How I Shot That - Milwaukee Fog and Art

How I Shot That - Milwaukee Museum of Art

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Sony a6000 - http://amzn.to/2FW83M8
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They say, always have a Fog Plan.

A couple of years ago, at about 10 am in July on the shores of Lake Michigan in Milwaukee, I didn't have the faintest clue that we would be heading into a wall of fog.  But we were in for a treat. 

My brother and I both do photography, and we got a late start to the day.  He and I were driving in from Chicago and thought that we were going to see a lot of hard shadows and sunny skies.  However, nature sent us a gift.  Fog at the shore line that was thick but let us have all the light we needed. 

One of the best architectural treats of Milwaukee is their Museum of Art.  Looking like a sailing vessel instead of a structure, it sits on the shores of this Great Lake.  Walking outside it can be misleading when finding a center focal point to photo.  So you get it just right, or make it look like you broke the composition rules on purpose. 

I had to line up the points and check for other matching lines.  The point of this deck that came out towards me was my main setup.  In checking out the lines, I confirmed I could not see the wall of the center rib on that deck.  When lining the photo up to the top, the top of one of the masts also lined up.  I decided that the 'sail' could break the rules of composition.  I know the sides of the photo seem to be clipped a little, but that looked equal to me, so I went with it. 

When I had this photo in color, it felt like I lost contrast a little bit.  But going back to monochrome, gave me back some of the building, while still keeping some of the fog's softness. 

But this also brings up the idea of the 'Fog Plan'.  When I first came to this building, I went to the main entrance.  And then I went inside.  What was I thinking?  I wasted valuable time with the fog!  Remember, fog is your friend in photography!

Also, this was a fun day that day, walking around Milwaukee.  You should try it some time.

How I shot that - LAX WI Blue Bridges over the Mississippi

How I shot that - LAX WI Blue Bridges over the Mississippi

Shot with Sony 50mm f/1.8 - http://amzn.to/2FmZ82E
Camera is Sony a6000 - http://amzn.to/2ELLKIr
Similar aluminum Camera Tripod - http://amzn.to/2opfBw3
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La Crosse, WI (#laxwi in my tags) sits on the shores of the Mississippi River running between western Wisconsin and southeast Minnesota.  Between the two states (and in the middle of the river) sits Pettibon Park.  Pettibone Park was an island originally governed by Minnesota but was given to Wisconsin at the start of the 20th century.  

Originally, this island was mostly owned by a sole investor who's idea was to make a magnificent city on the river.  To say the least, that idea didn't pan out.  The river flooded so high and so often, that any structures would have to withstand such high water levels that would never allow for year round living.  But eventually it was realized that open structures open to a surrounding of water from the river would work out nicely as a park.

Given that the island would be part of La Crosse, WI that meant building a bridge over this mighty river wouldn't be a problem as you have one less jurisdiction to worry about (one less state).  

Fast forward almost 100 years, LAXWI is a thriving city with good river traffic sitting between the bluffs of WI and MN.  As it happens, I found that it was almost the time of a 'super moon', but the Upper Midwest has a lot of weather.  So, sometimes weather looks good in the afternoon, but clouds all up at night... and then there is the reverse.  July 19, 2016 was a long day on top of that, as my wife and I were driving all over the area.

But driving home, this park was on the way.  The river had relaxed to an almost normal stage. And not only did I have my a6000, but also my tripod too.  On my camera, I had the 50mm f1.8 lens and I took nearly 28 photos to stitch this together.  I was thinking, everything is farther away, but I didn't want to leave it at 1.8, and so I changed the aperture to 5.6.  I had a 1/45 shutter speed and 1000 iso.  

I came away with the tops of the bridges and the buildings on the other side of the river being a little distorted, but to me that was fine.  The river is larger than life.  Oh, heck, this river IS life to most of the country.  So if you need to make buildings to challenge it, they too need to behave this way.

Running Home from the Ice Caves

Running Home from the Ice Caves

Off of the Wisconsin shores of Lake Superior, you will find a protected National Shore Line of the Apostle Islands.  And during the winter, if you are lucky enough, you will find Ice Caves.

I guess this blast of cool weather ushering in October has given me a longing for these cooler days.
But I digress...

This area forms some beautiful ice caves when the winter has been hard enough and long enough.  During these just right conditions, and as the winter is coming to a close, the National Park Service will give the OK for the public to travel to these islands and observe the caves covered in ice.

If you are insane enough, you will stay out past sunset.  Allowing you to capture all the 'smart' people running home before it gets too cold.  When you are this far north, the sky glows orange from the dimming sun. This is nicely contrasted by the deep blue ice and snow of Lake Superior.  Makes you want to sleep next to your best friend and partner to stay warm.

Purchase this as a print, greeting card, or even a nice Duvet Cover at Fine Art America: bit.ly/1FJeUCG

Baby Owl peeking out into the world

Baby  Owl peeking out into the world.  Found this guy with the help of some La Crosse area Birders this spring in Myrick Park Marsh.  You had to look really hard or you would miss it.

#birds #birding #birders #birder #lacrossewi #peekaboo #Discoverwisconsin #chick #owl #who #owlsofinstagram

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

The Devil's Door Way Climbed

The Devil's Door Way Climbed by @adventures.in.climbing

The first week of summer, I went to Devil's Lake State Park in Wisconsin.  I had been hearing this was a place that rock climbers got some good starting experience.  And I wasn't disappointed.  By going in the middle of the week, I found two sets of rock climbers there.  And both were amazing to meet and talk to. 

This guy from Adventures In Climbing, also happened to be on instagram as he is a guide for hire that publicized himself there.  And getting to this rock formation must give you an inspiring view of the bluffs that surround Devil's Lake.  Apparently, it is one of the best rock climbing areas of the entire midwest.

@adventures.in.climbing got to the top of the Devil's Doorway and let his client get a bird's eye view of #devilslake. #firstweekofsummer #wisconsin #wisconsinlife #Discoverwisconsin #rockclimbing #summertime #wisconsinsummer #wisconsinstateparks

A photo posted by Tony Dooley (@lephotosbytony) on Jun 25, 2015 at 1:29pm PDT