This month’s photo comes from my first weekend visiting Kenosha back on the 3rd of March, 2008. This interesting boat is a fish tug, a boat that’s native to the Great Lakes. This fish tug was first created for the commercial fishing industry in the 1930’s. It was designed to stand up to the challenging conditions found on the Great Lakes year around. There are three fish tugs currently in Kenosha Harbor, this was my first encounter with one.

I was out photographing the ice and slush of the harbor when , to my surprise, I heard a boat horn from the lake. I thought I was hearing things. No way was there a boat out there amongst all that ice. Then I saw it. I quickly changed lenses and got four shots fired off before the boat was by me. This image is my favorite of the four.

At the time I had no idea what this boat was, but after some searching online I was able to learn more about the fish tugs and their importance to the fishing history of the Great Lakes. If you’d like to know more about fish tugs, here’s a great source: Fish Tugs of the Greatest Lake

Take this picture of the Wind Point Lighthouse along Lake Michigan in Racine, WI for example. Not to long ago I read a blog post by Greg Russell on his website Alpenglow Images. The post is titled House on Fire ruin – A Vertical Panorama and it’s about how he shot a vertical panorama by stitching together three horizontal pictures. The minute I finished the post I knew the subject I wanted to try this technique on, Wind Point Lighthouse.

Having shot the lighthouse many times, under many different and conditions, I knew in my mind the composition I wanted and the conditions that I wanted to take it in. Let the waiting game begin….

About a week later the conditions I wanted came to be. We had been out shooting an old mill in Illinois when, on the way home, I realized the conditions were perfect for my lighthouse shot. So we drove out there and I took my three horizontal pictures of the lighthouse. When I got home and stitched the pictures together, I was blown away by the result. There in front of me was not only the image I had envisioned, but something much nicer. This was the best picture I had ever taken of the light.

Then another vision came into my head, I saw this picture in black and white. I immediately began to work on the black and white version that I saw in my mind. Everything fell together nicely and within an hour I had this image.

I find that as I get older and more experienced in photography, I’m pre-visualizing photos much more. I still love going out, being spontaneous and taking what Mother Nature gives me, but there is a certain, wonderful feeling when you see an image in your mind, wait for the right conditions, and then make it a reality.

I shot this image on my first visit to Kenosha in March of 2008. Little did I know then how many photos I would eventually take of the lighthouse.

The lighting in this image is very typical of lighting found along Lake Michigan in the Winter months. The dark sky is a cloud bank that forms over the lake providing a wonderful contrast with the snowy foreground, (In fact, as I write this, these same lighting conditions are present).

One of the things I love about photographing this lighthouse is how it’s red color stands out so brightly in an otherwise monochrome scene.

Purchase Prints or Usage Rights for this Image

That almost happened with this image of the sunset over the White Mountains in California. I went out that evening hoping to get sunset pictures of the Sierra Wave that had formed over the Owens Valley. I waited and waited, but the wave clouds never changed color. I finally decided to give up and began loading my gear into the truck. Just as I began to collapse my tripod I noticed a little bit of color hitting the top of White Mtn Peak and thought I might just get lucky. I quickly got my camera back out and within 60 seconds the sky exploded into some of the most amazing color I’ve ever seen. And it all happened away from the waves clouds I had went out to shoot.

Let this be a reminder to never give up on a sunset. You never know when something magical will happen, even if there’s only 5 minutes left in the day.

Purchase Prints or Usage Rights for this Image

Last night I was glancing through some  older photos when this shot of the Minarets, in California’s Sierra Nevada, caught my attention. Now, I’ve had this image for 5 years and I’ve never imagined it as anything other than a color image, but when I looked at  it last night, I immediately saw it as a black and white and knew exactly how I wanted it to look.

It’s moments of inspiration like this, that keep my love of photography so strong. With the modern digital dark room anything is possible, and it’s a wonderful feeling to know that at any time one of my older images can be reborn.

Purchase Prints or Usage Rights for the Print

The list grew 30% this year and is now at 124 photographers. There are some really great photographs and photographers on this list. Enjoy!

