A White Crane visits La Crosse, WI.

A White Crane visits La Crosse, WI.

This guy actually decided to land and sit at the top of a dead tree almost right over my head. I realized, there was no way he was making that tree home. That meant all I had to do was wait for this guy to spread his wings and fly.

It was also early morning so the sun was still low and warm. When this guy flew off, there was a chance to get a decent shot. And then he banked to the right, showing me everything you see here.

I might not be a "birder" but I did enjoy doing some #birding that morning. 

This was at Myrick Park Marsh, La Crosse, WI. morning of August 22nd, 2015.

#birding #discoverwisconsin #explorelacrosse #lacrossewi#wisconsin #whitecrane #whitebird #wideopenwings#spreadyourwingsandfly #bigbird #lifeinthemarsh #marshlife#wildlife #wisconsinlife 

Abstract Photography and Chicago's Mary Bartelme Park

I tried out #AbstractPhotography for the first time back on August 15th while going out to a +Drink and Click ™ Chicago event hosted by +Lauri Novak. My brother, +Adam Dooley asked me to go and I just so happened to be available to drive down from La Crosse and take part. We went to the Mary Batelme Park in the west loop neighborhood (http://www.chicagoparkdistrict.com/parks/Bartelme-Mary-Park). 

There is a fountain feature that looks like 5 off-centered frames that people can walk around and through. On hot days, it sprays a cool mist for everyone to enjoy. But the rest of the time, you can enjoy the lighting and aesthetics it brings to the area and the city as a whole. 

However, while I was there, I remembered some videos on +YouTube by Chelsea and +Tony Northrup about how to take abstract photographs. My mind lit up with the strength of the lights used to display the fountain at night.

For more information on the people that designed Mary Bartelme Park: 
http://www.site-design.com/projects/urban-park-design-chicago/

Devil's Lake East Bluff Trail

Stay on the path you kayed before yourself. Don't give up.  Keep climbing to reach your goals.

This photo is of a path along the Eastern Bluff along Devil's Lake in Wisconsin.  This part is the slightly easier incline than the one I took to see the Devil's Doorway rock formation.  But, never fear, because this path will also take you to that feature.

I only scratched the surface of what kind of photos are possible at Devil's Lake. I highly suggest any one to take a trip out there.

#hiking #path #devilslake #wisconsin #discoverwisconsin #midwestmoment #midwestlife #wisconsinlife #statepark #iceagetrail #naturetrail #nature #naturelife #highonlife #summertime

American Queen visits La Crosse, WI - August 2015

American Queen visits La Crosse, WI - August 2015

Living in an area known as the Seven Rivers Region, La Crosse is influenced by life brought forth from the area's abundance of water.  And there are so many rivers here because it is known as the Driftless Area, an area where this part of North America avoided that last 3 glaciations.

Today, is obvious, that the Mississippi River brings the big tours from the big boats.  And this boat is the American Queen.  Probably the largest steam ship still operating along the Mississippi and its tributaries.  She seems to get all of the attention.  People come dressed in an Antebellum style.  They drive, bike, and walk into the park to get a view of the big boat.  And I'm pretty sure I saw other boaters slow down to take in the occasion.

To take this photo, I too had to slow down.  I normally like a detail shot that is zoomed in on a particular feature of a vessel such as this.  But we had clouds with a blue sky.  Wonderfully dressed up people and the obvious spectacle of attention that it was.  I was able to get a combination of 3 photos for this HDR effect.

You can look them up at www.AmericanQueenSteamboatCompany.com or on twitter @CruiseAQSC  and use the tag: #AmericanQueen.  Maybe we can convince them to join Instagram?

#riverlife #steampower #slowdown #mississippiriver #AmericanQueen #puffyclouds #lacrossewi #discoverwi #riversidepark #hdr #midwestmoment #summerontheriver #summertime

Remnants of Sunset through the Devil's Doorway

Remnants of Sunset through the Devil's Doorway,
at Devil's Lake State Park, WI.

For the upper midwest, this is a massive granite monument.  People can climb it to get a great view of the lake and valley below them.  And sunsets with a half-moon like this are stunning.

I came to Devil's Lake for the first week of Summer and it just makes me realize how much I want to search for these photo opportunities.  Speaking of opportunities, what you don't see here are two rock climbers that are on the other side of this formation.

I came up here with +Adam Dooley and we stuck to the paths for the non-rock climbers.  I said to him, it will be a great place to photograph, and who knows, we just might find a rock climber or two.  At the end of this trip, he turned to me and said, "Tony, we need to get in better shape because we need to do more things like this."

I took this set of photos hand held, and the HDR was done by Google.  Enjoy.

#devilslake #wisconsin #discoverwisconsin #rockclimbing #sunsets #moonviews #halfmoon #wisconsinbluffs #wisconsinstateparks #nature #hdr #googlehdr #handheld #monuments #naturalmonuments #midwestmoment #whispyclouds #longsunsets #onlyinwisconsin