March’s Photo of the Month: Tug Boats in Winter Storage, Sturgeon Bay WI

This months photo was taken just 10 days ago on 3-6-2011 and shows a fleet of tug boats in winter storage on Sturgeon Bay here in Wisconsin. We have always wanted to see Sturgeon Bay in winter and when the opportunity came for us to make the overnight trip, we jumped at it. Early, on Sunday morning, we walked out onto one of the bridges that cross the bay and shot some images. It was about 12 degrees with a windchill near zero. The wind wasn’t blowing very hard, but just enough to cut right through you.

I was intrigued by the way the tugs were docked here, even though they have been in ice all winter, they look ready to continue their work as soon as the ice leaves. I also like the soft lighting this morning brought. The sun was nicely defused by some high clouds to the east creating a soft but bright light.

I think what I like most about this image is that it says Great Lakes Winter so well. It also shows the maritime feel and history of Sturgeon Bay very nicely, that’s one of the reasons this is a favorite place of mine in Wisconsin.

——————————————–

February’s Photo of the Month: Kenosha Pierhead Lighthouse in Winter, Lake Michigan, Kenosha WI

I just realized that I’m running very late on the photo of the month. Between the blizzard and our trip to California, I forgot all about it. Better late than never I guess.

This month’s photo is of the Kenosha Pierhead Lighthouse and was taken during a frigid sunset on Feb 12, 2010. Lynne and I went down to the harbor to get some pictures of the ice shelf and lighthouse at sunset. During the warm evening light I spent most of the time shooting from the ice shelf, but once the sun went completely down I wondered onto the pier in hopes of getting the lighthouse with some color on the horizon.

I could only walk out so far because of a slippery sheet of ice that lay across the pier. I was able to make my way to this yellow post though. Once I saw the post I knew the shot I wanted. I set up my composition and waited for some color to appear. Thankfully a little bit of color did appear on the horizon.

I love the contrasting colors in this shot. The bright red lighthouse, yellow post, and magenta horizon contrast so nicely with the cold blue of the lake, ice and sky. It’s like a battle of warm colors with cold colors. To me, this contrast really shows the feeling of what it was like being there.The other thing I like is the slight reflection of the lighthouse in the ice. It’s just enough to add a little bit of color to that icy blue.

—————————————

January’s Photo of the Month: Mt Tom Covered in Clouds at Sunrise, Eastern Sierra Nevada, CA

This month’s photo comes from a chilly morning in the Eastern Sierra back on January 7, 2006. I ventured out to Round Valley to shoot the sunrise after a heavy snowfall had blanketed the foothills of the Eastern Sierra.  Low clouds from the storm still hung on the mountains, but the sky to the east was clear, a perfect scenario for a beautiful sunrise. Mother Nature didn’t disappoint that morning as soft pink and purple light  bathed the clouds and reflected in the snow on the valley floor.

I love when heavy snow falls in the foothills of the Eastern Sierra. The sagebrush and rabbit brush become covered and the cool looking humps you see in this photo are formed. The humps make great foreground material for photos of the mountains.

I shot many great images that magical morning, this one has always been my favorite though.

—————————————–

December’s Photo of the Month: Ice Formation on Kitchen Window, Kenosha WI

When the temperature outside drops into the single digits, magical things can happen on the north facing windows of your house. December’s photo of the month is a perfect example of that. This beautiful ice landscape formed overnight on December 12, 2008. While I’ve seen many beautiful ice formations on windows, I had never seen anything like this. It’s a perfect winter landscape. The coolest thing is that it’s never happened again, so this is a one of a kind image.

I recently started playing around with this image in Lightroom and Photoshop. The original image is pretty, but it’s very gray and colorless. By changing the color of the image into blueish tones, the coldness and wintry feeling come out much better. I also decided that this would make a great holiday greeting to all my online friends. So Happy Holidays to everyone out there. I hope your holidays are filled with the same joy and magic that was created on my kitchen window the morning this image was taken.