Drag Strip
Not only is it the main street through Key West it is also the worlds longest drag strip. One of the events during Conch Republic days are the bed races, beds mounted on wheels pushed by female impersonators, a.k.a. Drag Queens. One end of Duval is the Atlantic Ocean and the other end is the Gulf of Mexico, hence the Worlds Longest Drag Race. True Fact
Great Egret
Great Egrets wade in shallow water (both fresh and salt) to hunt fish, frogs, and other small aquatic animals. They typically stand still and watch for unsuspecting prey to pass by. Then, with startling speed, the egrets strike with a jab of their long neck and bill.
Original 1917
1917 Herschell-Spillman Carousel at Circus World Museum Baraboo, WI
24 jumping horses, 2 chariots, all wood composition and original 105 year old paint. In perfect working order and cost $1.00 a ride.
During a break the operator was nice enough to let me walk around taking photos of the horses.
Taliesin
Taliesin is a historic property located 2.5 miles south of the village of Spring Green, Wisconsin. It was the estate of American architect Frank Lloyd Wright and an extended exemplar of the Prairie School of architecture. The expansive house-studio set on the brow of a ridge was begun in 1911; the 600-acre property was developed on land that previously belonged to Wright's maternal family. Wikipedia
Scenic Drive
Somewhere along Hwy 89 between Cedar Breaks National Monument and Bryce Canyon National Park.
Look up
Fire escape on a very tall building.
Peaceful sunset
Key West FL
Art is very subjective
Streetwalking on Las Vegas Boulevard you come across all kinds of reflections, shapes and colors. Sometimes when I eliminate color it makes everything else stand out.
Oil of water
Walking along the water in Pacific Grove CA I came upon this artist who not only allowed me to take his photo but was also thrilled when I emailed the photo to him. For the next few weeks whenever I saw someone painting landscapes I'd take their photo at a similar angle and mail them their photos. It was fun for all of us.
Old rolling stock
These railroad photos were taken at the Mid-Continent Railway yard in Wisconsin.
Powerboat Racing 2022
These two have just finished a 180 degree turn and are now in full throttle at over 100mph heading out to the Gulf of Mexico. They are close to the pier on Sunset Key with Key West in the background.
Sunlit Balloon
The Blues
Arizona Slot Canyon
Navajo Sandstone and resident
One of so many
Las Vegas architecture at night
I might be the same age…
Now that hurts.
Interesting
Key West street vendor has an interesting product line.
Prickly Pear Cactus
A beauty and a beast, prickly pear is beloved for its blossoms and feared for its vicious spines. Its yellow, red, and orange cup-shape flowers last just one day, but a large clump of prickly pears will bloom for several weeks in summer, providing delicate beauty among the thorns. If you break off an "ear" and simply push it into the ground it will grow roots allowing a new plant will form.
1800s Outhouse
Wikipedia: Outhouses are commonly humble and utilitarian, made of lumber or plywood. This is especially so they can easily be moved when the earthen pit fills up. Depending on the size of the pit and the amount of use, this can be fairly frequent, sometimes yearly. I found this in South Dakota on a homestead from the 1880s.
Egret
This is a Reddish Egret in the Florida Keys
Ahhhh
Waiting for a customer to crawl in
Every morning
The activity is the same but every morning there is a new background.
Field of dreams
The Kelch Aviation Museum in Brodhead WI includes 19 vintage aircraft, 3 vintage automobiles, 10,000 aviation books, 12 original aircraft engines, cabinets of photo collections, and dozens of models, works of art, and one-of-a-kind treasures! Whether you’re a Snoopy-and-the-Red-Baron fan or a researcher sleuthing out original aircraft blueprints, we have something to fascinate you! Kelch website
I've been going there every summer for the past 3 years to take photos of these very unique aircraft while on display in the museum hangers and also while flying about the "field of dreams" as I call it airport.
Las Vegas in B&W
Taken with my Leica Q2 Monochrome camera. All digital cameras take photos in grays then the processor matches those tiny grey pixels to the matching color pixels the camera maker engineered into that brand. So 10 cameras, including phones will give 10 different looks all settings being equal. The differences will be very subtle but they will differ. This camera I used does not convert to color. It uses its lack of color processing to produce a very, very high resolution image in shades of grey. It seems to work particularly good on architecture.
