Wisconsin sunset

Two things I enjoy snapping shots of: sunsets and old barns. Both are quite abundant in Wisconsin. I got out for some late afternoon shooting last week while there and found some nice peaceful farmland scenes. Here's one.

Getting in the mood

With December 1st right around the corner, it's time to get the Christmas spirit rolling. I'm doing something different tonight and posting one of my alltime favorite videos. It's a classic and I'll probably play it, oh, about 100 times between now and Christmas. Enjoy.


Oh yeah, if you go to YouTube, you'll find a dozen or so videos of other people doing their versions.

Here's a taste

I know since we all just experienced Thanksgiving, we all might be full.  But, hopefully you have room for a taste of the Northwoods of Wisconsin.  I just spent several days up Nort' celebrating with family and was able to get out and do some shooting.  Their winter has already started with several inches of snow and wind chills below zero on Thanksgiving day. Man, it was cold.  The cold temps and light snow did create some beautiful scenes, though.  Here's a shot I got Thanksgiving morning.  I'll have a few more over the coming days.

Fair Play

All parents out there. You know the deal.  You show one kid, you gotta show the other.  Another from the vault tonight.  Once again, getting mentally prepared for winter.  It's coming sooner than we care to think about.

The Midnight Sun

Alright, it's not really a shot at midnight(way past my bedtime).  But it is a night photography shot.  Night photography really intrigues me due to you can get really interesting colors and looks in your pics.  One of the cool things about todays cameras is you usually have the ability to keep your shutter open for long periods of time which allows you to get any available light in the camera without using a flash.  Tonight, I needed to bring my daughter to a friends house. On my way home it was dark and I noticed a big ole moon up in the sky.  I decided to take a detour and stop in a forest preserve.  Luckily, no one had closed it up for the night yet so I decided to do some night photography.  Tonights post was with the shutter kept open for over a minute to let the camera absorb as much light as it could.  I could have kept it open as long as I wanted, but, you know, I get impatient.  Waiting for a minute out in the woods, 30 degrees, dark,.........it seems like an hour. The long shutter time also gave a nice "star" effect to the moon.  The shot would have been better if I was in a place with a more dramatic foreground, but for a last second stop, I'll take it.  I'll be doing more night photography in the future.

Head Start

I dug into the vault tonight to get a "head" start on winter shots.  They're talking snow sometime next week so I'm trying to mentally prepare myself.  Here's one of my favorites of my daughter from a couple winter's ago.

There's still some color out there II

Once again, found some more color.  I think the secret is catching an area when the sun hits it just right.  After all, photography is all about catching the light.  Without a bright light, the sun, colors often seem muted and less vibrant.  Once that sun hits it, though, the colors come to life. This shot is similar to one I took last year at the same place.  I haven't been able to get there as often as I would like this year, but I hit just right this time.

There's still some color out there

Believe it or not, there still is some good color in the area.  Yeah, the maple leaves are on the ground, but the willow trees are a spectacular yellow and much of the ground cover has orange and red hues in it.  But, alas, I think we got about a week more and we'll see more white than any other color.

Chasing Rainbows

I don't often post just regular snapshots.  Most of my shots are pretty well planned and setup.  Most have at least a little work done to them as far as brightness or contrast.  Here's a couple of shots that break out of the norm.  I left the house early last week due to an early breakfast meeting.  Perfect day to head out early, I learned.  There was rain coming in from the west, yet in the east was one of the most spectacular sunrises I had ever seen.  In the early morning rush hour, it's not really possible to just pull over and setup and start shooting.  So I drove a little and was able to pull into a parking area behind a building and due to having to be a meeting I just pulled out the camera and fired off some shots.  O.k. I thought.  I at least was able to shoot and we'll check 'em out later and hopefully I got something somewhat like what I saw.  Then, as I pulled out from behind the building where I was shooting, I caught a look at an incredible rainbow.  No rain had come yet, but, I guess, due to the sunrise and impending rain (maybe a mist in the air), so I was surprised to see it.  Once again, I pulled out the camera and fired off some quick ones.  You don't know how tempting it was to blow off my meeting and go chasing rainbows.  But, I was good employee and headed off to work.  Once again, wasn't real sure of what would show up (rainbows can be difficult to capture), but I hoped I would get something.  Here's two of the shots I got with really no touchups, just some cropping.

What am I?

What was this place, oh, say, 75 years ago?  A mill?  An inn?  A general store?  I couldn't tell by shooting this shot, and nobody was there to ask. Today, from the backside of the property it kind of looks like a residence.  But even that was disputable. If it could talk, I'm sure it could tell a story or two.

What a great morning to be a horse

Scarier than Halloween

I know Halloween is past, but I still have this recurring dream/nightmare.  I see it so vividly in my sleep. (Cue scary music).  I wake up hearing noise downstairs in the living room.  I slowly make my way out of the bedroom to the hallway.  I can make out several people moving around making their way to the couch.  I hear a haunting voice calling out, "Daddy......Daddy.....Daddy."  I'm thinking "Oh my gosh, one of my children needs me."  I run down the stairs and I see, of course, in  that spooky glowing darkness you see in the movies, my daughter Ashley.  Actually, I see not one, but 4 Ashley's. All 4 have a rather serious look on their faces.  What is going on here, I think.  Then..........., she speaks.  The tone of her voice changes from a soft angelic voice to a deep disturbing voice.  Out of all 4 Ashley's in sync come the words, " I NEED MY ALLOWANCE QUADRUPLED."  Oh, the symbolism.

Puppy Love?

I was going to take a break today from posting, but I just went through a mess of shots from a kids Halloween party we hosted this weekend and one of them has to be seen by the world.  24 screaming 6 and 10 year olds running around on candy sugar highs.  WOW!  All went well, though.  It looks like one of the princesses has an eye for my son.  And he doesn't seem to be trying to run away either.  Here's the aforementioned shot and a group shot as well.