Poor tree! You grow for years on the side of the mountain and just mind your own business. Then one day along comes the insects. The tunnel under your skin and eat away. Nothing you can do. Then one day along comes an elk. Beautiful animal! Majestic animal! Itchy animal! Just walks up and scrapes off you bark! At least it got rid of the insects... Canon 5d Mk III | Canon 35mm f/2 II | 1/320s at f/5.6
Tired of the same old 4th of July fireworks pictures I did something different. Long exposure and I played with the focus to get some different effects. So much fun! Canon 7d | Canon EF 60mm macro | 2s at f/2.8
Just hanging with friends before the light parade in Neenah. Canon 5d MkIII | Canon 35mm f/2 IS | 1/80s at f/5.6
Funny thing about photography. You spend lots of money on high falutin' equipment to get the ultimate in image quality. And then you take a picture that fills you emotional self with joy - but it is technically horrible! How can something be beautiful and horrible all at the same time? The answer is simple: a picture is about telling a story. This picture is about joy and happiness and you don't need sharpness and resolution to achieve that! Good thing to remember when I get the urge to buy the next best thing - I don't really need it!…
The firefly population is growing in the Town of Neenah. They seem to like warm Summer nights. This is a long exposure shot taken on a tripod near my home. Canon 7D | Rokinon 16-35mm | 16mm | 6s at f/3.2
Doing a negative scan and cleanup for friend. He purchased this negative that depicts his year make and model Rambler. As near as I can tell this is a 1959 Rambler and got a wonderful 36.88 mpg in it's LA to New York trip. The mileage contest was sponsored by Mobilgas.
The Strawberry moon rises over Lake Winnebago. The full moon in June is known as the strawberry moon - guess it is time to pick! This year the full moon came on the Summer Solstice (the longest day of the year). Won't happen again in my lifetime! There are two difficult things about photographing the moon - it is so bright and it moves pretty fast. Where you usually have to crank up the ISO and slow down the shutter for the moon you need a pretty fast shutter and a low ISO. This was taken at 400mm so the…
What do you do when you reach the end of the road? Stop for lunch, of course! Still a lot of snow in the mountains of Colorado so we went up to see how far the road went. Just above 9,000 feet we came to a huge snow drift across the road. "No problem, we have 4 wheel drive" the kid in me bragged, "Four people found frozen to death stuck in the mountains" the old guy in me warned. The old guy won! Anyway it was a pretty spot to stop for a picnic. I made a series of…
Just a quiet Sunday afternoon around Neenah. Playing with my newest toy - Canon 2X extender. This doubles the focal length of some of the canon "L" series lenses. I didn't want to spend the money for a super telephoto lens as I though I would not use it enough to justify the expense. Also nice not to have to lug a super around along with a shorter lens. Look for more photos in the coming weeks. Canon 5d MkIII | Canon 70-200 f/2.8 L II | 400mm | 1/400s f/5.6
The Frisco Emporium, Colorado, is an amazing store full of every variety of junk you can imagine. Now some people see this stuff as treasures so who am I to judge? I liked this composition so much because of the interesting lines. They draw your eyes into the frame. I converted to black and white because the color was just too distracting. Canon 5d MKIII | Canon 35mm f/2 II | 1/30s f/4.0
Just a quick portrait in Steamboat Colorado. Funny how the non-posed / non-professional pictures are sometimes the best... Natural expression and so much in those beautiful eyes! Taken with my Canon 35mm f/2 lens. Usually 35mm is not a good portrait focal length as there can be distortion if you are not careful. Taken at f/3.2 which gives a good focus on her face while producing a nice background blur. I love this lens at is gives a classic organic feel - it sees the world how my eyes see the world. I tried the newest 35mm lenses and…
Back from a much needed vacation! We had a wonderful time in Colorado and did something fun and interesting every day. Not a "photo" vacation so I only took my 35mm lens and Canon 5d with. Still grabbed some nice pictures.