Cedar Breaks
A National Monument in Utah with an elevation of about 10,500 feet.
Finland
An area called Little Finland in Gold Butte National Monument is filled with interesting sandstone shapes. For scale, the centerpiece is 10-15' tall.
Hoover Dam
I'm standing 726' atop Hoover Dam looking down at the Colorado river with Lake Mead behind me. Lake Mead is the largest reservoir in the US by volume when full. It is located near Boulder City, Nevada, a municipality originally constructed for workers on the construction project, about 30 mi southeast of Las Vegas. The dam's generators provide power for public and private utilities in Nevada, Arizona, and California.
Sunny Zion
Zion National Park at about 1pm. To give an idea of scale you might be able to see the shuttle bus left of center or people on the trail in the lower right.
Butch Lived Here
Robert Leroy Parker, A.K.A. Butch Cassidy, lived here with his family from 1880 to around 1884. The door was locked but I found this broken pane.
Daylily
They get their name from the fact that each flower lasts only one day. I took these photos at the Boerner Botanical Garden in Milwaukee.
Purple Dawn
Badlands National Park
The rugged beauty of the Badlands in South Dakota draws visitors from around the world. These striking geologic deposits contain one of the world’s richest fossil beds. Ancient horses and rhinos once roamed here. The park’s 244,000 acres protect an expanse of mixed-grass prairie where bison, bighorn sheep, prairie dogs, and black-footed ferrets live today. per NPS
Dusk on the Strip
Taken from high up at the Bellagio. Las Vegas is a wonderful city to walk around with a camera.
Surprise Docking
10/20/2021: This ship made an unscheduled stop in Key West to have a sick passenger taken off. As there were no line handlers the ship had to hold itself against the pier using its very powerful side thrusters as it could not be tied. Passenger was removed, ship spun 180 degrees and slipped out of the harbor towards the shipping channel and on to its next scheduled port.
The wing walker is the pilot’s wife
EAA Oshkosh
Cannery Row
Cannery Row is the waterfront street bordering the city of Pacific Grove in Monterey, California. It was the site of a number of now-defunct sardine canning factories. The last cannery closed in 1973. This mural is painted on an old Cannery wall.
B-52
The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is an American long-range, subsonic, jet-powered strategic bomber. The B-52 was designed and built by Boeing, which has continued to provide support and upgrades. It has been operated by the United States Air Force since the 1950s. The bomber is capable of carrying up to 70,000 pounds of weapons, and has a typical combat range of more than 8,800 miles without aerial refueling.
Merry Christmas
This tree was in the lobby of the Curry Mansion in Key West.
Front Row Seats
Every evening boats of all types and sizes head out with friends or customers to watch the famous Key West sunsets.
Race Start
Key West Offshore Powerboats. In 2021 they raced 3 days, 4 races per day by class of boats. This was the start of the second race. The pace boat, a few frames back was flying a yellow flag telling the boats to remain in line with it. This green flag tells them they may accelerate and begin to race.
Key West Squall Line
Coming in from the West produced big wind and rain.
Dakota
This area of South Dakota was so desolate there were no homes or farms to be seen yet there was mail.
Nelson Nevada
Nelson Nevada is not a town, rather it's an old gold mine in the middle of nowhere that has a great collection of junk.
Framed
While visiting an art museum in Miami this lady was holding frames over art for her own art project and trying to take photos of them so I helped her for a little while.
Friday fireworks
Rubicon WI
I drove through this very small town in WI last week. Had to turn around, take this photo then continued on my way. Photography will do that to you.
Black-eyed Susan
Wisconsin
Evening Sky
Evening sail in Key West
Daylily
They get their name from the fact that each flower lasts only one day. I took these photos at the Boerner Botanical Garden in Milwaukee.
Gold Butte
Gold Butte National Monument covers nearly 300,000 acres of remote and rugged desert landscape in southeastern Nevada, where dramatically chiseled red sandstone, twisting canyons, and tree-clad mountains punctuate desolate stretches of the Mojave Desert. The brightly hued sandstone provides a stunning canvas for the area’s famously beautiful rock art. per BLM
Miami Street Art
Painted on the wall of an old warehouse.
