September’s Photo of the Month: Sunrise Fishermen on Lake Michigan, Kenosha WI

This month’s photo was taken on September 18, 2009 along the shores of Lake Michigan in Kenosha. Every year in September,where the Pike River flows into Lake Michigan, fishermen line the shore trying to catch the Chinook Salmon that have come into the area to head up river to spawn. These salmon can be weigh up to 40 pounds and put up quite a fight for the fishermen. I decided to head out for sunrise one morning last year to to do some fishing of my own. Not for salmon, but for photos of the fishermen.

I knew going in what kind of pictures I wanted. I wanted the fishermen silhouetted against the rising sun. There were plenty of them there on this morning to choose from. I hadn’t expected a boat out in the lake though. It was actually getting in my way most of the time, but in this image the boat helped more than hurt.

This image reminds me of the many sunrises I’ve spent with my dad fishing Sierra Nevada lakes. I’ve seen this scene so many times in my life that it’s burnt into my soul. There’s nothing like a quiet, peaceful sunrise on a lake, waiting for a fish to take your bait.

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August Photo of the Month: Two Ship Heading Out, Port Washington, WI

This month’s photo was taken on August 15, 2009 at the Port Washington Maritime Heritage Festival in Port Washington WI. The tall ship in the foreground is the Denis Sullivan out of Milwaukee. I can’t tell what ship that is in the background. It may be the Friends Good Will out of Michigan.

I didn’t care for this photo at first. It was taken on a very hazy day and the light was horrible. The sky was washed out, there was a grayish cast to the colors and to my picky eye the image just didn’t look good. Then, one night last June, I looked at this photo again and realized I could use that bad light to my advantage. By washing out the image even more, I was able to create a very simple scene of two ships heading out into the foggy unknown.

This image sets my imagination on fire.

Where are they going?

Why are they going there?

What awaits them in the fog?

Will they ever return?

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July Photo of the Month: Sunset over The Minarets, Sierra Navada, CA

July’s photo of the month comes to us from California’s beautiful Sierra Nevada. It was taken on July 23, 2007 from Minaret Summit near Mammoth Mtn Ski Area. I had been on a drive to the Sonora Pass area and was heading back home when I saw the clouds over the Minarets and thought there may be a nice sunset over them. So I headed up to Minaret Summit and waited for the sun to go down.

Though this wasn’t the most spectacular sunset I’d ever seen in the Sierra, I really like this photo. I love the soft colors of the sky against the dark blue shadows of the mountain. The jagged crest of the Minarets contrast nicely with the sky too.

And how can you complain when you get to enjoy a beautiful sunset all by yourself while standing on top of the world!

June Photo of the Month: Sturgeon Bay, Lake Michigan WI

This month’s photo was taken in Sturgeon Bay Wisconsin on June 13, 2009, the day Lynne and I got married. There’s really not much else to say about it, other than it’s a very special photo to us, from a very special place.