Water
Horizontal Rainbow
The early morning hours is the best time to catch a sky full of color. The best moment is just before the sunrise.
This is the beauty I found this morning at Kewaunee, WI. The time-stamp from the camera reads 4:49 am. Sunrise was at 5:09 am.
To get a better view, click on the photo and a larger version will open in a new browser tab.
Clandestine Candlepower
The early morning sun seems to be hiding behind the Kewaunee, WI lighthouse. I always try to get the rising sun close to the lighthouse. Occasionally, as in this case, I’m able to get the sun directly behind the lighthouse. It doesn’t always make a great image because the sun will overpower everything in the frame. The sun was hidden enough by the lighthouse – along with some camera and post processing wizardry – to create an interesting image.
April Awakening
A very calming morning scene on Lake Michigan as the sun prepares to rise behind the lighthouse and pier at Kewaunee, Wisconsin. This morning’s sun has a “tell” for exactly where it will breach the horizon. That little pink area to the right of the lighthouse is marking the spot where the sun will appear.
You can view a larger version of this image by simply clicking on the photo.
Break of Dawn (vintage)
This is an image that dates back a few years. I was searching for it on this website and was surprised that I had never posted here. It’s a digitally enhanced version of one of my most popular images – Break of Dawn. (See the original HERE) The original is a wonderful color image. It would be my favorite of the two, but I also like the aged look this one receives from the monochrome and textured effects.
To view a larger version of this photo, click on it.
Heaven’s Lake
This is an early morning view of Lake Michigan – taken from the shore at Algoma, WI. I was there to photograph the lighthouse at sunrise. There were a few boats trolling close by and the opening in the clouds caught my eye.
To view a larger version of this image, click on the photo.
Splishin’ & Splashin’
This little duck was having a grand ole time, splashing up a storm, celebrating a sunny, early spring day after a long, hard winter.
I happened to catch this character and its joyful display at the N.E.W. Zoo – about 10 minutes from Green Bay, WI.
To get a better view of the splashing fun, click on the image and a larger version will open in a new browser window.
Fire Painters In the Sky
This image is a combination of stunning, natural beauty and a generous helping of digital magic. Let me share some of the details.
This is one of my earliest photos taken with my first decent digital camera. The camera a Kodak EasyShare DX7590 that I purchased to document my first trip to Liberia, Africa in 1995 . The DX7590 was a minor step up from a typical point-and-shoot camera with a whopping 5-megapixels. (Pretty impressive, in those days, for a small, consumer grade camera. My current camera provides 24-megapixels.)
This photo was taken in march of 2007. At home in the early evening, I saw the wonderful colors in the sky out my living room window. Of course, I grabbed my camera and dashed out the door.
I crossed the road in front of my house to be able to frame up the sky without any interference from the power lines and poles between me and the beauty. I included the dormant tree to add contrast and interest to the scene. I snapped several frames of the incredible sky with the trees and field before me.
If you haven’t guessed by now, the water you see in the foreground wasn’t part of the original scene. I added the water, digitally, after the fact. The lovely, rippling reflection of the water in this image replaced a barren farm field, mostly covered with melting snow. You can see a couple of the original images I took – with out the water effect – in this earlier post: Fire In the Sky
The farm field was dark and dreary, compared to the sky, so I thought it needed an upgrade. I had been trying out a trial version of software developed to add a water effect and thought the reflective quality of water might add more interest and color to the bottom of the image. In fact, I extended the bottom area of the photo, to fit more ripples in the view.
You can view a larger version of this photo by clicking on it.
Liquid Lunar Rising
Distorted by the light-bending qualities of earth’s atmosphere, the full moon rising took on a redish-orange color and an unusual shape as it ascended above the Lake Michigan horizon, behind the Kewaunee, Wisconsin lighthouse and pier.
I would love to get more definition in the features of the moon, but at that low angle, the surface just seems like an undulating mass of mush.
I took several photos this evening. Check back to see more…soon, I hope.
Hidden Power
The sun had risen by the time I snapped this image but was being blocked by a low bank of clouds over Lake Michigan. Still, it managed to break through and make it’s presence known behind the Kewaunee, Wisconsin lighthouse and pier.
The image seems kind of dark…but that’s because it was kind of dark…until the sun hit that open band.
Wide Scene Format
The sky offered larger-than-life beauty but to take advantage of the opportunity I would have to take several photos and join them together to capture this wide, panoramic view.
This is a sunrise over Lake Michigan, behind the Kewaunee, WI pier and lighthouse. I like the way this photo gives the viewer a good idea of just how long this pier extends into the lake.
Because I combined four separate images (each 24mb) to create this image, it resulted in a huge file. The file was large enough to choke my computer to a near standstill. It took me many hours, twiddling my thumbs while it processed, to arrive at the final product.
Unfortunately, the narrow format of my website doesn’t do justice to the panoramic view. To view a larger version – one that will stretch the full width of your monitor – click on the image.