Croatia Row Houses

I took this image while on a cruise along the outside boot of Italy, up along the Croatian city states ending in Venice. I saw these houses along the harbor in Split. They looked a bit shabby. But the mixture of colors were wonderful.  With a little Photoshop trickery I took the image of the houses and turned it upside down to form the reflection in the water. For good measure, I replaced the sky with colors after sunset.

We have a hedge along the southern side of our Lake Michigan house. In late autumn it blossoms beautiful light blue flowers. One day a few years ago I was in the house when I noticed that there were at least 20 beautiful monarch butterflies on the hedge out the window. They were feasting on pollen from the flowers. I grabbed my camera and scooted out the door. The butterflies paid no attention to me. They were enraptured by the pollen and probably tired since they were on their annual journey from north America to Mexico. It’s always good to have a camera nearby just in case an opportunity like this pops up.

This may be the most photographed tree on the planet. Located in Wanaka, New Zealand, it was high on my list of photo-gets. The tree was so well known that when we were at a coffee shop in Wanaka, I asked the server "How can I find the tree“?  "The tree" is all I said.  Without hesitation she said "Go 5 miles down this road and you’ll see it on the right."  It is a strange sight, a fully formed tree growing out of a lake.  In this image I changed the color of the leaves to complement the scenery behind it and added a fairly moody sky. This image is one of my favorites.

If you like big rocks, Yosemite is the place to go. Here, looking up a river filled with spring snowmelt, El Capitan is on the left and on the right, a beautiful and very large waterfall. You can you lose yourself in this park, surrounded some of nature's most pleasing Images.

Last October we looked forward to capturing the autumn splendor in Michigan’s upper Peninsula.  The weather was not cooperating and time was slipping by. Then, we found a window of 2 1/2 days of blue sky and sunshine just as the autumn leaves were in for flower.  This image is was taken at the Tecquamin Falls, near Munising, Michigan.  A picture of serenity.

Last December I went to explore Death Valley. The first morning I was there I went to Mesquite Flats Sand Dune. Being at the dunes in the morning gave me great light, bringing out the highlights and shadows.  But the sun was rapidly moving up in the sky toward clouds that would ruin the effect.  So I strapped on my backpack of equipment and trudged through the sand to a high point.  I brought out my telephoto lens and caught this image just in time, before the sun disappeared.  I replaced the distant mountains behind the dunes with blue sky giving the dunes a much greater feeling of height.  I enhanced the shadows with a touch of purple, and brought out the highlights in their natural sand color. Sometimes you win a race with the sun and are rewarded with an image like this.

We live in North County, San Diego, in the winter. It is about a two our drive from there to Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. I went there last April looking for desert flowers and found this gem.  I applied a dark green color cast to the picture, shielding the yellow flower from it. I blurred the background a little more than it had been out of the camera and produced this image. I like it so well that it is the wallpaper on my iPhone.

It’s hard to imagine a photographer who wouldn’t love Venice. I am sure I am not the only one who has pointing their camera in this direction. And I am sure that every photographer who has only had a few days to shoot images here wants more. This has to be one of the most beautiful cities and settings in the world.

We were in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula last fall. The colors were beautiful.  As I walked along a trail that overlooks the lake and a waterfall, I saw a boat livery. There was a stack of canoes and a row of rowboats waiting to be rented. I love images that show repeating patterns. Post processing, I added additional color to the beautiful trees, substituted a sunset sky and added the last glimpse of the sun disappearing behind the trees.  To me, this truly is a pleasing image.

We stopped by Zion National Park last year. It has a lovely drive through majestic mountains and hiking trails that range from easy to totally extreme.  On a trail, I saw this view of a meandering stream with green foliage nestled between colorful peaks. The stream guides the viewer into this peaceful image.

Last summer, gale force winds swept across Lake Michigan. On a rainy day, I drove up to Grand Haven State Park on the shore of the big lake. The wind was howling and I captured a wave breaking on the starboard beacon to the harbor entrance. On the computer, I darkened the scene and added a little drama with a bolt of lightning. I was glad I was standing on the beach that day instead of in my sailboat, rocking and rolling on those angry waves.

Last November we were in Sedona, marveling at the beauty of so many colorful monuments to nature. While hiking, I saw a golden tree with the bright sun and blue sky behind it. I accepted the challenge of producing an image that captured the moment. I took several exposures to blend them together.  I needed one of the sun, darkened down so that it didn't overpower the scene and another of everything else. With help from my computer, this is the striking image I saw on my hike.

I was finishing 2 1/2 days of driving around Death Valley capturing images. After sunset, I  drove back to the motel and stopped at the convenience store across the street. As I walked to the store from the parking lot, the door of the store burst open and a guy ran right past me. He had a camera. I turned around as he passed and this is what I saw:  a super bright totally huge full moon rising from behind the mountain.  One more picture.

Reed and I went to Munising, Michigan last fall. Munising is in the upper Peninsula on the southern shore of Lake Superior. We lucked out with blue sky and spectacular colors.  Few sights are prettier than the tall Northern Michigan forests on a sunny autumn day.  The trees are so tall, I asked Reed to stand in the picture to give perspective to the grandeur of the scene.