Smiling for the camera
Walking along the harbor in Key West he must have seen my camera so it surfaced for a photo, not really but it appeared that way. Manatees never leave the water but typically come up for air every 5 minutes. When it is resting, the aquatic mammal can hold its breath for up to 20 minutes. When it is exerting great amounts of energy, it may surface as often as every 30 seconds.
Navajo Lake Utah
Navajo Lake is a small lake in southern Utah at an elevation of about 10,000 feet. It is shallow, reaching depths of only 25 feet. The lake was formed by a lava flow across the eastern end of the valley. The lake drains into both the Great Basin and the Colorado River drainage systems through sinkholes in the lake floor.
Gunlock State Park
Located near Ivins Utah.
Stormy Sunrise
Sun was rising behind my left shoulder while this lightning show was performing over the Gulf of Mexico.
Great Blue Heron
Great blue herons can be distinguished by their beautiful blue-gray plumage, and wingspans of up to 7 feet wide. They are spread throughout the Americas, especially North America, and are also found in the Galapagos Islands. Blue herons nest in colonies of up to 400 nests. They may also nest in small heronries of breeding pairs or entirely alone. Although they do link up to mate, breed, and sometimes nest and hunt, these are pretty solitary birds. A-Z Animals
Red Mountains
The Red Mountains Ivins, Utah is a mostly circular 7 miles long mountain range reaching an elevation of 4,900 feet. Navajo sandstone is what gives the mountains and surrounding soil its red color. This was taken as the sun was setting to the left giving the red color a nice glow.
Mirrored Color
Smooth Wisconsin lake, total silence and a colorful dawn.
Top of the world
Brian Head peak Utah at almost 12,000 feet. On the dark side I've seen snow drifts in July. There was a small old stone shelter up here until last month when severe winds destroyed it.
Purple Coneflower
With Wisconsin visitor
Fireball Rising
Almost impossible to photograph the sun without clouds. Even with their help I have to lower the amount of light coming into the camera. This reduces the light everywhere except the the sun, and its reflection. The fisherman floated by at just the right moment to make for a much more interesting photo.
Bumble Bee Buzz
This Day Lily with bee photo was taken at the Boerner Botanical gardens in Milwaukee. The Bumble bee lives in underground colonies with anywhere from 50 to 500 individuals. The buzzing sound you hear when they are on flowers is them vibrating by shivering their flight muscles at particular frequencies to help dislodge pollen from the anthers of flowers.
Cedar Breaks National Monument
As seen from about 11,000 feet. This and Bryce Canyon National Park are unusual because the view is usually seen by looking down.
Pretty Morning
Wisconsin Sunrise
Lunchtime
Florida Keys
Yellow daylily
Wisconsin
Setting Moon
Beaver Dam mountains Ivins Utah
Rose Shrub
California Coast
Colorado River
Over my right shoulder about 1/2 mile is the Glen Canyon dam.
Heading out
Hopeful fisherman into the morning light
Key West Sunset
Big Horn Sheep
Valley of Fire Nevada
Orchid
Orchids are one of the two largest families of flowering plants. There are over 28,000 currently accepted species of orchids and horticulturists have produced more than 100,000 hybrids. The number of orchid species is nearly equal to the number of bony fishes, more than twice the number of bird species, and about four times the number of mammal species. (Wikipedia)
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.
Simple Sunset
Key West sunsets are wonderful and even the simple ones are nice if you throw in a couple palm trees.
Gambel’s Quail
Taking refuge under a shrub during the rare SW Utah snowfall.
Lillies
From my mother's garden in Wisconsin
Glad I was home
And I did not do any color enhancment.
White Pocket
White Pocket is a National Monument in Utah and also an appropriate name for this photo. Like many National Monuments out her, there are no amenities such as water, toilets or camping sites and the roads require a capable vehicle.
What are you looking at?
Female Great Horned Owl in Utah. She was watching over her 2 babies which made it easy to find and photograph them in daylight.
Golden Dawn
Good Morning Key West
Snow Melt
This stream is at about 9,000-10,000 feet near Duck Creek UT which is between Bryce Canyon National Park and Cedar Breaks National Monument.
