Sky
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.
Tall Drink of Comfort
The sky above, the water below and the sun rising over its shoulder all combine to make a warm, comforting atmosphere around the Kewaunee, WI lighthouse. This image was captured on the western shore of Lake Michigan, just south of the pier in Kewaunee.
This is a panoramic image. Usually we think of panoramas as being wide, horizontal images. In this case, I wanted more of the sky and water in the shot than a single frame would allow, so I combined three frames (high, middle and low) to create a tall image. The changing hue in the upper sky adds to the interest of this image, as does the sun’s reflection dancing along the ripples of the lake.
As I’ve said before, I don’t normally post many panoramas because they don’t display well within the size constraints of most webpages. This one would be truly awesome if you could view it very large. It is a large file and could be printed as tall as eight feet. Wouldn’t that would be cool!
You can click on the image to view a larger version but, again, because of webpage constraints, you won’t see a much larger image.
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.
Fully Charged
Lightning lit up the sky as a post script to the powerful storm that just rolled through our rural area of Kewaunee County in northeast Wisconsin.
A severe storm had just pushed through. On the horizon, the sky turned a wild, orangeish-red and the lightning continued to flash for awhile. I’m afraid I was a little late to the party. I should have gotten my camera out sooner. I was able to capture three shots with lightning – this, being the best one.
In the foreground you see the farm field, planted with corn in its early stages, soaked with water that reflects the brightness of the lightning. This shot was taken from a third-floor vantage point in the attic or our home. Very cool to watch.
This is one you’ll want to view in the larger version to see the fine detail in the lightning. You can do so by clicking on the image.
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.
Beyond the Harbor
This is a panoramic view at the mouth of the harbor at Algoma, WI; on the western shore of Lake Michigan.
A couple of weeks ago I set out to capture a sunrise, but as you can see, the sun was blocked by the thick clouds on the horizon. The best feature of the morning were the lighter clouds, highlighted by the hidden sun, that filled the sky above.
To capture this wide-angle view, I took four separate photos and combined them for the final image you see here.
I don’t often post panoramic images because of the width limitations of most websites, including my own. To get the best view of this one, you should click on the photo. When you do, a larger 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.
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.
Morning Rolls In
The waves were rolling in, just before the sun was to rise over Lake Michigan. I captured this view of the lighthouse and pier from the beach at Kewaunee, Wisconsin.
Most mornings the lake is calm, but recent windy conditions kicked up a bit of surf. This was taken last Sunday morning.
You can view a 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.
Icing On the Lake
When temperatures drop on Lake Michigan, the ice begins to form and coat anything it contacts.
This is a sunrise view of the lighthouse and pier at Kewaunee, WI – on the western shore of Lake Michigan.
That rock in the foreground isn’t actually a rock. It is an ice formation created by snow/ice breaking away from the shore and being trapped in the ice a few feet from shore.
You can view the detail in 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.
Orange Plush
The sky looked more like soft, flowing fabric above the Kewaunee, Wisconsin lighthouse, on the western shore of Lake Michigan.
This image was captured in early December of last year. (2014) I stumbled upon it while looking for another image in my archives. I thought it was worth sharing.
This is a slightly different perspective of the Kewaunee lighthouse than you’ll normally see in my posts. This is from the north side of the pier. Most of the time, I’m shooting from the south side.
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.