Best Photos of 2009

1. Best Photos of 2009 – Jim M. Goldstein | JMG-Galleries
2. Best of 2009 Photo Set – Heikki Salmi
3. Top 10 2009 – Chris Moore | Exploring Light Photography
4. Best of 2009 – Wat Chedi Luang | FocusPocus
5. Best of 2009 – Dave Wilson | News and Views
6. Five For Friday – Favorites of 2009 - Craig Ferguson Images | Cultural Photography
7. Best Photos of 2009 – David Cleland | Flixelpix
8. Best Photos 2009 – Chuq Von Rospach | chuqui 3.0
9. 2009 Favorites – G Dan Mitchell | G Dan Mitchell Photography
10. Best of 2009 – Roberta Murray | Uncommon Depth
11. My Year in Pictures – Jon McCormack Photography
12. Top 10 Photos of 2009 – Steven Bourelle | SierraVisions
13. 2009: Year in Review – Stephen Zacharias
14. 2009 – A Photographic Year in Review – David Taylor | Sixtyone North
15. Best Photos of 2009 – Tony Rath Photography
16. Top 10 of 2009 – Steve Cole Photography Blog
17. my top ten shots of 2009 – Tom Varden
18. Best of 2009 – Mario Batalla
19. My Top 10 Photos from 2009 – Justin Korn [dot] com
20. Best of 2009 – Inge Fernau | Magical Glow Photography
21. My Favorite Photos From 2009 – Brian Auer | Epic Edits
22. Best Photos From 2009 – Janis Janums Photography
23. Best of 2009 – Tim Parkin | Still Developing
24. 2009 Retrospective – Jan Klier | AllKlier Photography
25. Best of 2009 – Jenni Brehm | Changing Perspectives
26. 2009 in Pictures – Hitesh Sawlani | A Visual Treat
27. Year 2009 in pictures – Minna Kinnunen | The Quiet Picture
28. 2009 in front of my Lens – Marcin Retecki Photography
29. Best of 2009 – Peter Carr | Vanilla Days
30. Best of 2009 – Dave Reichert
31. My top favourites from 2009 – Ricky Law
32. Best of 2009 – Joshua Beckman |PhotoVandal
33. 2009 Top Ten – Jessica Sweeney | Quotidian Photography
34. My favourite shots in 2009 – Catalin Marin | Momentary Awe
35. Best Photos of 2009 – Suzy Walker | Reef Beasties
36. My Best of 2009! – Michelle Johnson | My Two Seasons
37. The Best of 2009 – Photographic Phantasy: Photography by Samantha Genier
38. Best of Photos Part I-IV - Chuck Goolsbee
39. Statue of Liberty 2009 – Scott Dunn
40. My Favorite Photos of 2009 – Ed Rosack | Central Florida Photo Ops
41. Best Photos from 2009 – Jim Wheeler
42. Year in Review 2009 – Laurie Ballesteros | Photine
43. Favorites of the Year – Ken Trout | Lunch is Optional
44. Year 2009 in Korwel photography – Iza Korwel | Korwel Photography
45. Best of 2009 – Uschi Gerschner Photography
46. Top Five Images from 2009 and Keeping It New – Mike Cavaroc
47. Wrapping up 2009 – Ivan Makarov Photography
48. Favourite Nine from 2009 – Todd Metcalfe | Daily Grind Photography
49. Favorite Images of 2009! – Allison Pluda | Seneca Creek Photography
50. Best photos of 2009: Non Portrait Pictures – Julie Provost | Julie Loves Photography
51. 2009 in 12 beelden – Jeroen Mentens | FaunaFlora.org
52. Reflections on images of 2009 – Mark Graf | Graf Nature & Wildlife Photography
53. An End of Year Retrospective for 2009 – Derrald Farnsworth-Livingston | Journey of Light Photography
54. Top Ten Photos Of 2009 – Jed Link | Mr. & Mrs. Link
55. YEAR IN REVIEW – TOP 5′S OF 2009 – Matt Graham
56. Ten Best for 2009 – Dan Baumbach
57. Top 10 Photographs For 2009 - Seung Kye Lee – fine art landscape photography
58. My 10 Favorite photos of 2009 – Alex Budak | Unpopped Collar
59. Best Photos of 2009 – Dave Hammaker Photography
