Lost in the Woods

What do you do when you are lost in the woods? What else - Take pictures! Yesterday, I realized that I needed to get some exercise, so I took a walk at the Trego Lake Trail on River Road. I have walked this several times, but this time I decided to go just a little further. Usually I go as far as I can handle and then turn around and go back the same way I came. I found a "short cut" that I thought would save me a little time. In the end, a 30 minutes walk turned out to be 2 hours. Later I found out that if I skipped the short cut, it would have taken me right back to where I started. With tired legs and a little stiff, I learned my lesson. It wasn't a total waste, because I was able to take a few photos of the woods.  Part of the reason I took this walk was to spend time with the Lord in prayer. I guess He knew I needed extra time to reflect!

Area Barns with Character

For the past few week I have trying to find barns in the area that I could take photos of. I am not looking for the clean, pristine, beautiful modern barns. What really excites me is the old, rustic barns that are falling apart and barely holding together. What I consider exciting about these old barns is their "character" and their "history". I am sure that every barn has a story to tell and I would love to find out more about their history. These barns also have a special patina or coloring that you will not find in the newer barns. Every one is unique and special - a lot like us. God designed each of us uniquely and we all have a story to tell. We all have "character" in our own ways. I am not sure about the old and falling apart thing, but we are all beautiful in God's eyes.

Trego Eagles

Even though today was misty and dreary, I decided to go around the block to see if there was anything to take photos of. I finally gave up and headed for home going south on Highway 53 toward Trego. Then I saw it - an eagle having lunch on the side of the road eating road kill. I made a quick u-turn and pulled over just past where the eagle was. This eagle was pretty scroungy looking with wet and ruffled feathers. As I pulled over, the eagle saw me and headed for a tree on the other side of the road. He stayed in that tree for what seemed like forever and let me photograph him. He was waiting very patiently for me to leave, so he could go back to his lunch. Even a ruffled feathered eagle is a beautiful creature. They are one of God's most majestic and glorious birds.

Swan Lake Photo Shoot.

One of the winter "hot spots" around here for photographers is Clear Lake, Wisconsin. Because of a nearby factory the waters in the park lake do not totally freeze and this draws a group of swans that stay for the winter. There are also a few geese that hang around. Today was a perfect day for a photo shoot. After I parked the car by the side of the road, I climbed over the guard rail and went down the ditch until I was just a couple of feet from the water. It ended up being a great place to shoot. At first the swans squawked and started heading to the center of the lake, away from me. But after awhile, their curiosity got the better of them and they came very close to shore, while I just stood their and clicked one picture after another. Within 45 minutes I managed to take about 550 or more pictures. After post production on the computer, I narrowed it down to about 70. Of all the ducks that God created, the swan is one of the most fascinating and beautiful. It is hard to take a bad photo of a swan in a lake.
   My personal favorite is the last one with the swan shaking his head.

Ice Follies at the Bank

There is nothing more beautiful than freshly fallen snow. This morning Linda needed to go to one of the banks in Spooner and I stayed in the car and waited. In front of the building, water had dripped on the bushes and frozen into ice cycles. I just happened to bring my camera and started to take a "few" shots of the ice on the bushes. As I was finishing up and employee of the bank came out and wondered what I as doing. I think she thought I was casing the bank and taking pictures of the vault or something. I could almost "picture" trying to explain this to a policeman. After I explained that I was taken pictures of the ice on the bushes she went back inside and I went to the car to with in safety. The pictures of the bars were taken in Spooner and Lampson. At least I am not writing this from behind jail bars.

February Snowfall in B&w.

There are 2 ways to look at a snow storm. One way is to only see the heavy white stuff that we have to shovel. The other way is to see the beauty and blessings of the powdery white stuff. As a photographer I also see an opportunity to take photos of God great creation. We saw a video in Sunday School class today about the uniqueness of every snowflake and the precise way they are made. Only a Creator could form such perfection. No 2 snow flakes are the same. These photos are the black and white version of the pictures I took this afternoon. I like the black and white because it brings out the contrast of the snow and the landscape. The pine trees are on top of the hill at the Dinner Bell Restaurant and the rest are of the birch tree in the back yard.

Lost on a Rustic Road

What does a photographer do when he is lost on a rustic road and has no idea where he is? Take photos, of course! This afternoon I went out to take a few photos for a project I was doing, when I found myself south of Shell Lake traveling down a road that I had no idea where it lead. I just kept going until I saw a sign for a "Rustic Road". That was an open invitation to take that road. I finally ended up in Haugen, but the journey was well worth getting lost. What started out as a few pictures, ended up with almost 350 photos of this wintery road, birch trees and even a pheasant. I felt like a kid in a candy store sampling every piece of candy he could get his hands on. This definitely was a God directed trip taking photos of His great handiwork. Here are just a taste of the photo candy I took today! Some are processed into black and white.