A Walk In The Park
Hiking through Red Rock Canyon which is close to Las Vegas, I turned the corner and saw this. As I took a few photos others started showing up including photographers. When they finished I found out it was a photo shoot for these two brothers who were performing in Las Vegas.
Cinco de Mayo Kaboom
Everyday is a good day for fireworks.
Wisconsin Dawn
Point Sur Lighthouse
Point Sur Lighthouse sits on a volcanic rock 361 feet above the Pacific Ocean. Erected in 1889, this Big Sur lighthouse has stayed in continuous operation since, and is the only complete lighthouse of its era in California.
P 57
EAA Oshkosh
Fisherman’s Wharf – Monterrey CA
Walked to the end of the dock looking for a place to sit and eat some smoked salmon. Glanced down and saw these boats lined up.
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.
Salt Lake Utah
The Great Salt Lake is the largest saline lake in the Western Hemisphere and the eighth largest in the world. The 15,000 square miles of various water environments, remote islands and shorelines, with 400,000 acres of wetlands, provide habitat for plants, brine shrimp, reptiles, amphibians, mammals, shorebirds and waterfowl. Birds rely on the lake, a critical link in the Pacific Flyway between North and South America. Every year 10 million birds from 338 different species come to rest, eat and breed during migrations of a thousand miles or more. With the decline of other lakes, GSL is increasingly important to these species.
Lines
I'm learning that black and white photos can really capture the distinctive lines in architecture.
Farm House Reflection
I like trying to get an interesting wall of texture combined with what's behind me. As a bonus, like this photo, it's reflecting in very old wavy glass. This is a farmhouse window and barn taken in Wisconsin.
Watery sky
Walking on a dock I noticed the water reflecting the cloudy sky above with a passing jet.
key West Harbor
I took this through a glass ball I was holding.
Tourist Treasure
Early morning walking on Key Wests Duval street.
Ker Blam
Valley of Fire
Valley of Fire State Park is a public recreation and nature preservation area covering nearly 46,000 acres located 16 miles south of Overton, Nevada. The state park derives its name from red sandstone formations, the Aztec Sandstone, which formed from shifting sand dunes 150 million years ago.Wikipedia
1904 Steam Traction Engine
Nichols and Shepard Steam traction Engines were built in Battle Creek, Michigan from 1848-1929. I believe this one is a 1918 model. Weighing over 11,000 pounds, powered by wood or coal they traveled at 3 mph. This was taken at the annual steam show in Baraboo WI where over 500 steam powered tractors and construction equipment powered by white hot steam, plenty of black smoke and driven by hard men, gather for a 5 day event.
Cana Island Lighthouse
Built in 1869 for $12,792.55, Cana Island Lighthouse’s tower, made of cream city brick, was the tallest building in Door County WI. Verified by telescope during the first year of operation, 4,862 ships passed the station during daylight hours. Keepers filled the oil and kept the beacon shining until the lighthouse was automated in 1944. It remains a functioning navigational light of the Great Lakes. Door County Historical Society.
Vegas Alley Art
An area between The Strip and Fremont street invites spray can artists to decorate the streets and alleys as a form of art to help improve the area.
Yerkes Observatory
Yerkes Observatory is an astronomical observatory located in Williams Bay, Wisconsin. It was operated by the University of Chicago Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics from its founding in 1897 to 2020. In May 2020, restoration and renovation of the historic building and grounds began. It opened for small tours July 2022 where one is now able to go into all three domes.
Architectural Tour
Ride a boat on the Chicago river as they point out the beautiful architecture that sprouted on each side.
New Day Comes
Back on Pewaukee Lake
Cedar Breaks National Monument
DC 3
Zillions of rivets - EAA Oshkosh
Docking at dawn
These ships would quite often glide in at first light to dock in Key West. What always amazed me was even at this short distance, these huge ships never made a sound when arriving.
