2015 Year in Review: My Top 10 Favorite Photos

 

My goal for 2015 was to go places around Southeastern Wisconsin that I had never visited before.  While I did re-visit a lot of my favorite places, such as the Mitchell Park Domes, Boerner Botanical Gardens and the Milwaukee Art Museum, I did accomplish my goal and had a great year because of it.  One place I visited will be featured in a blog post next year (stay tuned!). 

 

So as 2015 nears its end, I wanted to showcase my Top 10 favorite photos that I took this past year.  The one above of Lake Michigan I would put at number 11.  Here are my Top 10:

 

10) Through the Trees, Mequon Nature Preserve

 



This fall, I visited the Mequon Nature Preserve for the first time, and tried something new with  my photography by aiming up and capturing the colors backlit, hoping to create a photo that's more like a painting.  I loved the result, and I will try this technique more this coming summer.

9) Fall Rose, Waukesha's Frame Park

I had to kill some time in Waukesha in mid-October and decided to visit Frame Park to get some photos of the fall colors before they were gone. Normally by this time, outdoor garden flowers have shriveled and are on the verge of dying, but I was pleasantly surprised when I got to the rose garden and saw that a lot of them were still in full bloom with little damage. Also, despite the fact I was taking photos at 10:00 a.m., the shorter day made the light softer and came at the flowers at an angle, making it look like it was shot earlier in the morning.

8) Green Dahlia, Boerner Botanical Garden

My annual visit to Boerner Botanical Garden was especially fruitful on this day in July, mostly due to the fact that I arrived in the middle of a downpour, which meant I could finally get good shots of flowers with drops of water on them.  But, my favorite photo of the day ended up being this green dahlia.  I took a lot of photos of this flower from many different angles, but coming at it head-on turned out to be the best.  In Photoshop, I added more black to the photo using the Levels tool to make the background even darker to make the dahlia really stand out.

7) "The Calling" and the Milwaukee Art Museum

I visited the Milwaukee Art Museum in November during their Free First Thursday and, since the museum was closed for remodeling except for their special exhibit, I had time to get some photos of the O'Donnell Park area just west of the museum.  Since it was a weekday, I was able to finally get a good photo of "The Calling" a famous statue on the corner of Wisconsin and Prospect Avenues without anyone else around.  It's often better to get a shot of the museum (in the background) when the "wings" are up, but I kind of like the simplicity of the building in this photo and how it lines up well with the statue.

6) Classic Red Automobile, Pewaukee Lake

Another first for me this year was going to the Antique Boat & Classic Car Show on Pewaukee Lake in August.  I had a great time experimenting with different angles of shooting, mostly with the automobiles.  But the simple shot of this red car with the art deco hood ornament and chrome stripe turned out to be my favorite of the day.

5) Yellow Flower, Schlitz Audubon Nature Center

Not only did I get a good workout while "hiking" through the Schlitz Audubon Nature Center on Lake Michigan for the first time this summer, but I managed to get this photo of a very tiny yellow flower despite the breeze off the lake.  It turned out to be one of my most liked photos that I posted this year as well.

4) Main Building, Wisconsin Soldiers Home

Another first visit, and the one that I wished I'd gone to sooner.  The Wisconsin Soldiers Home near Miller Park is a state treasure!  The majority of the buildings are now fenced off due to construction (which is a great thing), but I was determined to get a photo of the gothic main building.  I was kind of happy that the bottom of the building had fencing in front of it.  It forced me to angle my camera way up and I was able to get the tower against the cloudless blue sky (no Photoshopping needed).  This is a place I will return to.

3) Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church

One of a handful of buildings in Wisconsin designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church on Milwaukee's north side is one of the city's most photographed landmarks .  I went there early in the morning and found out that the best part of the church actually faces west.  However, I did get a couple of good photos including this one that makes the building look like a face.

2) Hoyt Park Bridge, Wauwatosa, Wisconsin

I've only lived in Wauwatosa for two years, but one of my favorite places in the city is Hoyt Park which includes this wonderful bridge over the Menomonee River.  I went to the park in early fall and vowed to get a decent shot of the bridge since I had seen so many good ones online.  The morning after our first (and so far only) snowfall of the latter part of the year, I knew the park would be a great place to get snow shots.  Since it was early (and cold), there were hardly any other people around, and I got my shot of the bridge.  I think I will try and get one good photo of the bridge in each season next year.