60. My Best Photos of 2009 – D. Travis North | Shutter Photo
61. Favourite Pictures of 2009 – Janne Moren | Janne in Osaka
62. My Best Photos of 2009 – Michael Spivak | Developing The Fixer
63. 2009 Favourite – Marc Hodges | sevennine
64. NZ Opera: Macbeth behind the scenes – Alexia Sinclair
65. The Best of ‘09 – Porter Watkins
66. Respect - Paul (Slimeface) Tarin
67. Best Images for 2009 – Giovanni Russello | GRGalleries
68. Happy 2010 / Best of 2009 – William Neill Photography
69. Top 10 Photos of 2009 – Digital Kloc Photography
70. Best Photos of 2009 – Dave Schumaker
71. Best of 2009 – G. Kaltenbrun | gZphotoGraphs
72. Favourite landscape photographs from 2009 – Jonathan Martin-DeMoor | Silvicola borealis Images
73. Top 5 of 2009 - Jim Maher | Jim Maher Photoworks
74. Favourites 2009 – Chris Gin
75. Best Photographs of 2009: Globetrotting – Justin Shifrin | J. Stuart Studios
76. Best 10 of 2009 – Duffy Knox | The View Through My Glass
77. Best of 2009 – Rian Castillo | Digitized Chaos
78. Best of 2009 – Rick Goldwasser
79. Best of 2009 – Jeremy Brooks
80. My best from 2009 – Massimo Belloni
81. Favorites of 2009 – Pat Ulrich Photography
82. Best Photos of 2009 – Nick Fuller | JadeGreenImage
83. Best of 2009 – Stig Nygaard | Rockland
84. My Fave 5 from 2009 – Greg Russell Russell
85. Best Images of 2009 – Peter Cox Photography
86. My Favourite Photos of 2009 – Daniel Loshak
87. Favorite photo – Lacey Smith | Lace’s Photography
88. 2009 Year in Pictures - Lane Hartwell | The Post and Review
89. Ten More from 2009 - Ann Torrence
90. Best of 2009 – Ken Snyder
91. Best of 2009 – Simon Ponder | Simon Says
92. TOP Photos of 2009 - Gary Crabbe | Enlightened Images
93. 2009 Top 10 – Steven Scherbinski | Randomness
94. Looking back, looking forward - Kevin Ebi | Living Wilderness Nature Photography
95. Best of 2009 – Todd Heckert | Great Lakes Exposure
96. MY BEST PHOTOS of 2009 – Sean Willis Photography
97. Best Photos of 2009 – Andre Maltais | Maltphoto
98. Top 9 of 2009! – Jenna Stirling
99. 2009 in review, the photo version – Sam Bloomberg-Rissman Photography
100. Favorite Photos from 2009 – Ron Niebrugge | Niebrugge Images
101. Niner for Zero Niner before Zero Niner of Zero Ten - Jay Goodrich Photography
102. Best of 2009 – Prajit Ravindran
103. Photos of 2009 + Flickr Set- Carl Donohue | Skolai Images
104. Top 12, 2009 – John Fujimagari
105. Top 10 Photos of 2009 – Mike Criss
106. 2009 IN REVIEW – Kriz Cpec | kRiZ cPEc Photo Blog
107. My Favorite Photos of 2009 – Greg Lato | latoga photography
108. Best of 2009 – Andree Oulmann | On Linden Way
109. 10 Favorite Pictures of 2009 – Chris Williams | Hidden Light Photography
110. Your Best Photos From 2009 – Gurbir Singh Brar | Fotovala
111. Landscape Photography My Best of 2009 – Steve Sieren
112. Best of 2009 – Torsten Curdt
113. Best of 2009 – Stefan Neuweger | addicted2pixels
114. Image Picks from 2009 – Neil Corman Photography
115. Jahresrückblick (fotografisch) – Steffen Goethling | Lens-Flare.de
116. Best Photos of 2009 – Mike Reys |pl?dys
117. My Best Photos from 2009 – Terri Jacobson | Greyhound Gardens
118. My best photos of 2009 – Bryan Villarin | All Narfed Up
119. Best of 2009 – Heidi Donat
120. Best of 2009 – Pedja Pavlicic
121. Best of 2009 – Matthew Sallee | IAmMatt
122. Best of 2009 – Go2Grl
123. 10 Top Photos of 2009 – Gavriel Jecan Photography
124. My Top 10 Photos for 2009 – Neil Creek Photography

