Autumn Path

Autumn Path

An autumn path on a cool October morning in Mirror Lake State Park.  As I took a stroll along one of the many hiking trails, the smoke from the nearby campground danced in the morning sunlight, creating an ethereal and mystical atmosphere.  While the birds sang in the trees, I contemplated staying out there forever.   As Thoreau said…… Continue reading Autumn Path

Fierce Calm

Fierce Calm

Long exposures of large fierce waves can produce a surprisingly ethereal and calm image.  The waves you don’t see in this image were around 4-6 feet tall.  Quite tall for Lake Michigan, but what you’d expect after a thunderstorm.  And since this is yet another horizon shot for me, I wanted to do something different with the…… Continue reading Fierce Calm

The Ideal Space

The Ideal Space

On a long holiday weekend, is there better place to be than right here?  As architect Luis Barragán once said, “I think that the ideal space must contain elements of magic, serenity, sorcery and mystery.”  Yep, I think we have all four of those here. Taken on the beach along the Seven Bridges Trail in Grant Park,…… Continue reading The Ideal Space

Quiet Stream

Quiet Stream

This quiet stream is at the Shalom Wildlife Sanctuary in West Bend, Wisconsin.  My family and I spent the day there exploring and enjoying the quiet of a crowd-free weekday visit.  The menagerie of animals included a wide variety of deer and elk, bison, a cougar, bobcats, foxes, raccoons, bear, mountain goats, emu, camels, llamas,…… Continue reading Quiet Stream

Moonrise on the Water

Moonrise on the Water

I call this image “Moonrise on the Water” for obvious reasons.  However, what you may not realize, is this image started out as a colorful sunset over a small stream in the Kettle Moraine State Forest in southeast Wisconsin.   Really?  Yep.  Really.  I was intrigued with the RAW file enough to play around with…… Continue reading Moonrise on the Water

Sunset at Ottawa Lake

Sunset at Ottawa Lake

I went camping at Ottawa Lake this past weekend.  The sky was cloudless on both days and nights I was there which made for some not so stellar photographs during the day and mostly boring sunrises and sunsets.  However, on this particular evening, the colors in the sky just after the sun went down and the…… Continue reading Sunset at Ottawa Lake

Sunset at Scuppernong Springs

Sunset at Scuppernong Springs

Sunset at Scuppernong Springs in the Kettle Moraine State Forest, Southern Unit, in southeast Wisconsin.   This shot is a prime example of working with what you have and making something out of basically nothing in processing.  Taken on a small bridge over the spring fed Scuppernong River along the Scuppernong Springs Nature Trail, I…… Continue reading Sunset at Scuppernong Springs

Blue and Amber

Blue and Amber

On a short walk at Three Bridges Park in the Menomonee Valley area of Milwaukee, I shot this amber grass covered hill with the partly cloudy blue sky in the background.  My goal with this image was to capture the contrasting (sometime referred to complementary) colors of the orange of the native plants and blue…… Continue reading Blue and Amber

The Dark Forest

The Dark Forest

“We penetrated deeper and deeper into the heart of darkness” ― Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness Looking at this image, I imagine an intrepid explorer journeying deep into the dark, foreboding, and totally unexplored jungle. Danger lurks behind every tree.  Will he find the lost civilization? Probably not, since this is a macro shot of…… Continue reading The Dark Forest

Intersection

Intersection

One of the things that makes a good photograph is simplicity.  Think about what you are trying to create – what is your goal, what are you trying to say, what is the subject – and then remove/minimize all other distractions, either in camera or in processing.   Reduce, streamline, boil down. Make it as visually…… Continue reading Intersection

St Francis Seminary Woods

St Francis Seminary Woods

“In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.” –John Muir Shot on a quiet, albeit cold and very icy, walk through the St. Francis Seminary Woods in St. Francis, Wisconsin, just south of Milwaukee along the shore of Lake Michigan. Day 97 of my 365 photo-a-day project.

Lake Michigan Minimalist Triptych

Lake Michigan Minimalist Triptych

It was going to happen.  A day within the 365 days of my project where I don’t feel like going out to shoot nor do I feel too creative.  Heck, it’s Monday after the holidays – I don’t feel like creating anything.  But the project is a photo-a-day project, not a photo-on-the-days-I-feel-like-maybe-kinda-sorta-I-might-could-shoot-and-process-something project. So here…… Continue reading Lake Michigan Minimalist Triptych