Exploring Wisconsin
Taken on the morning of April 1st, 2022 from the East Tower of Blue Mounds State Park.
May 6th, 2021 The view of the farmland north from the overlook near the East Tower on top of the hill at Blue Mounds State Park.
Ridgeway Pine Relict State Natural Area Barred owl, Strix varia September 11th, 2020
Ridgeway Pine Relict State Natural Area Barred owl, Strix varia September 11th, 2020
Ridgeway Pine Relict State Natural Area Barred owl, Strix varia September 11th, 2020
Ridgeway Pine Relict State Natural Area Barred owl, Strix varia September 11th, 2020
Ridgeway Pine Relict State Natural Area Barred owl, Strix varia September 11th, 2020
Ridgeway Pine Relict State Natural Area Barred owl, Strix varia September 11th, 2020
Summer of 2020 Zwettler Rd, Blue Mounds, WI
As we traced a winding curve along a ridge line over looking small, yet deep valleys I happened to spot movement in the fields. A dark shape moved through the rows and seemed to melt below the surface of the vibrant crop. We then had a little waiting game for a while. A tiny speck of darkness stood out amongst the foliage, it’s little domed head barely above the leaves. Eventually I had to pretend to “move on” like I hadn’t spotted it. That’s when it’s head popped up like a submarine's periscope! It’s a wild turkey if you’re curious.
May 26th 2020 - Covidiots Abound
The delusional are swarming Wisconsin's tourist towns in counties without restrictions. Bars are full and streets are packed with people, nearly all of whom won't take any preventative measures. People are freaking out about wearing/not wearing masks in public. We wear ours when we have to go into a store or something, which is rare. Our family is mostly keeping to ourselves. We've allowed our daughter, who is 12yo, visit with her a few of her friends and my wife's mother has been over for dinner, though we stayed far apart. Life is lurching forward with all the elegance of a drunken zombie. I have personally come close to being in physical altercations with fools. Just because a person wears a mask doesn't mean they are afraid. It seems pack mentality emboldens groups of people who can't handle inconvenience. I don't play. The irony is in the fact that I have worked so hard for the past few years in order to promote the amazing place where we live. My photography has been prominent in a lot of the regional marketing. Now people who can't stand being pent up in their homes in other states are heading our way. I don't have a problem with people trying to actually enjoy being alive. I just have issues with fools who don't give a rat's ass about anything other than what goes in their mouths, whether that be food, drinks or people. The second wave of the virus is expected soon enough. Until then we're holding onto our butts and keeping our heads. Taking excursions around our local area to capture it's beauty helps. This time I'm not creating marketing material. I'm just trying to create.
May 26th 2020 - Covidiots Abound
The delusional are swarming Wisconsin's tourist towns in counties without restrictions. Bars are full and streets are packed with people, nearly all of whom won't take any preventative measures. People are freaking out about wearing/not wearing masks in public. We wear ours when we have to go into a store or something, which is rare. Our family is mostly keeping to ourselves. We've allowed our daughter, who is 12yo, visit with her a few of her friends and my wife's mother has been over for dinner, though we stayed far apart. Life is lurching forward with all the elegance of a drunken zombie. I have personally come close to being in physical altercations with fools. Just because a person wears a mask doesn't mean they are afraid. It seems pack mentality emboldens groups of people who can't handle inconvenience. I don't play. The irony is in the fact that I have worked so hard for the past few years in order to promote the amazing place where we live. My photography has been prominent in a lot of the regional marketing. Now people who can't stand being pent up in their homes in other states are heading our way. I don't have a problem with people trying to actually enjoy being alive. I just have issues with fools who don't give a rat's ass about anything other than what goes in their mouths, whether that be food, drinks or people. The second wave of the virus is expected soon enough. Until then we're holding onto our butts and keeping our heads. Taking excursions around our local area to capture it's beauty helps. This time I'm not creating marketing material. I'm just trying to create.
