Utah Double
Red Mountains in Ivins Utah
Yellow Umbrella
Saw this single bright yellow mushroom in Florida mulch so I got way down on my knees, steadied the camera and here you have it.
A chill is in the air
Took this shortly after sunrise yesterday here in Wisconsin. I used a long lens so this image looks about 1-2 miles out. Air temps were in the low 40s so it is easy to see the heat leaving the much warmer lake water.
Double Rainbow
Wisconsin this past summer.
Soft sunrise
Cormorant
Cormorants mainly eat fish, but will also feed on amphibians and crustaceans. Using its feet for propulsion, cormorants can dive up to 25 ft. and remain underwater for 30 to 70 seconds while searching for food. Unlike many other diving birds, their feathers are not completely waterproof. Cormorants spend long periods of time with their wings outstretched to dry after diving for food. Wikipedia
Calf Creek Falls
Calf Creek is a perennial clear stream that descends 126 feet into a pool. It’s located in Utahs Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. During the 6 mile hike you’ll pass two granaries, beaver dams, and a mighty pictograph on the wall opposite the canyon, to name but a few sites along the way.
California Coastal Color
Along US1 near Monterrey
Beeing Busy
Clematis
Near Zion
Outside of Zion National Park this serves as a background for the abandoned town of Grafton. At the base, and reason for the towns settlement is the Virgin river which carved the landscape here and created Zion Park a few miles away.
Bird of Paradise
Desert Bird of Paradise. Can grow as tall as 13 feet as a shrub or trimmed to a tree shape.
Daylily
Colorado River
Over my right shoulder around a bend is the Glen Canyon dam holding back Lake Powell. This is downstream from the dam with the river about 750 feet below me. You may be able to make out a boat about 1/2 way into the photo to give you an idea of scale.
Mesquite
Rugged road through some Joshua trees with Mesquite Nevada way off in the distance. Not quite sure if I'm standing in Arizona or Utah because all three states are at this location, pretty close together. Beautiful spot to be for sunset due to the light and silence.
California State Route 1
State Route 1 is a major north–south state highway that runs along most of the Pacific coastline of the U.S. state of California. At 656 miles, it is the longest state route in California, and the second-longest in the US after Montana Highway 200. Wikipedia
Black Crowned Crane
Black Crowned Cranes are found in eastern Africa, centered in Senegal and Gambia. I took this at the International Crane Foundation in Baraboo WI.
A Close-up
There was enough cloud, fog and Canadian fire smoke to create a natural filter allowing me to take this with a very powerful lens without my camera and eyeball melting. If you are seeing this on a larger device screen you'll even be able to clearly see a sunspot on the right side above trees. I take quite a few photos, especially sunrises and it amazes me that a photo can easily capture trees 5 miles away with a sunspot 93 million miles behind them. This is the kind of stuff that makes this an enjoyable hobby.
Cosmos
Boerner Botanical Gardens
Morning Sun
Walking through a farmers market bunches of cut flowers can make for a concentrated frame of color and shape.
One who hasn’t won a beauty contest
Came across this alligator in Everglades National Park.
Sky fire
Sunrise in Wisconsin with very low clouds resembling fire on the horizon.
Hibiscus
Hibiscus is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. The genus is quite large, comprising several hundred species that are native to warm temperate, subtropical and tropical regions throughout the world. Member species are renowned for their large, showy flowers. Wikipedia
This was taken in my mothers Wisconsin garden.
Red Mountain Ivins Utah
1880s
South Dakota
Hurricane Irma
September 2017 Hurricane Irma made landfall in an area 20-50 miles north of Key West as a Category 4 with 140mph winds with recorded gusts of 180 on Big Pine Key. About a month after the storm passed I visited this area on Long Beach Road. Hard to grasp the force of the storm. Most homes along the street looked similar to this one.
Monarda
From my mother's garden in Wisconsin.
Aspens in Fall
Gold aspens in Utah at 7,000-8,000 feet.
