A Good Photo Soot Day

Today was a good photo shoot day for 2 reasons: #1. The weather was absolutely beautiful - 22 degrees and sunny. With the snow still on the trees and the contrast between thew blue sky and the dark water it was perfect. #2. My wife has 6 ladies at the house for dinner. They were ladies that attend her Bible Study. Once a year, they come over for a meal and help celebrate Christmas together. That was all the excuse I needed to get out of the house and take pictures. (Actually I don't need a big excuse, I simply enjoy photography.) After traveling to Hayward, I took the side roads home, which is always a good thing to do. I try to travel on roads that are not overly traveled and ones I have not been on before. I may never know what I will find, but God always provides great scenery either way. I even saw an otter playing in the water today, but did not get a very good photo of him. He was too far away an just too fast. These are some of the pictures I took today. Enjoy them and praise God for His great beauty in nature!!!

A Cold Lighthouse!

Just think, today was the warmest it has been since Sunday. It got up to an amazing 9 degrees. Because of this amazing heat wave, I decided to go to Wisconsin Point and take a few pictures of the lighthouse. Why would any sane photographer, get out of a warm car into the bitter cold, walk on an icy and slippery walkway to take a few pictures of a lighthouse he has taken hundred of pictures before? I think the cold weather has shrunk my brain and warped my common sense. Was it worth it? Probably! This is one photo shoot that did not take very long. Getting back to the warm car was a blessing. So what did I do next - went to the other side of the lighthouse, got out of the car and took more pictures! What's a little cold weather between photographers! An article I read recently, basically said that bad weather is a photographer's opportunity! I totally agree! Some times God does His best work when the weather is rough! Enough said! So here is the result of today's photo shoot. Enjoy!

Bitter Cold Opportunities

Today has been one of the coldest days in a very long time. It never got above 5 below zero all day. How does a photographer demonstrate that bitter cold to others in photos? As I was traveling around this morning, I went by one of my favorite spots - Spooner Lake flow-age and that is when I saw exactly how to explain it in pictures. The steam off the waters was amazing and very graphic at 14 below zero at 10:00 am. You can't look at these photos and help but feel the cold. One thing about it, it didn't take me long to take these photos out in the bitter cold. When most people look at the cold they begin to complain, but with a photographer it is an opportunity. Enjoy and STAY WARM!

Wind and Waves Therapy

They say that if a pastor is discouraged he should keep it to himself and not let any one know that he is having a bad day. So I won't say that I was discouraged today, but I will tell you what I did to deal with it. I took the day off and took a few photos, (along with a long talk with the Lord). One of my favorite spots for photography is Wisconsin Point, just south and east of Superior. Today was no exception. Even though the wind was picking up and it was down right cold on the beach, this was perfect for taking photos of the lighthouse and the waves. I could come up with some great theological lessons about the cold, the wind, the waves and the lighthouse, but it is sufficient to say that it was simply a relaxing time away from the stresses of life, not to mention a breath taking view!

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If you are looking for Unique Christmas presents here are 2 ideas that are available:
#1: A 12 month wall calendar with photos I have taken this year, each with scripture verses included. The calendar is 8.5" X 11" and is on high quality matte photo paper. They sell for $7.00 each. (4 or more are $6.00 each.)
#2: Photo note cards. A packet of 4 with 4 envelopes is priced at $3.00. They also come in a handy cloth carrying case that looks like a little shopping bag. These can be printed with any of the photos you see on this blog site. The birds on the last blog would make a great photo card for Christmas. I can also include scripture verses, if you would like.
  The purpose of these cards and calendars is hopefully to encourage people and share the Gospel. Any money generated goes for either photo or printing supplies. You can drop me a line at Fdistad@Gmail.com, along with your name and address. You can also simply call at 715-939-0601

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Early Christmas Blessing!

Last night when the snow was falling, I wasn't very thrilled. I had plans to go to southern Wisconsin to share at a supporting church and possibly take a few pictures on the way there and back. Because of the uncertainty of the snow fall, I decided to cancel my trip for now. Then when I got up this morning, I was excited to see that we only had a couple of inches of snow, but what an amazing sight it made. After breakfast, I went out to take a "few" pictures of the scenery. I was not disappointed!!! Nearing home, I saw a tree covered with snow and red berries. After taking a few pictures of the tree, I noticed that there were birds enjoying the snow and the berries. The amazing thing is that I did not scare them and they put on quite a show. Guess what pictures I will be using for Christmas photo cards? If you would like some, please let me know. I will be happy to print some for you. God took a missed trip and turned it into a great day of beauty!

Sunset and Milkweed

Combination photography is an amazing thing, especially when you take something very common and ordinary, like a milkweed, and combine it with that which is always beautiful, a sunset. Tonight I was racing to get to a place where I could take some shots of the sunset. This is always a race, because usually there is only a 5 to 10 minute window of opportunity. Tonight everything was in place and the timing was right on. I drove by a field and noticed some milkweed and wondered if it would be possible to shoot the sunset through the silky seeds. After breaking one off, I stationed it on a fence post and started to shoot. What is really amazing, is that our God would take the common and ordinary and make it into an object of great beauty. You can read into that whet every you like. Just praise God for His creations.