Archive for the 'Nautical' Category

North Point Lighthouse

September 23rd, 2010

The North Point Lighthouse is one of Milwaukee’s treasures. The current lighthouse is 74 feet tall and when it was in operation it contained a Forth Order Fresnel Lens. In 2007, the lighthouse and keepers house were completely restored to early 20th century splendor and are now open to the public for tours and visits.

The history of this light is very interesting. It was originally built in 1855 on a bluff 100 feet east of it’s present location. The first tower was 28 feet in height, but because it was on the bluff, it towered 107 feet above Lake Michigan.

In the 1870′s, shore erosion along the bluff caused 16 feet of the lighthouse’s front yard to fall to the the beach below, so the government decided to rebuild the lighthouse 100 feet farther inland. The new lighthouse was finished in 1887 and was 39 feet tall. The keepers quarters were built the next year in 1888.

At the turn of the century another problem hit the lighthouse, the trees in Lake Park began to block the light and ships on the lake could no longer see it. So instead of cutting the trees down, congress in all of it’s wisdom, stopped funding for the lighthouse and it was shut down in 1907. Later that year an organization in Milwaukee went to work to get the light back on. In 1909 a bill was passed and in 1912 work began on a 35 foot steel structure next to the lighthouse. When that structure was finished, the old light tower and it’s lens were rebuilt on top of it to create the 74 foot tower we see today. The lighthouse remained in operation by the US Coast Guard until 1994. The lighthouse is currently owned by Milwaukee County and leased by the North Point Lighthouse Friends.

This photo didn’t take much thought, the composition was right there in front of me. The trees grow in such a way that the lighthouse is perfectly framed by them. Whether the trees grow like that naturally, or have been trimmed that way, I don’t know. It sure makes for a great photo though.

I knew immediately that this was going to be a black and white image. I wasn’t looking to give it an old time feel, I just wanted a nice black and white photo. The contrast of the white house and tower work great with the dark trees. Though the sky is overcast and washed out, it isn’t as much of an issue in black and white as it is in color. I really like how this image turned out.

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HMS Bounty and Kenosha Pierhead Lighthouse

September 9th, 2010

August was a tremendous month for tall ships on Lake Michigan. Many ports were visited by the ships as they sailed to the different tall ship festivals taking place across the lake. Here in Kenosha, we were lucky enough to have six tall ships stop overnight as they sailed north after the Chicago Tall Ship Festival.

Thankfully, Lynne saw three of the ships anchored outside of the Kenosha Harbor as she was driving to work one morning. She called me to let me know they were there. If she hadn’t called, I would have never known. One of the ships anchored offshore was the HMS Bounty, my favorite. This image was made about an hour after I got there. The Bounty had  set three sails and was beginning to pull out.

A few days after I shot this, I began to play around with a black and white version of it. I was happy with that version, but it just didn’t seem to be finished to me, so I left it for a few days. When I looked at the black and white a few days later I realized what was missing, the red in the lighthouse. The Kenosha Pierhead Lighthouse is one of many lighthouses on Lake Michigan painted in red, it’s kind of a trademark of these lights. The lighthouse just didn’t look right in the black and white version. I didn’t want to bring out all of the red, so I brought back just a little of it. I also brought back some of the color in the Bounty. Overall I wanted the image to have an aged appearance to it.

I love shots like this because it’s impossible to tell if it was taken yesterday, or a hundred years ago.

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Port Washington Maritime Heritage Festival

August 24th, 2010

This past weekend was the annual Port Washington Maritime Heritage Festival. The festival is a celebration of Wisconsin and Lake Michigan’s maritime tradition. While there is plenty to do at the festival, the biggest attractions are the tall ships. This year they had five tall ships at the festival, the Lynx, Unicorn, Roseway, Pride of Baltimore II and the star of the show, the Bounty.

While I had been looking forward to the festival all summer, I was especially excited about it after seeing all of these ships in Sturgeon Bay 10 days earlier. At that time I was able to photograph the ships under sail, this time I’d be able to get up close and personal with them. They didn’t disappoint. It was especially exciting to board three of the ships, including the Bounty. Walking the decks of these grand ships provides thousands of photo opportunities. The longer I stayed on board, the more things I saw to photograph.

It was a truly magical day. Here is a slide show of my best images from Sunday. I highly recommend that you watch it full screen by clicking the icon in the lower right corner. I will of course have many more photos to share with you once I have a chance to fully dive into them and bring out my artistic interpretations. Until then, enjoy the slide show.

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2010 Port Washington Maritime Heritage Festival – Images by Steven Bourelle

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HMS Bounty

August 19th, 2010

One of the great joys of the Green Bay Tall Ships Parade of Sail was seeing the HMS Bounty. When she rounded the corner and came into view, it took my breath away. What a beautiful ship! I think I shot more photos of her than any other ship in the parade.

The Bounty is a replica of the original Bounty that was part of the British Navy in 1787. She was built in 1960 for MGM Studios for the movie Mutiny on the Bounty. The original drawings from the British admiralty archives were used in the building of the ship. She is currently owned by the HMS Bounty Organization LLC, and is used for educational purposes and the teaching of square rigged sailing.

The Bounty has also been in many other movies. She played a roll in Pirates of the Caribbean II, and was also in the modern version of Treasure Island, just to mention a couple.

My next rendezvous with the Bounty will be in Port Washington this weekend. I’m so looking forward to seeing her close up and walking her decks. I’m sure there are hundreds of photos just waiting to be taken on the wonderful ship.

To learn more about the HMS Bounty, visit her web site at TallShipBounty.org

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