In the back row
I love taking sunset photos in Key West. Sometimes I think I have enough but I'm always proven wrong because every sunset is a little different from all the others. For this one I'm sitting on a beach on a plastic lawn chair, camera with a big lens mounted on a tripod between my legs. I just Googled something like best sunset locations and Key West seemed to be on everyones top 10 list. Every evening there are 10-30 boats carrying their paid customers out for a front row view while I'm sitting in the back row hoping they will partially block my view.
Arizona Slot Canyon
Looking up about 80'-100' from the canyon floor you can see a log jammed from a flood. The sandstone canyon was formed by erosion and flash floods over 8-60 million years.
Eating is the easy part
Osprey in Everglades National Park enjoying its catch. Their diet is almost exclusively fish but will eat small mammals if they need to. Note the size and needle sharpness of the talons. They glide high looking for a potential prey then begin circling closer to the water then their wings fold back, drop fast and hit, sometimes submerge then try to fly but pause a foot two above the water and shake their wings and body to get rid of the heavy water before gaining altitude where the fly around with the wiggling slippery fish until it dies before heading to a branch. Sometimes after a meal they'll glide across the water dragging their talons to wash themselves. It is a show I never get tired of.
Water Power
In a 50' deep slot canyon in Kanab Utah. The very smooth sandstone walls, clean sand floor and 12" log trapped 20 some feet in the air is why they advise staying out of narrow canyons when there is rain anywhere within 100 miles.
Please
To my right there were a couple fishermen cleaning their catch. Now and then they'd throw some scraps to these guys.
Key West Sunset
Pacific Coast CA
PacState Route 1 is a scenic highway that runs along most of the Pacific coastline of the U.S. At 656 miles (1,056 km), it is the longest state route in California. Wikipedia
A mix of things
Rain, clouds, trees and a full rainbow.
Sunset Key West FL
I used a very wide lens which makes the palm trees look like they are bending towards the center.
Big sky Utah
I took this in the general area of Bryce Canyon National Park. The 120 mile route from Bryce to Capital Reef National Park is a beautiful trip with ever-changing scenery.
Garden Firework
Not sure what it is but the color and structure is beautiful.
Leucospermum
Saw it at a farmers market in So California. The guy had buckets of the most exotic cut flowers I've ever seen.
Water lilies
Water lilies, are beloved for their colorful and exotic-looking blooms, but they are more than just pretty plants. They also contribute to pond health. By covering the water surface, they shade the water and keep it cooler, which helps control algae that thrives in heat. Water lilies also shelter fish from birds of prey and filter out excess nutrients to further inhibit algae growth. When temperatures warm up in summer, water lilies' showy flowers open in the morning and close at night.
Clouds over Lake Powell
Just before sunset in Page AZ these dancing clouds appeared on the horizon.
Foggy Sunrise
Sunrise Wisconsin
Black-eyed susan
Quiet Color
It requires clouds for a memorable sunrise or sunset but some sunrises need very little to emphasize the changing color bands as it makes its way closer to the horizon.
Dawns Light
Pewaukee Lake WI
Sandhill crane
This is a species of large crane in North America. Their large wingspans, typically 6-8 feet, make them very skilled soaring birds, similar in style to hawks and eagles. Using thermals to obtain lift, they can stay aloft for many hours, requiring only occasional flapping of their wings, thus expending little energy. Migratory flocks contain hundreds of birds, and can create clear outlines of the normally invisible rising columns of air (thermals) they ride. Wikipedia
This is a family here in WI with their newborn.
Pastel morning
Looking about 10 miles East on Pewaukee Lake WI.
Sunrise in Wisconsin
Spring Green Wisconsin
Took this on a visit to The House On The Rock in Spring Green WI, which is also where Taliesin, the 600 acre estate of architect Frank Lloyd Wright is located.
Fragrant water-lily
Took this at a botanical garden in Milwaukee. It was an overcast day making the water look almost black which is a nice background for the lily to show off its color. Its found in permanent slow moving waters throughout North America where it ranges from Central America to northern Canada as well as Brazil.