It was Flower Sale Day at St. Mark's. This was my favorite shot of the day. Not sure why... Not a perfect flower and not the best lighting. Maybe I like it because it looks real. So often photos are over processed and over saturated and over sharpened and they just don't look real. They might look beautiful - but life isn't perfect. Neither am I! Canon 5d MkIII | Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L | 1/80s at f/5.0
A kind of boring building can become magical at night with the right lighting. Maybe its the same with people; if we see them in the proper light we find out who they really are... Maybe that thought is too deep for a Wednesday morning... Anyhow, this photo is kind of extraordinary in a way. Not too many years ago this photo would have been impossible. I took this handheld at 1/30s and ISO 4000. Big deal you might say. Well, only a few years ago ISO 4000 was impossible - no film (at least available to a normal person)…
Just some fun on a Friday. The sun is coming our and maybe it will be warm today. I'll risk it to say Spring is Here! This is a composition (I think it's pretty obvious) of some fun photos. Friday should be about fun so here it is!
Will Spring never come?!? Here it is May and still in the 40's for temperatures. Rode my bike to work yesterday and froze my hands and arms! On the bright side think how bad it would be without global warming! Taken in the Town of Neenah on Oak Ridge Road. Had to get my feet wet but all great art requires suffering (that's what we tell our selves when we are standing in cold water in the rain). I am not sure why but the original picture just screamed out "high key sepia" so that's how I processed it. Conventional…
My neighbors out for a walk on the first night of May. You see them, don't you? Dead center at the bottom of the frame. I did not see them when I took this either - too busy enjoying the glory of a beautiful sunset. Life is like that sometimes. You look at one thing and miss another. That is the joy, and the problem with photographs. You capture a moment in time it all its detail and beauty and imperfection. You also create an image that might interfere with your memory. I only remember the sunet but there were…
A texting break on River Street in Savannah. It is always nice to get away from the kitchen and spend some time on your life. It is so interesting to think that here in the alley it is quiet and almost nobody around, but just the other side of the building is crowds and noise and a parade of tourists. It is good to find some refuge in life if only for a little bit. Taken with a Panasonic Lumix Lx7. Lx7 | 9.8mm | 1/40s at f/2
Chaos, disorder, mayhem, pandemonium... sometimes I feel like I live in a whirlwind! This is not bad - it is actually quite good and fun and exciting! I have so much going on and so many wonderful things in my life. It's just sometimes I would like a few days of nothing! Just sit around and veg for a while. Of course, I would get bored in a day or two and then "off to the races!" This is just a random picture from Doty Island this weekend. Don't know who put up all the pinwheels. Were they just for…
A chilly Friday night at Asylum Point, Lake Winnebago, for the moonrise. We caught some really nice pictures so it was worth freezing! These shots were captured by my "Guest Photographer" Lily. Excellent job!
Cathedral of Saint John The Baptist in Savannah Georgia. A composite of 10 images showing the vaulted ceiling of the church. The construction of the church started in 1873. Panasonic Lumix LX7 | 4.7mm | 1/6s f/3.2
Hanging out at on the deck on a Saturday night. Taken with Canon 50mm f/1.4 lens. Not my favorite lens as I do not use it much, but when it's dark the large aperture comes in handy for keeping the ISO (and noise) down. This picture is right out of the camera with minimal processing. Canon 5d MkIII | Canon 50mm f/1.4 | 1/40s at f/1.4
Questions. We all have them - at least I do and I think everyone else does too... My friend Mollie took this picture at church on Sunday. I asked her to take my camera and get some "Children's Time" pictures. Lot's of nice shots but this one really stands out. Mollie called it "artistic" and I think it it is. I don't know if she focused on his arm on purpose or it just happened but I am glad in any case. Good pictures tell a story and leave you wanting to know more! What did he want to say?…
Captain Steve patrols the skies over France! Working on "Steve's World" and having a lot of fun. This is a heavily edited composition and I don't even know where to start with a workflow description...
New Pictures from Steve's World are up at: Steve's World! Pictures will be added all week so stay tuned!