Utah sunset
Took this in Gunlock Utah
Standing in one place, shoot right then left
On this rare snow covered morning I quickly set up my camera on the edge of a wash. I turned right and shot up the wash towards the Red Mountain that borders Snow Canyon State Park then turned the camera left and took another down the wash towards the Beaver Dam mountains. I spent the previous 2-3 hours in the park taking other photos of snow covered red sandstone, sand dunes and black lava. I had to move fast because in Ivins Utah snow like this only falls every couple of years and is gone in as many hours.
Great horned owl
Adult great horned owls can be as large as 2’ tall with a 5’ wingspan.Despite their size they are capable of “silent flight”, which is the way owls fly while making almost no discernable noise. And they can fly at a very low speeds as slow as 2 miles per hour when they are gliding on breezes while hunting. At dusk, the owl utters a few calls before flying to a more open sing-post, i.e. large bare branch or large rocks to deliver song. Normally several perches are used to mark occupied territory or to attract a female. Wikipedia
I took this photo in SW Utah where a pair have been seen each year. In the past 5 years they have produced offspring twice. Baby owls are ridiculously cute and always under the very watchful eyes of a adult.
Hat shop
Custom made in Key West from palm fronds and don't forget the matching drink koozie.
Ready to fly
Key West Wildlife Center rehabilitated hawk about to be released
In a dark woods
In July (10,500 feet) went to Cedar Breaks National Monument for the spring wildflower bloom. Due to low snowfall and rain the fields were pretty sparse but walking through the trees there were many flowers of different types. This is an Indian Paintbrush.
Brown Pelican
The brown pelican is one of two species of pelicans found in Florida, the white pelican being the other. It has a wingspan of 6 ft 8 in to 7 ft 6 in.
The Blimps
As of 8/10/2021 there are still 4 of these flying.
South Dakota Homestead
The territory that would become South Dakota was added to the United States in 1803 as part of the Louisiana Purchase. The first permanent American settlement was established at Fort Pierre by the Lewis and Clark expedition in 1804. White settlement of the territory in the 1800s led to clashes with the Sioux, as some of the lands had been granted to the tribe by an earlier treaty. Nevertheless, the territory was incorporated into the union on November 2, 1889, along with North Dakota.
Sunset Key
Sunset Key is a small 27 acre island with a hotel and individual homes. It is reachable by a short ferry ride from Key West. It was originally developed by the US Navy to hold fuel tanks but later sold to a developer.
Foggy fishing
Not being a fishing guy, I do admire their dedication to the hobby. Pretty much an early morning all weather sport that requires a large investment in equipment. It is similar to photography in that some days you catch a good one but most are just average.
Winter Bryce
The snow really adds nice color to the sandstone.
Brian Head
Brian Head, at 11,312 feet, looking down at Cedar Breaks National Monument.
Interesting Inventory
Street Walking is always full of surprises. Had this store been open I certainly would have gone in to see what other treasures it offered.
Miami Street Art
Note how the spray can artist flowed the scene onto the sidewalk.
Las Vegas
Las Vegas is a joy to photograph because of it's colorful and unique architecture.
Hard Streets
Las Vegas was photogenic in a very sad, yet interesting way during the covid year. The handful of people that were there really stood out. This man and his friend had expressions that really caught my eye.
F-18 Super Hornet
Boca Chica Naval Air Station
Fantasy Fest Week
A celebration full of creativity and fun.
Desert morning color
Gold Butte National Monument in Nevada about an hour after sunrise.
Key West Postcard
Though only 15 blocks end to end, Duval St is known as the worlds longest road because it connects the Gulf of Mexico and The Atlantic Ocean. And within a 3 mile radius you'll find 312 restaurants to choose from.
Sunset Pier Key West
Sunset pier is a perfect spot on the water to watch sunsets while listening to live music.
Fireworks Plus
There’s something really fun about photographing fireworks with the different colors and shapes. When frozen by the camera you can examine them for a moment.
This was taken during a night airshow fireworks
in the background while a twin engine aircraft flew around firing small fireworks off its wings.
To the bar
What the sign says. I liked the lighting.
Canyonlands
Canyonlands National Park is a park located in southeastern Utah near the town of Moab. The park preserves a colorful landscape eroded into numerous canyons, mesas, and buttes by the Colorado River, the Green River, and their respective tributaries. Legislation creating the park was signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson on September 12, 1964. Wikipedia