Cayo Hueso
Key West (Spanish: Cayo Hueso) is an island in the Straits of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Island, it constitutes the City of Key West. Wikipedia
The Morning Show
Living on a large lake facing East is certainly an early rising photographers dream. Even though the physical characteristics remain unchanged the morning light presents a new show every morning.
Northern Utah
On a road trip to Park City
Patience
Sun rising through a low layer of fog creates some interesting light. This was taken on Pewaukee Lake in Wisconsin.
Barely shining through
Sunset last night with plane returning from Fort Jefferson National Park.
Argentine cactus
Argentine cactus blooms throughout the day and night with spectacularly large 8" flowers. While the blooms only last 36-48 hours, they are splendid enough to attract eager pollinators during the night, which include bats and moths.
Ivins Utah
Ivins is a city in southwestern Washington County, Utah. It is a part of the St. George Metropolitan Area as a suburb. The population was 8,978 at the 2020 census. The elevation is 3100 feet. On the other side of these very red Navajo sandstone mountains lies Snow Canyon State Park.
White Hibiscus
Soft red and white in the shadows.
This dawn should last all day
Front row seat silently watching someone paint with spray cans on the other side of a huge pane of glass.
Great horned owl
A powerful, mottled-brown predator, it is often more than 2 feet long, with a wingspan often approaching 7 feet. It usually eats small rodents and birds but has been known to carry off larger prey. Adapted to desert and forest, the species migrates only when food is scarce. Audubon
I assume this young one is from a pair that nests on a ledge in a nearby canyon in Utah.
Egret
The largest of the white-colored wading birds in Florida, the great egret is frequently seen in wetlands areas and along waterways.
Double lake sunrise
Interesting clouds can form 50+ miles away over Lake Michigan due to warm air over colder water.These clouds catch the first light of the dawn like a theatre screen, and reflect this light to the ground which is again reflected in the calm 10 miles of inland lake water I'm photographing over here in Wisconsin.
Rainy tropical sunrise
Walking the beach in Key West during a light rain and the sky lit up from imbedded lightning while the sun rose.
Old World Wisconsin
Old World Wisconsin is an open-air museum located near Eagle, Wisconsin. It depicts housing and the daily life of settlers in 19th-century Wisconsin, with separate areas representing the traditions of different ethnic groups who settled in the state. Costumed interpreters portray the occupations and chores of typical settlers of the time.Wikipedia
Sea Nettle
Those tentacles are a sure sting. A sea nettle hunts by traling those long tentacles, covered with stinging cells. When the tentacles touch tiny plankton, the stinging cells stick tight and paralyze prey. From there, the prey is moved to the frilly mouth-arms and finally to the mouth. I took this photo in the Monterey Aquarium and the text came off their website.
Front row for a sunrise
Pewaukee Lake Wisconsin
Garden color
Found this beautiful feature walking through a botanical garden.
Daylilies
Daylilies are popular, easy-to-grow, low-maintenance perennials that are tough, long-lived, and tolerant of neglect. They bloom profusely, though individual blooms only last a single day, and varieties number in the tens of thousands. Daylilies grow from fleshy roots, unlike true lilies that grow from bulbs. gardendesign.com
Joshua Tree
It is native to the arid Southwestern United States, specifically California, Arizona, Utah, and Nevada. Based on growth estimates this 8 foot tree is 150-200 years old. If it survives the rigors of the desert, it can live for hundreds of years; some specimens survive a thousand years.
Indian shot
Canna indica is commonly known as Indian shot. Canna indica has been a food crop cultivated by indigenous peoples of the Americas for thousands of years. Wikipedia
I took this photo at the Boerner Botanical Gardens in Milwaukee.
Osprey family
Took this in Everglades National Park of mom (I think) and 2 offspring. The mate was off fishing in the Florida bay and would return with breakfast, then set off again.
Florida Keys Bahia Honda Bridge
The Bahia Honda railroad bridge was originally built by Henry Flagler as part of the FEC's Overseas Railroad. Opened in 1912, The Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 destroyed much of the line and it was purchased by the state of Florida and converted for highway use in 1938. A new four-lane bridge was built and opened in 1972, a few hundred yards north of the old bridge, replacing the former route of U.S. 1. Wikipedia
Black Crowned Crane
Black Crowned Cranes are found in eastern Africa. I took this at the International Crane Foundation in Baraboo WI.
