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
Sunrise and Splendor
A magnificent, pre-sunrise, panoramic display by the morning sky and clouds seems to envelop the Kewaunee lighthouse and pier. The warm reflection off Lake Michigan’s calm waters only accentuates the exhibition.
I’ve always believed, the best part of a sunrise is not the sun, but the clouds. The sun creates the light and color, but the clouds provide the character. Not heavy cloud cover, but the light, wispy kind that provide natural texture and interest to a scene. To me, a cloudless sunrise is pretty bland.
It seems I’ve been writing a lot about how I don’t often post panoramic images because their wide-view perspective doesn’t fit well within the typical web site parameters. Well, I must be on a bit of a panoramic kick these days, because I’ve posted more panoramas in the last few weeks than I have in as many years. I guess, when the mood and the beauty hits me, I can’t pass it up. It’s a little more work in processing, but I believe the results are well worth it.
Of course, when I post a panoramic image I must urge you to click on the photo so you can view a much larger version. There are a lot of birds in this photo, but you’ll miss most of them if you don’t view the larger version. Again, just click on the photo and a full-screen 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.
Out of the Blue
The deep red color of the Algoma lighthouse stands in sharp contrast to the deep blue of Lake Michigan and the early morning sky above.
I have taken a lot of photos of this lighthouse. On this trip, I was hoping for another nice sunrise. Unfortunately, the rising sun was concealed by a band of clouds on the horizon so a true sunrise photo wasn’t in the cards. I decided to catch a low angle view of the lighthouse across the Algoma harbor. To get this shot, I crawled down on the rocks near the mouth of the Ahnapee River, just off the marina parking lot, and held my camera just above the water.
I like this image for 1) the different perspective, 2) the reflection of the lighthouse, 3) the ripples in the water giving it depth and interest, and 4) the predominant blue color with contrasting red.
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.
Tall Drink of Comfort
The sky above, the water below and the sun rising over its shoulder all combine to make a warm, comforting atmosphere around the Kewaunee, WI lighthouse. This image was captured on the western shore of Lake Michigan, just south of the pier in Kewaunee.
This is a panoramic image. Usually we think of panoramas as being wide, horizontal images. In this case, I wanted more of the sky and water in the shot than a single frame would allow, so I combined three frames (high, middle and low) to create a tall image. The changing hue in the upper sky adds to the interest of this image, as does the sun’s reflection dancing along the ripples of the lake.
As I’ve said before, I don’t normally post many panoramas because they don’t display well within the size constraints of most webpages. This one would be truly awesome if you could view it very large. It is a large file and could be printed as tall as eight feet. Wouldn’t that would be cool!
You can click on the image to view a larger version but, again, because of webpage constraints, you won’t see a much larger image.
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.
Fully Charged
Lightning lit up the sky as a post script to the powerful storm that just rolled through our rural area of Kewaunee County in northeast Wisconsin.
A severe storm had just pushed through. On the horizon, the sky turned a wild, orangeish-red and the lightning continued to flash for awhile. I’m afraid I was a little late to the party. I should have gotten my camera out sooner. I was able to capture three shots with lightning – this, being the best one.
In the foreground you see the farm field, planted with corn in its early stages, soaked with water that reflects the brightness of the lightning. This shot was taken from a third-floor vantage point in the attic or our home. Very cool to watch.
This is one you’ll want to view in the larger version to see the fine detail in the lightning. You can do so by clicking on the image.
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.
Beyond the Harbor
This is a panoramic view at the mouth of the harbor at Algoma, WI; on the western shore of Lake Michigan.
A couple of weeks ago I set out to capture a sunrise, but as you can see, the sun was blocked by the thick clouds on the horizon. The best feature of the morning were the lighter clouds, highlighted by the hidden sun, that filled the sky above.
To capture this wide-angle view, I took four separate photos and combined them for the final image you see here.
I don’t often post panoramic images because of the width limitations of most websites, including my own. To get the best view of this one, you should click on the photo. When you do, a larger 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.
Wild Geranium Family Portrait
On a recent woodland hike I found this nice grouping of Wild Geraniums. It reminded me of a family portrait…parents and children…including little buds.
In the interest of full disclosure, I altered the background. There were some small, yellow wildflowers (weeds) growing a few feet away. I snapped off a stem of them and placed it behind my subjects to add a little more color and variety to the image.
As I often remind people, I operate as an artist not a photo journalist. Most images I post are true to the original scene. However, on occasion, I may add or subtract elements to suit my artistic vision. Most times, it’s done digitally. In this case, a little impromptu, on-site, floral arrangement.
You can get a better view by clicking on the photo. That will open a full-screen version 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.
In the Spotlight
The calm of morning is accentuated by the warming hues of a sunrise, poised for effect, over the lighthouse at Kewaunee, WI.
It is difficult to grab the sun in just the right position because it’s always moving…and faster than you think. By the time I get into position and get the camera set, I have to adjust a few more inches to the left…and a few more inches down…and a few more inches…. Well, you get the idea. Try it sometime. It seems to be moving very slowly until you are trying to get a precise placement. Same problem with the moon on similar shots.
The other difficult aspect of this shot is trying to get some detail in the subject in front of the sun. With the overwhelming brightness of the sun, everything else can become a black, silhouette. The morning haze helped mute the brightness a bit. However, to get the level of definition you see in the lighthouse and navigation marker, I blended several shots of varying exposures.
You can view a full-screen version of this image by clicking 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.
Branching Out
One of my favorite spring images are the new, delicate leaves that sprout from trees emerging from their winter dormancy.
As I walk through the woods I’m always scanning my surroundings for something that catches my eye. This sprig was captured by the late afternoon sunlight and highlighted by a back-light of filtering through the trees, making the very common uncommonly interesting. (At least to me.) It was just another twig among millions that caught my eye.
You can view more of the detail in 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.
Be Still My Soul
I find this to be a very therapeutic scene. It is the Kewaunee, Wisconsin lighthouse with the waves of Lake Michigan rolling and reflecting the sunrise in the foreground. To add and extra measure of calming grace, six Canada geese fly past the lighthouse. (If you look close, you’ll even see a sea gull above the geese, on the right side.)
This is one of my favorite images. I captured this at the end of last February – the same morning I captured, Morning Rolls In, posted March 1st. Look back and compare the two. This one was after the sun was up and into the clouds. Morning Rolls In was shot earlier, before the sun breached the horizon.
I like both, but I like this one more. The sun’s reflection among the waves and the near perfect timing of the geese flying by make this an easy favorite.
Do yourself a favor and view this image in it’s largest available format. It’s easy, just click on the photo and a full-screen 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.
Glorious Expanse
My ideal photographic mornings are ones where the sun and clouds come together in concert to create a symphony of comforting color and soothing, natural beauty. This is one such morning, captured from the Lake Michigan shore at Kewaunee Wisconsin. The colors reflecting off the lake enhance the effect.
This is a panoramic image created by “stitching” together three separate shots. It’s a technique photographers use to get a wider view than the camera can capture in a single frame. Of course, when you combine high-resolution images, the final image ends up being a much larger file. That large file size also makes large prints possible. For example, this image is available on my sales page to be printed up to 9-feet wide. Wouldn’t this look great filling a wall?
I don’t post a lot of panorama images because wide images don’t display as well on the website – they have to be reduced, and appear quite small, in order to fit the page width of my website. However, if you click on the photo, a larger version stretching the full width of your screen will appear.