Fly Fishing
Ospreys search for fish by flying on steady wingbeats and bowed wings or circling high in the sky over relatively shallow water. They often hover briefly before diving, feet first, to grab a fish. You can often clearly see an Osprey's catch in its talons as the bird carries it back to a nest or perch. I took this at an old quarry now filled with fresh water on Big Pine Key FL.
The power of 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. This home received the 5' water surge plus wave tops relentlessly pushing until it broke through the house. Everything in the home was swept into the mangroves behind me.
Mirror
Based on the light sometimes I have to leave the shutter open to capture more light. This one took 6 seconds which had the added benefit of smoothing out the already flat lake.
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.
Sunrise in Wisconsin
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.
Zinnias
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.
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. I walked the entire road and beach and the silence amplified the destruction.
Cosmos
Boerner Botanical Gardens
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.
Fall Aspens
Up around 10,000 feet near Cedar Breaks National Monument.
Maraschino
Pewaukee Lake WI
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.
Pacific Coast CA
Pacific Coast Highway about an hour from Carmel CA.
Copper Colored Sunrise
Pewaukee Lake WI which is about 50 miles West of Milwaukee and 50 miles East of Madison.
Rare Snow
A vey rare January snowfall in SW Utah. That evening 4-10” fell within maybe a 10 mile area and was completely gone by noon the same day. It happens maybe once a year and always looks beautiful mixed in with the areas Red Mountain.
Leucospermum
Saw it at a farmers market in So California. The guy had buckets of the most exotic cut flowers I've ever seen.
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.
One Season Ends
Boating season ends but the light show continues.
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.
Soft Sunrise
The light and reflection were very unusual.
Reservoir Sunset
Gunlock Utah
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.
White Hibiscus
Soft red and white in the shadows.
Egret
The largest of the white-colored wading birds in Florida, the great egret is frequently seen in wetlands areas and along waterways.
Orchids
Walking around experimenting with my black & white camera I took this photo of deep blue almost purple orchids growing in deep shade.
Key West Sunset
Hard not to post these beautiful scenes.
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.
Sunset Key Sunset
Springtime
Southwest Utah
Silent Color
Sunrise over my favorite Lake in Pewaukee Wisconsin
Dazzling Sunrise
Wisconsin Best
Two Pots of Gold
Pine Mountain Utah
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…
Pine Mountain Utah
Fog Frame
This sunrise is nicely framed with fog.
Shallow Water
Walking on the reef at low tide. The depth here is just a few inches which reveals water plants.
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.
Garden Fireworks
Took this in my mother's garden.
Outstanding sunrise
What a beautiful beginning
1800s Wisconsin Farmhouse
Doubler
Ivins Utah
Squall
This one sent a strong message to the boaters that day.
Hibiscus
Red Mountains
Covered in rare snow which was gone in a few hours. Kayenta Utah
Pretty Bird
Bird of Paradise on a walk in Pacific Grove CA
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.
Barbados lily
Wisconsin
Horse Ranch
Located in a very deep valley alongside a river with Zion National Park as background.
Winter In Gunlock Utah
PCH
The Pacific Coast Highway is about 1600 miles of photo opportunities. It follows the coast from Seattle to San Diego. This photo was taken along the 600 mile section in California near Big Sur.
Dahlia
Wisconsin
Kayenta Sunset
Looking West from Kayenta, in Ivins Utah towards the Shivwits Reservation.
US 1 at sunset
Bridge connecting two Florida keys.
As seen on tv
I'm not a golfer but I've heard this is one of the iconic cypress trees seen along the ocean on a particular hole at Pebble Beach CA.
Purple Coneflower
with big bee
Almost
A full double over the Red Mountains in Ivins Utah
Melting Sun
Blue Morning
Little contrast but superb reflection
Moms Garden
I'm not sure what type of plant it is but I like the way the yellow flower contrasts everything else.
Cardinal Flower
Wisconsin
Fire & Steam
Falls cool air and warmer lake water combine for an interesting dawn in Wisconsin.
Sunset Key West
Through a "fisheye" lens.