1) Red Barn, Richfield Historical Park

I had never been to Richfield, Wisconsin until this past summer, although I had driven by the town on the way to other places north of Milwaukee.  I went up there to visit the Richfield Historical Park and attend a summer art festival, and I was blown away at how large and awesome the park was.  Once a working farm and sawmill, the park is a historical landmark that hosts festivals and events throughout the year.  Think of it as a smaller version of Old World Wisconsin.  As I was heading into the art festival, I saw this red barn, original to the settlement, and the dappled sunlight that fell on the grass.  The problem was one of the artists had their trailer sitting a few feet to the left of where I was standing, and moving any more to the right would make the trees block the barn.  So I turned my camera to make a portrait photo, and zoomed in as close as I could to cut out the trailer and keep the composition I had in my head.  I don't know if the photo is a great one, but it is my favorite.

I do have some ideas for "photography goals" I want to accomplish in 2016.  I want to try experimenting more with black-and-white photography (which I might do later today), I want to travel outside of southeastern Wisconsin to Oshkosh and LaCrosse, and I might do a series of posts on Milwaukee's different neighborhoods. 

How about you?  What to do you want to do with your photography in 2016?  Feel free to post in the comments!

Favorite Flower #2: The Chrysanthemum

In a previous post, I showed my collection of photos of one of my favorite flowers, the Dahlia.  Another one of my favorites, especially this time of year, is the Chrysanthemum (or just plain "mum").  Like the Dahlia, they come in many different types and colors and look pretty alone or in bunches.

Chrysanthemums are native to parts of Europe and Asia, cultivated as an herb as far back as the 15th century.  They were brought to the United States by Col. John Stevens and planted into the Elysian Fields in New Jersey.  One type, known as "Garden Hardy Mums" can survive northern winters, which is why they last so long where I live.

I visited the Mitchell Park Domes last month, where they showcased mums in their Show Dome.  I was amazed at how many different types of mums were on display from the Irregular Incurve (pictured above) to the Spider mum:

There is also the Semi-Double variety, probably the most popular:

 And the Decorative variety:

Chrysanthemums also come in Reflex, Anemone, Regular Incurve, Spoon, Quill, Pompom and Brush.  You can learn more about these different types here.

As I mentioned above, one of the reasons I love mums is that they are really the only type of flower you see in their prime in late fall around Wisconsin.  I love going to the farmers markets and seeing their bright colors all around.  They are always the last burst of color before we head into cold, gray winter.

I'm sure you can still see these vibrant, happy flowers at any botanical garden or farmers market for the rest of fall and, maybe, into winter.  They really do brighten any dreary day!

Favorite Flower #1: The Dahlia

 

I've been photographing flowers since I bought my DSLR camera in 2012.  I learned how to properly photograph them when I attended a flower photography workshop at a local garden store in the spring of 2013.  I didn't have a favorite then, even though I think I took more photos of daisies than anything else.  But when I attended a Dahlia show at Madison's Olbrich Botanical Garden, I fell in love with them.  I loved the curves, the two-toned colors and the many different types I found.

 

Did you know that there are 42 different species of Dahlias?  They are native to Mexico, related to daisies, sunflowers, chrysanthemums and zinnias (all flowers I'm also drawn to), and are classified into 14 different groups based on their design.  For example, the dahlia above is part of the Pompon group.

 

There is also the Peony group:

 



 The Semi-Cactus group:

The Anemone group:

The Single-Flowered group: 



The Collerette group:

And the Fimbriated group:

 

There are also waterlily, "decorative", ball, cactus, star, double, and "miscellaneous" dahlias.

As you can see, there are so many different types of dahlias, that it's easy to mistake them for another type of flower.  They consider dahlias to be "octoploids", meaning they have 8 sets of chromosomes whereas other flowers only have two.  This is why there are so many different types.

The next time you go to a botanical garden, public park or flower shop, you just might find one of these beautiful, vibrant flowers (and not even know it).