I try to always keep the possibility of a pano in mind when I’m out shooting. Many times I’m so caught up in the moment that I forget about panos, that’s what almost happened in this image. Other times, I’ll see the scene and know right away that I’m shooting a pano, (The header image for this site is an example) .

When I shoot a pano, I like to keep the picture count down. I try to make the pano with less than 5 pictures. I feel 3 or 4 are the perfect number. The main reason for this, I don’t care for long, skinny panos. I like my images to have some width to them. 3-4 pictures creates a nice width to the pano.

It’s important to remember to overlap each picture and try to keep the horizon as level as possible. I actually find it easier to keep the horizon level if I hand hold the camera while shooting panos. Of course if your shooting at slow shutter speeds, this is impossible, so make sure your tripod is very level.

I use the free program AutoStitch to stitch together my panos. It does an amazing job of aligning the images and matching the colors and contrast. Of all the pano programs I’ve used, and there have been many, AutoStitch is the simplest and best. Unfortunately it’s only for Windows, sorry Mac folks. There is a program for Macs called AutoPano Pro, and it uses the AutoStich engine

So, the next time your out shooting, remember the panoramic image. Some amazing images can be made by combining a few pictures together.

This is my third winter in Wisconsin and I now know how important good gloves are for winter photography. For my first winter here, I had a pair of Black Diamond fleece gloves that are wind proof and very warm, but working the camera with them was cumbersome so every time I touched the camera, I took them off. This led to some very cold hands. In fact, one time I was probably on the verge of frostbite since I couldn’t feel my fingers anymore.

Since I love those gloves and didn’t want to replace them, I decided last winter to see if I could adjust and shoot with them on. I found that I could do it, but I also found that my thumb would bump buttons on the back of the camera and change  settings without me knowing it. It became very distracting having to double check my camera settings all the time. I also discovered that if these gloves got wet, they were useless.

This year I decided it was time for a change. While we were on vacation in California I found a pair of gloves that I thought might work this winter.

The gloves I bought are made by Red Ledge. They are wind proof, water proof and very warm. They are actually fingerless mittens that have a fold back top. The top is secured in the open position by very strong Velcro. The thumb also folds back on these gloves.

The first test for these gloves was this fall. While shooting fall colors we had some temperatures at or near freezing. The gloves worked great, but I was concerned about my bare fingers sticking out. It wasn’t bad at 32 degrees, but once the temps dropped into the single digits and the windchill went below zero I wondered if these gloves would work.

I thought about this a lot during the fall and decided to look into some thin glove liners to wear under the mittens. While at the Bass Pro Shops store one day I found some liners made by GameGuard. They’re made for hunters, but they work great for photography too. They’re thin, cotton gloves with very small rubber beads on the palm. Because they’re thin and fit snugly, you can feel your camera controls perfectly, and the small rubber beads help you keep a hold of the camera.

Last Sunday this glove combination got put to it’s first real test. We were out photographing the ice shelf along Lake Michigan (See photo above or the rest here.). The temp was 18 degrees with a windchill of 3. How did the gloves do? Awesome! My hands never got cold. The couple of times my fingertips started to get cold I just flipped the mitten top down and they warmed right back up. I had no problem working the camera controls or changing lenses and because the thumb top flips up, I didn’t have to worry about accidentally changing settings.

I don’t know if this combination would work for everyone, but it seems to work well for me. So if you’re going to be shooting out in frigid temperatures this winter, you might want to consider a glove setup similar to this.

This year’s top 10 images are a pretty diverse group that really show how my photography has changed in the last few years. Once again I’ve chosen these photos not because they are the best of the year, though some of them are, but because they are the most memorable to me. Hope you enjoy them.

————————————————————–

#10: Kewaunee South Pierhead Lighthouse, Kewaunee WI, Shot 6/16/09

This image is a perfect example of not giving up on a photo. The lighting on the day I shot this was horrible. It was hazy, the sky was washed out and the light was very harsh. The only reason I took the picture was to have an image for the lighthouse collection. Once I began working on the black and white version though, magical things started happening and a nostalgic feel came to the picture. I love the feeling of this image. It’s as if it could have been shot a hundred years ago. It also brings the question to mind, “Wonder how the fishin’ is?”

