I actually took on this project to test my own skills – to see if I could really do it.
After the multiple hours of eye straining work, I think it turned out pretty good. I’m not completely pleased with it, because I can see plenty of other things that need to be fixed. I would have also liked to work more on the background. Time decided for me, when the project was complete. I had worked on it when I could, for several months, and stopped the week of Christmas, so I could get a 16×20 print made for the gift.
I learned a bit through the process and honed my Photoshop skills as well. The greatest lesson learned? Do not take on another project like this unless… 1) you have a lot of time…and… 2) someone is paying you a boatload of money. Now that I know I can do it, that challenge is not as motivating.
Final word: My friend presented gave his father the photo for Christmas and everyone was delighted and amazed by how good it looked. I also gave him the file on a CD so they can print more copies for the other family members.
I consider it a happy ending.
You can get a closer look at this side-by-side image by clicking on it.
A Christmas Story – Opening Act
This is the way the day started in Algoma, WI on Sunday, December 25, 2011 – Christmas morning. The sun had to force its way through a band of low clouds hugging the horizon over Lake Michigan.
Myself and another area photographer were there to witness and record it. Obviously, neither one of us had young children at home to open presents on this early Christmas morning. I was actually on my way to church to prepare for the morning’s service and stopped (as I often do) for a quick round of pics.
Click on the photo to see a larger version of it.
Harbor Slush
The harbor at Algoma, WI was busy making slush on the morning I snapped this image. There were chunks of ice undulating with minimal wave action. As they moved, ever so slightly, together and apart, the slush in the water created by the cold temperatures was pushed up between the chunks of ice, creating the ridges seen here.
This was taken right at sunrise on a Sunday morning. If you squint, you can see the first hint of the morning sun on the horizon, just to the right of the lighthouse.
If you have a large monitor, you may be able to see a larger version if you click on the photo.
View from Shore
I know most people prefer to sleep in on Saturday mornings. Not me. I’m up before the sun and scouting out potential, natural beauty. For me, another hour or two of sleep just isn’t worth what I might miss on a calm morning in the pre-sunrise glow.
This is one of my favorite Saturday morning locations. This was the scene just before the sun appeared over Lake Michigan and the lighthouse at Kewaunee, WI…as viewed from the beach.
Click the image to see a larger version.