My Summer in Photos

I, for one, can't believe it's Labor Day Weekend and summer is quickly coming to a close.  What's worse, I haven't posted anything new since March!  It's not that I didn't do anything this summer, although not as much as usual due to money issues, but I did get out with my camera to a few fun places and events, and got to meet some new photographers in my area as well.

One of my most favorite places in my area is the Milwaukee Public Museum.  I've been going there ever since grade school, but hadn't gone in about 8 years.  I primarily went this year due to the "Body Worlds" exhibit, but also got to see some familiar subjects such as the dinosaurs (above), the Native Americans,

"The Streets of Old Milwaukee", one of the most popular exhibits,

All of the various ethnic exhibits,

and the Museum's "Butterfly Garden" where you get to interact with real butterflies.

I also met up with a new group in our area for a photowalk of Milwaukee's Walker's Point (or 5th Ward), which I knew about but never visited before.  Walker's Point is the home of Allen Bradley, and a very diverse cross-section of the city as a whole.  That weekend, they had rainbow flags on the light posts in celebration of the "Gay Pride" festival at Meier festival park.

On my walk, I came across a very nice alley garden.  Very jealous I don't have a green thumb.

While on the photowalk, my friend, her husband and I went on the brewery tour for Milwaukee Brewing Company.  I have to say, MBC's beer has become my favorite microbrew in the city.  Many different flavors and not too heavy for a hot day.

 And, they definitely have fun on the job.

And no summer of mine would be complete without an annual trip to the Boerner Botanical Garden for my flower fix.  Unfortunately, the long cold winter and spring kept a lot of my favorite flowers (especially roses) from blooming, but I managed to get a couple of good shots of them.

As well as other hearty little flowers.

 



And, I found out that I really like Dahlias, and they come in many different varieties.  My favorites were the Peony variety.

Hopefully with fall coming, I will get out more with my camera and check out some local festivals and areas I haven't been to before.  I hope everyone had a fun and safe summer!

An Indoor Spring: Flower Photos from a local Floral Shop

As I may have mentioned in my previous post, it's been a LONG winter here in Milwaukee.  We've dubbed it the winter that never ends.  However, today is gorgeous outside - sunny, not too windy and almost 60 degrees!  So I'm sitting here writing this post in my living room with the patio door open enjoying the sounds and smells of the new spring (even though it's back to the normal 30's-40's starting Tuesday - oh well).

Yesterday was another nice day, and I spent part of it at Waukesha Floral & Greenhouse where, thanks to Art's Camera Plus, they opened their doors to Art's Camera Club and let photographers go in and take photos of anything they want.  Like any garden store they had a greenhouse, large indoor plant section and gift shop.  This is a great place to practice macro photography and other flower photography, and since it's indoors, you don't get harsh shadows that you would get photographing flowers outside on a sunny day (although some of the spots in the greenhouse did have harsh sunlight). 

I also did this last year, and learned so much about aperture setting, manual focus and focal length.  The best way to take macro shots of flowers, where only part of the flower is in focus and everything else is blurry, is to set your DSLR to Aperture Priority for Canon (not sure the equivalent for Nikon), take the aperture setting down to its lowest setting (mine goes down to 4.5-5.0) and then use the ISO setting (the one that measures in 100's) to make the photo brighter or darker, depending on how you want it to look.  I usually keep that setting to 100-200 unless the room is really dark, and then I move it up).  Then keep your camera on a tripod, get in close and use manual focus to get part of the flower sharp.  If you have a camera that has a lens with image stabilization, like mine, you can get in closer without a tripod, but keep your body as still as you can.  This is because the aperture is open so wide, any little movement is going to throw your whole photo out of focus.  This happened to me a few times yesterday, but, thanks to digital photography, I just deleted them and tried again.

Below are some of the photos I took.  Not all of them are macros, some are groups and a couple of vignettes, but I do like to change things up during photo shoots.  Unfortunately, there weren't as many flowers in bloom as there was last year, due to our February faux spring, but there was still a lot to look at and it was another fun experience.  Hopefully, the next flower photos you see from me will be from an outside garden!

Happy Spring everyone!