#9: Bald Eagle at Starved Rock State Park, IL, Shot 1/31/09

What an awesome day this was. There were over 50 Bald Eagles along the Illinois River that day and I got some amazing photos of them. Of the hundreds of photos I took that day though, this one has always stood out in my mind. To me this image shows the whole experience of being there. Not only is there the eagle, but there’s also the natural beauty of the river and the woods along it.

#8: Hyde’s Mill, Hyde WI, Shot 10/4/09

Before I had even seen Hyde’s Mill in person, I had this image in my mind. I had seen pictures of the mill and knew that I wanted a sepia image of it. Luckily the conditions were right when we got to the mill and I was able to get my image. A lot of post processing went into this image, including the removal of two signs on the building. I removed them to help create the old-time feeling of the image.

#7: Unnamed Eastern Sierra Peak, Eastern Sierra CA, Shot 5/3/09

This shot comes from our trip last spring to my former home in Bishop CA. It was taken in the Buttermilk Hills while shooting the sunrise with our friend Kahlee. Once I saw the image on the computer I knew it would make a great black and white. Of all the black and white images I made this past year, this may be my favorite.

#6: Chapel in the Woods, Waupaca WI, Shot 10/10/09

Finding this hidden treasure in the woods was one of the great highlights of the year. Not only is the location beautiful, with a river and a covered bridge nearby, but finding it when the trees were at their autumn peak was awesome. I think Lynne and I could have spent all day here, but there were two weddings that day so we had to leave.

#5: Shelf Cloud, Kenosha WI, Shot 8/9/09

Ever since I saw my first shelf cloud in the summer of 2008 I wanted a picture of one. I finally got it on this day. I had tracked these thunderstorms all day and as they moved into our area I was ready with the camera. Standing on our balcony I captured shot after shot of the cloud moving in. In this image it is directly above me. A few minutes after this image was taken, all hell broke loose as 50 mph winds and a huge downpour pounded us. I was back in the house by then.

#4: Lake Michigan Fisherman at Sunrise, Kenosha Wi, Shot 9/18/09

At the end of August and through the autumn months, fishermen line up along the shore of Lake Michigan trying to catch the Chinook Salmon that have moved in where the Pike River flows into the lake. I had a few ideas for pictures of the fishermen and this was one of them. I love this image for many reasons, but mostly I love it because it reminds me of my dad. I can’t tell you how many times I saw dad mess with his fly or bait standing just like the fisherman in the photo.

#3: Burro in My Window, Custer State Park, South Dakota, Shot 5/7/09

The memories that this friendly burro left us with will never vanish. Lynne, Mom and I were laughing so hard at this guy that it’s amazing we even got a picture. Looking at this photo brings it all back and I have a huge smile on my face right now. We still joke about the burro rangers checking to make sure you paid your entrance fee
To see another view of this guy, here’s Lynne’s picture taken from the passenger seat at the same time I took this one: Lynne’s Photo

#2 Backlit Rose, Shot 9/20/09

I would consider this one of my top five photos ever. My mother in law gave me this rose to photograph and it was Lynne’s idea to put a flashlight behind it and light it up. I think we played with this rose and the flashlights for a couple hours. This is my favorite image from the shoot.

#1 Wildflowers and Green Bay, Sturgeon Bay, WI, Shot 6/13/09

There’s one reason why this image in number one, it was shot on the day Lynne and I were married and my new bride was standing at my side when I shot it

————————————————————–

There you have it, my top 10 images for 2009. Once again Happy New Year to everyone and thanks for supporting me and SierraVisions for another year. You guys are what keeps me going.

Beginning Thanksgiving Day and running through Sunday, November 29,
prints on all 478 images in my gallery will be
on sale for 50% off.

• 8×10………$10.00
• 11×14……..$20.00
• 16×20…….$47.50
• 20×30……$92.50
• 30×40……$125.00

What better Christmas gift for a lover of the outdoors than a beautiful print from the Sierra Nevada, Wisconsin or the many places I’ve traveled in between.

I only do this once a year, so don’t miss your chance to get
beautiful print at a 50% discount.

Go To the Gallery