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
Sony SLT-A55V
Shanty Days Fireworks
One of the charming aspects of small town life is the annual (fill-in-the-blank) festival. Every community commemorates and celebrates some aspect of its heritage or culture. In the case of Algoma, WI it’s “Shanty Days.” The finale of every Shanty Days festival is the Sunday night fireworks display.
The launch site is at the Algoma harbor. I set up my camera on the beach, near the water’s edge. Those who are familiar with Algoma’s harbor will recognize the tiny red light near the right edge of this photo as the famous pier light.
I snapped several interesting images from this show. I’ll be posting more, including one that reminds me of a green spider on its web and one of the most unusual fireworks effects I’ve seen, so check back soon.
(If you have a large monitor, click on the image may offer a larger view.)
Sunshine on a Stalk
Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadow. It’s what sunflowers do. – Helen Keller
The sunflowers are in bloom! In our area, we are blessed with several fields of sunflowers every summer – thanks to our good neighbors, the Kuehl Seed Farm.
When the field is on a main highway, it is quite common to see people pull over, jump out and snap a couple of pictures with a digital camera. And who can blame them. A field of sunflowers in full bloom is so bright and cheerful it’s natural to want to take it home with you. This field of flowers is on Highway 42, Just north of Kewaunee, WI. (While I was taking these photos at least four other cars stopped to do the same.)
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(Click either image to see a larger version.)
St. Paul’s Spire
Here’s the church, and here’s the steeple
Open the door and see all the people.
Here’s the parson going upstairs,
And here he is saying his prayers.
The tallest points in Algoma, WI are the steeples of its churches. (I suspect that would be the case in most small towns.)
This is St. Paul’s Lutheran church – the tallest structure in the downtown area.
The highest point in town would be the steeple of the Catholic church, towering above the city from its location on a hill in a more residential area, north of the downtown.
Click on the steeple image above for a larger view.
Auto Adornment
Every year Algoma hosts a car show in their downtown area. It’s a just a block away from the church – where I spend most of my Saturdays – so I made a brief visit and snapped a few photos. All the cars are cool and I think the old hood ornaments are the coolest. They don’t make them like that anymore. These images represent just a sample.
The one at the top of this post was my favorite because it appears to have two faces…maybe a human head wearing a lion-face looking helmet. (Click on the images – the one above for a larger view and the smaller one to the right for larger, even closer look.) Looking now, I wish I would have taken a side view shot.
I also thought some of the classic wheels and hub caps were unique and may post a few of those in the future.
I should have been taking notes so I could identify the cars these fancy hood adornments comes from. I would bet there are some true classic car fanatics who could tell you just by looking at these photos. If you’re one, by all means, tells us what you know in the comments.
I could be wrong, but I’m guessing this Indian head is on a Pontiac.
The nose cone on this car is the feature that stood out to me…though, I like the hood ornament, too. I also like the way a near by building’s reflection wraps around the hood. Studebaker?
I feel like I should be able to identify this by it’s V ornament. Something very familiar about it. Maybe a Buick.
Clicking on any of these images will open up a separate window with a larger view of that photo.
Lighthouse Bling
The early morning sky and it’s reflection off the Algoma, WI harbor make this one of my favorites. The lighthouse gets a bit of bling from the sun rising directly behind it. (Technically, it’s not a lighthouse. It’s a “pier light,” but everyone refers to it as the Algoma Lighthouse.)
The close up image on the left, gives you a better view of the effect created by the star filter I used.
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To see a larger version of either of these images, click the 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.
Return to Port
A small fishing boat returns to the Algoma, WI harbor after an early morning on Lake Michigan.
This was the first morning of the Kewaunee/Door County Salmon Tournament. You can still see remnants of the heavy fog that kept a lot of boats from venturing out early this day.
The K/D Tournament is a big, big deal in these parts. According to their Facebook page…
The KD Salmon Tournament is an amateur sport fishing tournament that runs for 9 consecutive days each summer. Approximately 2,300 to 2,800 contestants participate each year and over $40,000 in prizes are awarded. The largest fish caught will win the lucky fisherman $10,000 CASH. Most years the prize payout reaches 200 or more places.
The Tournament wraps up today. For information about it, visit http://www.kdsalmon.com/. Results for the tournament are posted to their Facebook page.
(For a larger view of this image on a black background, simply click on the photo.)
Fireworks Watercolor
This image is one of my favorites from the series I took at Kewaunee’s Trout Festival fireworks show.
I wouldn’t consider the fireworks burst the best of the bunch I took, but I find the reflection on the water awesomely spectacular. The purples, the reds, the greens…a literal watercolor painting in the harbor. The full moon is showing off a bit, too.
Somewhere Out There
When you look at this image, does it evoke feelings of hopeful expectation or foreboding…or some of both? The unknown can be both exciting and unsettling.The morning of this photo shoot started out with thick fog but, eventually, the sun had it’s way. This image portrays the epic battle. The field of battle was a Lake Michigan harbor at Algoma, WI.
To see a larger version of this image, simply click 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.
Lighting Up the Harbor
Fireworks, on the opening night of the annual Trout Festival, lit up the sky and harbor of Kewaunee, WI. The full moon offered it’s own amazing illumination and reflection.
Those familiar with the Kewaunee harbor will recognize the historic tug, Ludington, on the right side of the photo. The little bright dot beyond the point where the fireworks were launched is the light of Kewaunee’s lighthouse. On the left side is the Coast Guard station. The orange streak reflecting on the water (near the middle of the channel) is from the flashing lights of the Coast Guard boat – positioned to keep boats clear of the fireworks launch area.
Point of Inspiration
This is one of my favorites of the many photos I took Saturday morning (07/23/11). It’s not the image I was going after but, believe me, I am not disappointed.
I made a special point of getting up early and heading to the harbor in Algoma, WI in hopes of capturing a beautiful sunrise. The sky looked promising as I drove, however, when I got to the harbor, it was enveloped by fog. There wasn’t going to be a sunrise to photograph. I decided to stick around anyway and capture some images of the lighthouse in the fog. Since fog has a way of draining everything of color, I switched to shooting in black and white.
Eventually the fog lifted some, the sun got higher and I kept snapping. This is the first of several images I’ll be sharing from that morning. Check back often.
I haven’t done much in black and white but after this series of photos, I think I’ll be doing more.
(To see a larger 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.