Archives

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

Monarch Feasting

Monarch, Butterfly, Flower
I find butterflies to be one of the most fascinating creatures in nature. And, when it comes to butterflies, I believe the monarch butterfly is one of the most beautiful.

I snapped this butterfly feasting on some type of wildflower at a local park area. You can also see another butterfly in the background on the left side of the frame. I believe that was a smaller, painted lady butterfly.

You can get a larger, more detailed view 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.

Bright Life

Full Bloom, Sunflower, Yellow
The sunflower is such a bright, cheery bloomer.  It really does a great job of reminding us of the summer sun.

This was a bloom I found in the field behind my house a few weeks ago.  This was actually a late bloomer. All the other sunflowers surrounding this one were taller and larger in size.

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.

Me and My Shadow

Twin Butterflies on a Leaf
These delightful, tiny leaf sprites were found among of the variety of butterflies residing at the Butterfly Palace in Branson, Missouri.

I’ve been posting more butterfly photos than usual lately.  I just happen to have a bunch that I’ve taken over the last year that I’ve not had time to process or post. Stay tuned – more to come.

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.

Awaking the Calm

Kewaunee Lighthouse at Sunrise
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.

Sunflower Superstar

Sunflower, Sunburst, Star, SunflowersI purposely lined up this shot so the afternoon sun would be hidden behind the sunflower. That sneaky summer sun still found a way to crash the party.

These are sunflowers growing in the farm field behind my rural Wisconsin home. They are very tall; over my head in most places.  The fields around our house are usually planted in wheat, oats or corn.  It’s always cool when sunflowers make it into the rotation.

If you have a large monitor, 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.

Strange Life Form

Butterfly, Macro, Closeup
Butterflies are such beautiful creatures with the colors and patterns of their wings. However, up close, they have the face only an alien mother could love. This photo is a stark reminder – though whimsical in flight and beautiful from a distance, they are still flying insects.

I believe this is a Blue Morpho butterfly. If you could see it with its wings open, you would see a spectacular, iridescent blue color. The Blue Morpho is among the largest butterflies in the world with wing spans from five to eight inches. Blue morphos live in the tropical forests of Latin America from Mexico to Colombia.

On this photographic trip to the Butterfly Palace in Branson, Missouri I tried, unsuccessfully, to capture one of them with their wings open. You can view their beautiful blue in a photo I captured on a previous trip here:  Common Blue Morpho

This is one you may want to view in larger size to see more of the detail. (Or not…if bugs aren’t your thing.)  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.

Tucker the Pup

Puppy, Pup, Dog, Cute, Brittany SpanielMeet Tucker, the Brittany pup. He’s a recent addition to my in-laws family. They are rather partial to the breed. This photo was taken when Tucker was about 8-weeks old. He lives in northwest Missouri.

According to Wikipedia…  “The Brittany is a breed of gun dog bred primarily for bird hunting. Although it is often referred to as a spaniel, the breed’s working characteristics are more akin to those of a pointer or setter.”

This image is not any great photographic achievement, but every now and then I feel the urge to post something that ranks high on the “adorable” scale. That’s Tucker.

If you have a large monitor, you can view a larger 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.

Descent to Vertigo

Steps, Woods, Monochrome, Roche-A-Cri State Park
Going down! These steps are part of the arduous 303 step stairway to a scenic view at Roche-A-Cri State Park near Friendship, Wisconsin. It’s quite a climb to the top but worth the view and a welcome place to rest before beginning the descent.

I took a few photos of the stairway and thought this one was most interesting because of the turns and the angle of the shot.  This was shot with a wide-angle lens (12mm). I processed this photo in both color and monochrome and asked my wife to pick the one she preferred. She liked the B&W best. So here it is.

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.

A Clear Calling

Sunrise, Kewaunee, Beach, Boardwalk, Lake Michigan
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.

Youthful Vigor

Sunflowers, Yellow, Blue Skies
Summertime is sunflower time in our area. We live near a seed farm that always has a few fields of sunflowers planted in our rural neighborhood.  This year, they’ve planted sunflowers in the field that adjoins our home.

I finally got out to grab a few photos of the sunflowers. The variety they plant to produce seeds (as opposed to just bright, cheerful flowers) don’t last long in bloom.  It seems like just a couple of weeks from first bloom to droop.

In this photo, you will notice, the main subject is in peak bloom while the others that surround it are already beginning to droop.  This flower is a “late bloomer.”  It also is not as tall or as big as its nearby rivals but, it is pretty.

You can view a larger version of this image by clicking on the photo. When you do, a near full-screen version 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.