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
Water
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.
Simple Start
This was a very simple start to a very simple morning with the sun rising behind the lighthouse at Kewaunee, Wisconsin – on the western shore of Lake Michigan.
To view a larger version of this image, click on the photo and a new tab will open in your browser.
Heading for Open Water
A commercial fishing boat (the Oliver H. Smith) breaks its way through the ice of the Kewaunee, Wisconsin harbor on their way to the open waters of Lake Michigan.
The ice in the harbor was thick enough to make getting out a challenge and it took quite a while for the boat to break through. It would push and crunch its way into the ice, traveling 20 or 30 feet at a time before it would be halted. Then it would back up and take another run at it…for the next 20 or 30 feet…back up and repeat until it finally got to open water. This shot shows it clear of the solid ice, heading out of the harbor. I’ve included a short video of the struggle below.
The Oliver H. Smith, is a commercial fishing boat built in 1944 at Kewaunee Shipbuilding and Engineering Co. during World War II. It was purchased in 1999 and is operated by Lafond’s Fish Market in Kewaunee.
To view a larger version with more detail, click on the image.
Daydream Catalyst
A guy can daydream, can’t he? I look at this photo and daydream about being on a beach in the Caribbean, relaxing in the warm glow of a tropical sunset.
Of course, this is Kewaunee, Wisconsin at sunrise. Even in summer, it’s never “tropical” warm on the beach in the morning. But, in the grip of arctic winter weather, with temperatures below zero and wind chills much lower, a little escape is nice – even if it’s only in my mind. Feel free to pull up a beach chair and join me.
To view a larger version of this image, click on the photo.
Frosted Branch
This is another shot from a very cold morning in Kewaunee, WI. The open waters of Lake Michigan created enough moisture that everything along the shore was coated with a light, fluffy frost. This branch is a prime example.
If you look closely, you can see some little white specks (particularly on the right side). Those are little flakes of the frost falling like snow off the branch at the slightest movement of air.
Also, you will notice the Kewaunee lighthouse in the background. If you compare this photo with my previous post, You’ll be able to see this same branch from a very different perspective. Both photos were taken the same morning using different lenses. This one was 45 minutes or so after the other.
To see more of the details in this image, click on the photo and a larger version will open in a new browser tab.