What Are You Listening To?

Music plays a huge role in my creative process. It helps me get out of my head and into my heart. It gives me energy, yet it also calms me. It takes me away from everyday worries while keeping me grounded. And I love so many genres—blues, rock, heavy metal, jazz, electronic, bluegrass, barbershop, and…… Continue reading What Are You Listening To?

Finding Common Ground in a Polarized World

Whether or not to speak on the current political climate—it’s a question I often ask myself. It reminds me of an old saying attributed to Buddha: “If you propose to speak, always ask yourself, is it true, is it necessary, is it kind?” Imagine if we all applied this to all our daily interactions, not…… Continue reading Finding Common Ground in a Polarized World

What to Learn First to Be a Better Photographer

This magical troop of tiny mushrooms was captured on a fallen tree in the woods along Wisconsin's Ice Age Tree in the Lapham Peak section of the Kettle Moraine state forest.

For quite some time, I’ve thought about the first things you should learn as a photographer. Is it the exposure triangle? (I’ll cover this in another blog post later.) Is it the rules of good composition? Is it knowing all the buttons, dials, knobs, and widgets on your camera? Or is it having the latest…… Continue reading What to Learn First to Be a Better Photographer

A New Beginning or…

A New Beginning…or a continuation?  Either way, I’m restarting my blog here.  Writing has never been a strong area for me – it feels like pulling teeth. I am a photographer after all – a picture is worth a 1000 words and all that.  However, I do feel that my thoughts and words can add…… Continue reading A New Beginning or…

Pewitt’s Nest

An extremely processed photograph of the waterfall at Pewitt's Nest near the Wisconsin Dells re-imagined as a digital painting. Processed with Lightroom, Photoshop, Topaz Restyle, Impression, and Glow, Nik Effects, and OnOne. Copyright 2018 Scott Norris Photography scottnorrisphotography.com

An extremely processed photograph of the waterfall at Pewitt’s Nest near the Wisconsin Dells re-imagined as a digital painting. Since I haven’t had the time to get out and shoot lately (excuses…excuses), I’ve been going through my catalog looking for unprocessed gems. I found this one from June of 2015. I needed to blow up…… Continue reading Pewitt’s Nest

Forest Stairs

“The world’s a forest, in which all lose their way; though by a different path each goes astray.” –George Villiers A staircase rising out of a small ravine along the Seven Bridges Trail in Grant Park, South Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Shot in digital color, it was always my intention to create a black and white image. …… Continue reading Forest Stairs

Paradise Springs Dam and Turbine House Ruins

Water flows through the concrete dam past the ruins of the turbine house at Paradise Springs. Located near Eagle, Wisconsin in the Kettle Moraine State Forest, Southern Unit, the dam and ruins are part of the Paradise Springs Nature Trail. The area once had a resort hotel with a tennis/shuffleboard court, a small horse track, a…… Continue reading Paradise Springs Dam and Turbine House Ruins

Dark Footbridge

“Faith is a footbridge that you don’t know will hold you up over the chasm until you’re forced to walk out onto it.” –Nicholas Wolterstorff I am always intrigued by small wooden footbridges such as this one. Especially when I cannot see where it leads. Is there danger on the other side? A paradise? An…… Continue reading Dark Footbridge

Direction

“The mind moves in the direction of our currently dominant thoughts.” — Earl Nightingale This photograph was shot on the top floor of a parking garage near my home in Milwaukee. I was initially struck by how one of the directional arrows seemed to point to a solid concrete wall with nothing but an empty…… Continue reading Direction

Three Lilies

A trio of lilies on a warm, humid summer day in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

A simple trio of lilies shot on a warm summer day in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  It seems that I like to shoot these flowers on my birthday.  (See here.)  Lining our driveway on both sides, it is hard NOT to shoot them. I mentioned that it was a simple shot.  While that is true, it is…… Continue reading Three Lilies

Dried Tulip Blossom

I waited a bit too long to shoot this red tulip blossom. It sat on my desk and slowly dried out. And I have to say, I'm quite pleased about that. The texture and shapes of the petals in this photograph are much more interesting now than if I had shot the freshly cut flower. Happy accidents! The blossom was shot with one light slightly behind on the right at about 60 degrees from horizontal. 6 focus stacked HDR shots (3 bracketed images each). Processed in Lightroom, Photoshop, Topaz Glow and Impression, On1 Effects, and Nik Effects. Copyright 2017 Scott Norris Photography scottnorrisphotography.com

I waited a bit too long to shoot this red tulip blossom. It sat on my desk and slowly dried out. And I have to say, I’m quite pleased about that. The texture and shape of the petals are much more interesting now than if I had shot the freshly cut flower. You gotta love…… Continue reading Dried Tulip Blossom

Empty Watercolor Paint Trays

"Make an empty space in any corner of your mind, and creativity will instantly fill it." --Dee Hock A well-used and thoroughly enjoyed water color paint set on a white canvas background. Copyright 2017 Scott Norris Photography scottnorrisphotography.com

“Make an empty space in any corner of your mind, and creativity will instantly fill it.” –Dee Hock A well-used and thoroughly enjoyed water color paint set on a white canvas background. Looking for art for your home or office or something to spice up your digital desktop?  This image is available for printing and download.  You can also check…… Continue reading Empty Watercolor Paint Trays