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-A77V
Dracula vs Shockwave
“Dracula,” the aerobatic biplane, swoops in to race with “Shockwave,” the jet-powered Peterbilt semi. This scene, captured at EAA’s Airventure in Oshkosh, Wisconsin is played out at airshows across the United States.
The flashiest of this match up, of course, is Shockwave. It is a semi truck outfited with three Westinghouse J34-48 jets that give it a total of 36,000 horsepower. Shockwave holds the world record for jet-powered full-sized trucks at 376 miles per hour! The smoke, the flames, the roar and speed all make quite an impression…even more so at night.
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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.
Sudden Downpour
This amphibian, firefighting plane, operated by Viking, demonstrated it’s ability to smother a wildfire with water at this year’s AirVenture airshow.
After take off, this unique aircraft would skim the surface of nearby Lake Winnebago for ten seconds and scoop up 15,000 gallons of water and then return to the airfield. The total time to make its circuit and deliver a drenching to its target was only two minutes. Amazing technology and service.
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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.
Festival of Flights
Fireworks are a favorite, and fitting, way to end the evening air show at the Experimental Aircraft Association’s AirVenture.
This is like a little slice of photographer heaven for me – combining fireworks, aircraft and long exposures. I almost didn’t get any fireworks shots on this trip because I forgot to bring my tripod with me. Thankfully, I was able to improvise a suitable camera platform by strapping my monopod to folding lawn chair. It was not a very sturdy/stable set up but, fortunately, there was no wind to speak of. Of course, I use a remote trigger when shooting long exposures to avoid even the slightest movement of the camera.
The blurring of people in this image was caused by their movement during the time the shutter was open; about 23 seconds.
As always, the best of this image can be experienced by viewing the larger, full-screen version. 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.
Angel on Assignment
A United States Air Force F-22 Raptor fighter jet is seen climbing against the backdrop of a tumultuous summer sky.
This photo the combination of an airshow performance, a setting sun and a billowing thunderhead in the distance. As the jet was quite a distance away, likely banking to return to the delighted airshow fans. The storm front was miles away, causing no threat but providing majestic beauty. The setting sun colored the clouds in an orange-ish hue, making the scene more dramatic.
If you look real close, you can see the fire of the jet engines trailing the aircraft. I’d like to have a better view of the Jet, but the real star in this shot is the sky. To see a larger version (and get a little better view of the jet) just 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.
Good Morning Oshkosh
The United States Air Force’s Lockheed C-5M Super Galaxy, a transport plane that ranks as one of the world’s largest aircraft, greeted visitors at the EAA AirVenture 2019 in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
Shortly after this photo was taken, they allowed visitors to walk through the plane. The angle of this photo makes the plane seem much smaller than it is. This is a behemoth! The cargo compartment is 121 ft long, 19 ft wide and 13.5 ft high. It is capable of hauling nearly every type of military equipment. The nose and aft cargo-bay doors open the full width and height of the cargo bay to maximize efficient loading of over-sized equipment. Full-width ramps enable loading double rows of vehicles from either end of the cargo hold. Aside from the cargo hold, the plane also has an upper deck that can accommodate 75 pasengers.
The lens flare, created by the sun in the background, was an unexpected artifact in this shot. I’m not sure I like it. On one hand, it’s kind of cool. On the other, it’s kind of distracting.
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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.
Amish Go Round
This young, Amish lad took a spin on the carousel. I’m sure he is quite familiar with real horses. His father was seated on the steed to his left; out of the camera’s view.
I snapped this photo during a family visit to the Columbus, Ohio Zoo. I was trying to capture images of my own grandchildren on the ride and this little guy kept popping into the frame. I didn’t feel any of the photos I was going for of my own grandchildren turned out to be great, artistic works, but I really like this one.
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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.
Mona Lisa Smile
On a recent trip to the Columbus Zoo, in Ohio, I snapped this image of a flamingo. I titled it, “Mona Lisa Smile,” because the bird seemed to have a look in the eye and crook in the smile that reminded me of a much more famous work or art.
This is an American Flamingo. These birds were found in southern Florida by early European explorers but their populations declined until they were gone by the early 1900s. However, in the 1950s they were added as a decorative addition to the Hialeah Park race track in Hialeah, Florida. The current wild populations of flamingos in southern Florida are believed to be the result of escapees from the race track.
The elements of this photo that I like most are, of course, the vibrant color, the detail in the plumage and the unusual shape and symmetry of the bird and its plumage.
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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.
Frost On a Stick
In a hopeful, “Goodbye,” wave to winter, here is a photo I took a few weeks back on a cold and frosty morning. There was a slight mist in the air before sunrise that provided the moisture for the clinging frost. These are some dormant weeds at the edge of the farm field that borders our homestead.
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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.
Warm Emotions On A Cold Morning
On a cold morning, the promise of warmth is conveyed by the subtle hues of a developing sunrise over the frozen harbor of Kewaunee, Wisconsin. Kewaunee is located on the western shore of Lake Michigan.
This is a very large panoramic image. To enjoy the full effect, please click on the photo. When you do a full-screen image will open in a new browser tab. On a small screen you will want to zoom in to see more of the details.
A look at the full- screen, panoramic image will reveal the Kewaunee lighthouse (a small bump, off center, just to the right of the trees on the left) and a historic WWII tug boat, the Ludington decorated with Christmas lights (to the left of the trees on the right). Unfortunately, even in the largest view I offer here, the Christmas lights are not really bright enough to see them. You have to view the very large, original file on my computer with a large monitor to make them out.
This is one of my favorite images of 2018. It is also the last image I shot of the year. It was a cold, December, Sunday morning. Sunrise was early enough I was able to catch it before getting ready to head to church. I decided to shoot the sunrise in Kewaunee from a different perspective – from the harbor facing southeast.
You can see the cracked ice in the foreground. It wasn’t frozen solid. The large sections were floating and gently, and almost imperceptibly, moving ever so slightly in waves. You could hear the slight creaking/cracking of the ice movement more than you could see it. I was at this spot for nearly an hour and ended up painfully cold by the time I decided to pack it in.
To create this wide-view, I had to combine (stitch) six separate images.
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.
Flattering Imitation
The harbor seemed to be trying to imitate the deep red color of the pre-sunrise clouds behind the Algoma, Wisconsin lighthouse. Algoma is located on the western shore of Lake Michigan.
I was impressed with the vivid colors in the water’s reflection. The red reminded me of blood in the water. I almost named is something like that, but thought it was too grim for such a pretty scene.
I took this photo off the south pier, lying on my stomach, trying to get the camera as close to the surface of the water as possible. At those moments, you can be sure I have a death grip on the camera. It would not be a fun day if the camera slipped out of my hands and under the water.
You can view a much larger, full-screen version of this image by clicking on the photo. This is one of those, “bigger is better, ” 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.