May 26th 2020 - Covidiots Abound
The delusional are swarming Wisconsin's tourist towns in counties without restrictions. Bars are full and streets are packed with people, nearly all of whom won't take any preventative measures. People are freaking out about wearing/not wearing masks in public. We wear ours when we have to go into a store or something, which is rare. Our family is mostly keeping to ourselves. We've allowed our daughter, who is 12yo, visit with her a few of her friends and my wife's mother has been over for dinner, though we stayed far apart. Life is lurching forward with all the elegance of a drunken zombie. I have personally come close to being in physical altercations with fools. Just because a person wears a mask doesn't mean they are afraid. It seems pack mentality emboldens groups of people who can't handle inconvenience. I don't play. The irony is in the fact that I have worked so hard for the past few years in order to promote the amazing place where we live. My photography has been prominent in a lot of the regional marketing. Now people who can't stand being pent up in their homes in other states are heading our way. I don't have a problem with people trying to actually enjoy being alive. I just have issues with fools who don't give a rat's ass about anything other than what goes in their mouths, whether that be food, drinks or people. The second wave of the virus is expected soon enough. Until then we're holding onto our butts and keeping our heads. Taking excursions around our local area to capture it's beauty helps. This time I'm not creating marketing material. I'm just trying to create.
Pleasant Valley Conservancy State Natural Area
May 11th 2020 - Creative Intuition
As an artist I am simply going to follow my intuitions on when to go take photographs with my gear. Over the past few years I began to form a curious habit. I began to only selectively use my "pro" camera gear for very specific causes. My wedding endeavors transformed from a traditional business into more of a very select clientele sort of thing. I rarely used my camera gear for creative play unless I was partnering with an artistic conspirator. The times have forced us all to close in on ourselves in ways we may not have expected. For me it's been an opportunity to be the artist I mean to become. In some small way I hope that by sharing how beautiful I see the world, even while understanding, and excepting at how brutal and deadly life truly is, I can help at least one other find balance. It's as if I am condensing down to only the essentials. This creative, intuitive play seems to be one of the most.
Dicentra cucullaria
Baltimore oriole, Icterus galbula
American yellow warbler, Setophaga petechia
April 30th 2020 - Driftless Timing
We had a sudden break in the weather at the end of April. The sudden warmth called to me and I followed. Camera gear at the ready, just rolling through the winding valleys I found myself on a Jeep trail. The Lower Wisconsin State Riverway has a few short, dirt trails. There's a small fording but there were some guys enjoying their fishing and there's no way I wanted to mess up their spot. I parked a bit further away from them and made my way along the edge of the marsh, which was saturated and overflowing. Old flood channels cut snaking, moat-like ribbons through the trees. As I found an opening in the crown of branches an eagle flew into my view. Sometimes timing is like that.
April 26th 2020 - Staying in the Park
We've all been home for around six weeks or so. I have only left to go to the store twice. Other than that I rarely leave the house unless it's to go into the nearby park. Today my wife joined me on a long hike. It was easy to stay very far from other people. Until better testing is done we feel it's best to continue to isolate ourselves. Our only concern is the lack of in person socialization that our daughter is missing out on. Getting back to the hike. I stopped to photograph a few flowers. Bloodroots have formed a nice patch near an old oak. There were a number of small bees as well but I didn't get to photograph any. I also carried my long 400mm lens. Unfortunately it's very slow to focus and only has a 5.6 f-stop. That meant the one turkey that flew from cover was really hard to find, track and shoot. I managed to get it in view but the slow f-stop foiled any chance of crisp image. Oh well. I was just happy to still be able to carry it for miles and get in on target quickly. The damn thing weighs a ton... As for the rest of the world, it seems to dividing between those who want to listen to doctors and those who want to inject bleach.
April 16 2020 - Stay at Home Extended
We learned today that the state will stay basically shutdown until the end of May. We're very fortunate in that we can more or less stay isolated. I've been busy working on various tasks around the house, taking care of my family's needs and trying to figure out how to proceed. It's a whole new world and I need to figure out how I, as an artist, can make a living. All of the endeavors that had been progressing nicely all evaporated when this Pandemic began. While I have heard back from the museum that the exhibit currently featuring my work will be extended once they reopen, I am not sure what else I have in store. My wife is encouraging me to begin writing. I guess we'll see if anything worthy of note transpires?
I took a hike around the park next to our home. The weather was unsettled. It would be sunny and then suddenly snow. I spotted a number of birds and managed to photograph a few.
I took a hike around the park next to our home. The weather was unsettled. It would be sunny and then suddenly snow. I spotted a number of birds and managed to photograph a few.
