Sunrise Barn

As I was driving to church this morning down Hwy. 53, I noticed a barn in the distance and the sun was coming up right over the barn. Of coarse, I turned around and took a few photos. Everything lined up just right. The sun was just above the barn, it was early morning ( thanks to Daylight Savings Time) and I had a few spare moments to take a few shots. The only thing that would have made it better, is if the I had gotten there a few minutes earlier when the sun was a little lower and just above the top of the barn.  Either way these photos are the results of this short and sweet photo shoot. Praise the Lord for His perfect timing and the beauty of the early morning. Enjoy and God Bless.

More Barns???

The addiction continues! Everywhere I go I see barns that need to have their picture taken. They just sit there looking so majestic and with a story to tell. You would think that I have taken pictures of every barn in the nearby counties. Well guess again! There are so many barns and they are all unique. Here are a few more from this past week right here in Washburn County or nearby. Enjoy and God Bless!

Barns in Winter

Recently I have really been fascinated with barns - especially in winter. The contrast of the white snow on the ground and on the roofs with the red or white barns simply makes for a great photo. One of the areas where there are several barns is west of Shell Lake and north of Cumberland. I love taking photos of these old relics, but what I would really like to do is get permission to get inside the barns or even behind them to see what treasures are hidden from view. I am sure there are many stories to be told from the inside out. If you happen to know someone that would give me permission to do this, pleas let me know. I have already made calendars and a table top flip book of barns here in Wisconsin. If you would like one, simply ask! Thanks... Here are some barns and animals from today.

Lake Fog

This afternoon I had an appointment to meet another pastor in Superior. To kill time I decided to head to Leif Ericson Park and try to take a few photos. I could see that the lake was covered with mist from the cold air. This time I really watched my step and took my time getting down near the lake. Not only was it slippery in spots it was just plain COLD!!!! It was an amazing sight with the mist and the Lift Bridge in the distance and the sun shining brightly. Talk about getting excited about taking a few photos. This was just about perfect! I was glad to get back to the warm car and start the engine. Here are a few of the photos from today. Enjoy them and give God the glory for His amazing scenery.

New Film Cameras

A couple of years ago a man gave me 2 Nikon cameras and a few lens that go with them. Both cameras use film and not an SD card and were made in the 1970's. At the time they were top of the line cameras and one even has interchangeable parts, which is a great idea. For the most part they have remained on the shelf during these last 2 years. Yesterday I decided it was time to learn how to shoot with them. Thanks to YouTube, I learned how to adjust them and actually take photos with them. It is like learning how to drive a stick shift all over again. Today I took one of them out for a test drive and shot some scenery. Everything about these cameras is manual, so you have to adjust the lens, F stop and shutter speed all manually. It forces you to slow down and really consider what you are doing. That is not all bad, but makes you more careful and conscience of what you are doing. Sometimes it pays to slow down and do things the right way. Sorry no pictures from today. That will come after I finish shooting a couple rolls of film, send them into a photo development place and get them back. One reason you have to be more careful, is that it is more costly, considering the cost of film, postage and development, which is about $10 - $15 per roll. Not only that you only get 24 shots per roll, not 2000 per SD card. As a dear lady told me years ago, "You need to take time to smell the roses."

Sun Star Bursts

About a year and a half ago, one of the ladies at Camera Club (Kathy Deforge) showed us how to create star bursts with our cameras. The procedure is really rather easy. All it takes is to line up the sun with a distant object, set your aperture to F/22, use the lowest ISO as possible and take the photo. Seeing I almost always shoot in Aperture Priority, this is not a hard task and the results can be quite breath taking. I always thought you had to have a special lens filter to do this (which I have used in the past). Below are several photos I took recently, which show the results. What do you think? One other thing - You need a sunny day. Good luck with that here in cloudy, gloomy NW Wisconsin.

Specialty Calendars

   Many people have asked me where I have my calendars printed and bound. The answer to that is at "Distad's Print Shop" namely my home office. With my own color laser printer, specialty paper and binding system I can print them fairly reasonably and quickly. This also enables me to do "Specialty Calendars" for people who want photos taken of their house, property, family, pets, or even have a photo album of old photos that they want put into a calendar. Recently someone wanted me to take photos of a couple of farms, especially the barns, and make a calendar for them. That was simply a lot of fun to do!
   If you are interested in having your own specialty calendar done, please let me know soon. The cost would be $8.00 per calendar with a minimum of 10 calendars.
Contact Information:
Frank Distad  P.O. Box 98 Trego, Wi.
Cell Phone: 715-939-0601
Email: Fdistad@Gmail.com
Or simply message me on Facebook. 
Thanks and May God richly bless you and Have a great and Merry Christmas.