Dazzling Sunrise
Wisconsin Best
Great Egret
I took this in Everglades National Park in southern Florida. The great egret is a large heron with all-white plumage. Standing up to 3 1/2 feet tall, with a wingspan of almost 6 feet, with an average weight of 2.2 pounds. It lives on fish, frogs and small mammals. Males and females are identical in appearance. Wikipedia
Silent Color
Sunrise over my favorite Lake in Pewaukee Wisconsin
Another Day
Another beautiful sunset sail in Key West FL
Monsoon Season Begins
The desert just woke up … The air smelt of creosote, and the distinctive olive-green bush with oily leaves was filled with bright yellow flowers. Wildflowers and a barrel cactus, withered and dry a few days ago, were blooming… dragonflies and birds filled the air, lizards, quail and roadrunners scuttled on the ground, a jackrabbit hopping across the trail, and a cardinal, with its bright red plumage flying by. Sunset brings bats, the sounds of frogs and the howl of coyotes. The desert awakes…
Key West FL
Another beautiful sunset
Two Pots of Gold
Pine Mountain Utah
Cedar Breaks National Monument
Cedar Breaks National Monument is a U.S. National Monument located in the U.S. state of Utah near Cedar City. Cedar Breaks is a natural amphitheater, stretching across 3 miles, with a depth of over 2,000 feet. The elevation of the rim of the amphitheater is over 10,000 feet above sea level. Wikipedia
Joshua Trees in Gold Butte
Gold Butte National Monument is located northeast of Las Vegas and south of Mesquite. The monument protects nearly 300,000 acres of desert landscapes featuring a wide array of natural and cultural resources, including rock art, sandstone towers, and important wildlife habitat for species including the Mojave Desert tortoise, bighorn sheep, and mountain lion. The area also protects historic ranching and mining sites such as the ghost town of Gold Butte. Wikipedia
Canna Lily
Boerner Botanical Gardens are located on the grounds of Whitnall Park in the village of Hales Corners, Wisconsin. The gardens are named for Alfred Boerner, who designed the original five formal gardens.
Shallow Water
Walking on the reef at low tide. The depth here is just a few inches which reveals water plants.
Fog Frame
This sunrise is nicely framed with fog.
Pine Mountain Utah
Adult Ibis
Ibises all have long, downcurved bills, and usually feed as a group, probing mud for food items, usually crustaceans. They are monogamous and highly territorial while nesting and feeding. Most nest in trees, often with spoonbills or herons. Wikipedia
Squall
This one sent a strong message to the boaters that day.
Low Fireworks
It’s real
I am fortunate to be able to get so many beautiful sunrise photos. And if the water is smooth......ah....reflection bonus.
Garden Fireworks
Took this in my mother's garden.
Great Blue Heron
The white form of the Great Blue Heron, known as the "great white heron," is found nearly exclusively in shallow marine waters along the coast of very southern Florida, the Yucatan Peninsula, and in the Caribbean. They hunt both day and night and can live over 20 years.
Sunset Spectacular
Key West rarely disappoints.
Pretty Bird
Bird of Paradise on a walk in Pacific Grove CA
Aspen Grove
Beautiful bright hike amongst white bark trees.
Gunlock State Park
For much of the year, Gunlock experiences relatively low traffic. Gunlock Reservoir is a small, quiet body of water where you can fish for bass and catfish. Others enjoy participating in water sports like wakeboarding and waterskiing.
During certain times of the year, the reservoir gets full enough that the Gunlock waterfalls begin to flow into the Santa Clara River. This typically happens in early spring, as snow starts to melt. When the falls are active, the area gets much busier than usual but It’s worth it, however, to get a glimpse of the water jetting over Southern Utah’s signature red rocks. Utah Travel Site
Posing Pelican
This immature brown pelican seemed to be asking to have his picture taken. After almost 20 years in Florida I've seen my share of pelicans but this one in particular was really striking a perfect pose.
