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
Wisconsin
Fare Thee Well
On September 16, 2017 there was a light layer of morning fog near the lighthouse at the mouth of the Kewaunee, WI harbor. The misty conditions managed to mute the sunrise over Lake Michigan.
If you look closely, you can see fishermen on the pier, near the lighthouse. Also, there’s a charter fishing boat shrouded by the fog, to the right of the lighthouse, on their way to deeper waters.
To get a closer look, click on the image and a larger, more detailed version will open in a new browser tab.
One Minute Sunset – 07-30-17
This is a time-lapse video of a July sunset at our home in rural Kewaunee County, WI. This compresses about an hour of time into a minute.
Be sure to watch long enough to see the contrails (A trail of condensed water from aircraft at high altitude, seen as a white streak against the sky.) There are three of them. It is easy to miss the first one. It shows up at about 27-seconds in as a light line coming in from the right side of the tree. The other two you won’t miss at 34 and 42 seconds. They come from the top of the frame and are prominent in the scene.
For the best viewing experience, you’ll want to watch this video at full-screen and high definition. To do so, click the controls in the bottom right corner of the video frame.
Partial Eclipse 2017
I was able to grab an image of the partial solar eclipse that appeared, filtered by light cloud cover, over Green Bay, Wisconsin on August 21, 2017.
I was working through the eclipse but took a short break to snap a few frames. It was a bit tricky, since I didn’t really have much time or the proper equipment to photograph an eclipse. I didn’t have any filters and didn’t use a tripod. Thankfully the light clouds provided some filtering effect and a little texture to the image. I also used a tall spruce tree to add some foregroud context.
To capture this image I had to use some crazy camera settings – 1/3200 sec, f/40, ISO 50, 250mm. Never actually looking at the sky, and hand holding the camera, I used the articulating screen on the back of my camera to find the sun and quickly snap my shots. I didn’t want to stay focused on the sun for more than a moment because without the proper filter there was a risk of damaging the image sensor. Of course, I increased the saturation in post processing.
This isn’t the best image, technically speaking, but at least I was able to grab a glimpse of the historic event in my area.
You can view a larger 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.
Early Morning Stretch
Sometimes I just pick up my camera and wander around my yard to see what I can see. On a recent morning stroll around the yard, just after sunrise, I snapped a few photos of the pea plants growing in the farm field that surrounds our property.
This shot appealed to me for several reasons… The green glow of the plant in the morning light, the tiny drops of dew still clinging to the plant in the cool of the morning, the graceful curve of the vine-like shoot and the small buds that will bloom a pretty purple flower.
Of course, to see the sharp detail of this image, it best viewed in a large size. To see the largest possible size on your particular screen, click 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.
World of Chaos
The globe thistle is a unique, flowering thistle and is garden friendly. It provides an appealing contrast of color and texture to the flower bed in mid summer.
I didn’t know these were called “Globe Thistles” until I looked them up to provide more info for this post. This photo was taken in one of the flowerbeds at our home.
According to Gardening Know How…
Echinops is the botanical name for globe thistle. They are stunning flowers with deep dark blue petals set in a spiky frame. The leaves are deeply notched, dark green on top and slightly silver underneath and slightly hairy. The plants are native to Asia and Europe and the name means hedgehog in Greek, which is appropriately referencing the prickly blooms. Globe thistle flowers make excellent dried displays and last for years as part of an everlasting flower display.
You can get a better, more detailed view 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.
Color Me Country
It doesn’t happen often, but when a rainbow appears it’s so much better when I can capture it.
On this occasion, I was mowing the lawn when it started to rain. I turned my mower toward the garage and noticed the rainbow forming. I parked the mower and dashed into the house for my camera and an umbrella. I had just enough time to snap a few photos before it dissipated.
This is actually a panoramic image. I stitched four, portrait oriented images together to capture what you see here. My camera and lens could not capture a wide enough view to fit all of the rainbow in one shot. I may have been able to capture all of it with a different lens, but I didn’t want to take the time to change lenses and maybe miss the shot.
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.
Peaceful Opposition
As evening began to plot its takeover of the landscape, this field of sunflowers stood in peaceful opposition to the impending nightfall.
Every now and then I go a little overboard with the post processing. When I snapped this image of sunflowers growing in a field near our home, it was late afternoon and the sun was setting behind the flowers. That put the face of the flowers in the shadows. With the use of fill flash, I was able to counteract the back-lighting but it gave the scene a strange, surreal feel. With the unusual lighting, there was no way to get a natural look, so I slipped down the other slope.
My wife thinks the two prominent blooms need a yellow, curved line under them to give the image a smile. I can see that.
You can view a more detailed, full-screen version of this image by simply 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.
Some Bunny Stopped By
This wild rabbit stopped to say, “Hi,” when we were on a recent hike through Barkhausen Waterfowl Preserve, in Brown County, WI.
This is the typical wild bunny that seems prolific in our area. This guy (or gal) crossed the trail before us and then stopped on the side for a moment…long enough to provide a photo opportunity. We were thankful for the short encounter.
You can get a better view by clicking on the photo. When you do a larger, more detailed 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.
One Minute Sunrise 07-20-17 – Video
This is a timelapse video of a sunrise over rural Kewaunee County, WI. This sunrise was captured behind my house on July 20, 2017. I began recording in the dark of dawn; before sunrise.
It was a windy morning which, as you can see, gave a lot of motion to lower level clouds. I put the camera on a tripod behind my house to protect it from shaking by the wind. One minute of video represents an hour of actual time.
I recently picked up an inexpensive video camera, in hopes of using it to for capture timelapse photography. It’s a different genre of art and I have a lot to learn.
Frog Days of Summer
On a pleasant summer day, hiking through the woodlands of Northeast Wisconsin, we found this frog chillin’ in a small creek. The sparse sunlight, filtering through the trees, seemed to highlight the frog and made it an interesting scene. I rather like the blueish reflections on the water.
We were hiking on the trails of Barkhausen Waterfowl Preserve, in Brown County. I used a 250mm telephoto lens to get close enough to this critter without scaring him away. Even then, I had to crop this image quite a bit to get a good view of the frog.
You can get a better view, as well, by clicking on the photo, when you do a full-screen version will open in another 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.