Every year during the annual celebration of the Day of the Dead in Mexico, La Calavera Catrina resumes her celebrity status. This is especially so in the state of Oaxaca, where the cultural significance of the Day of the Dead is especially strong. Usually referred to simply as La Catrina, “La Calavera Catrina” translates into English as the “elegant or dapper skeleton.” She began life … Continue reading Everyone Loves La Catrina
The fall colors in southeastern Wisconsin have been good this year, but not spectacular. Here are several photos from around Janesville. Continue reading Fall Colors in Southeastern Wisconsin
Several years ago I was fortunate to visit China three times. I made the trips in 2005, 2006, and 2008. On the first trip I was amazed at the incongruity between my expectations and the reality I found. Like others of my generation, I grew up during the cold war. I remember that my first passport stated explicitly that I could not travel to Cuba, … Continue reading China Galleries: Beijing
At the beginning of March I learned there were snowy owls not more than ten miles from my home in Janesville, Wisconsin. In fact, they had been here since November, and I did not know. On receiving this news, I immediately grabbed my camera and headed out to the solid white tundra that had been last summer’s corn fields in search of the owls. Thankfully, … Continue reading Winter Birds
Dear Friends and kind readers please feel free to download my 2014 calendar of Wisconsin scenes for your personal use. The calendar is in PDF format and the images are suitably large for printing. Photos in the calendar are those shown in the gallery below. All except one of the photos are from southeastern corner of the state near the towns of Janesville, Milton, Fort … Continue reading A 2014 Calendar of Wisconsin Scenes For You
A little macro photography is always fun. Here are several photos of some small critters. There is one shot of Queen Anne’s Lace (without insect) that I have left at full resolution. You might like to blow it up to 100% to see its delicate details. These snapshots were taken in Janesville and Madison, Wisconsin. A Few Small Things Continue reading Up Close with a Few Small Things
I was in the city of Oaxaca, Mexico for a couple weeks in May. Here are a few snapshots of flowers that I took while there. I have tried to identify the flowers, but had no luck with two of them. Any help or corrections with the identifications is much appreciated. I hope you like them. Estuve en la ciudad de Oaxaca, México por dos … Continue reading A Gallery of Flowers from Oaxaca / Una galería de flores de Oaxaca
It has been almost three weeks since I last visited the sandhill crane nest featured in my previous post. Yesterday I visited them and found the parents and two new chicks out for a walk. (You may click on the photos for larger sizes. Apart from being larger, they are sharper.) I watched as they foraged for insects and whatever else they might find to … Continue reading Sandhill Cranes with Chicks Out for a Walk
These photos were taken near sunset on Wednesday, May 8th, 2013 on Jefferson County Route N between Fort Atkinson and Jefferson, Wisconsin. If you are in the neighborhood, you can spot the nest on the east side of the road. There isn’t much shoulder, so be careful if you want to take photos. You will need a long lens. The effective focal length for each … Continue reading Sandhill Cranes Tending Their Nest
The cranes and herons have returned to southern Wisconsin. Hundreds of sandhill cranes have been spotted near Whitewater, and great blue herons are now building and repairing nests at a rookery near Fort Atkinson. In celebration of their return, and the advent of spring, I am posting a remarkable set of photographs taken by my friend, Georgia Kestol-Bauer. Taken several years ago, these photos capture … Continue reading Sandhill Cranes – Courtship Dance on a Cranberry Bog
Two days this week (Saturday and today, Monday) I have driven from Janesville to Middleton, Wisconsin (about 45 miles each way) in search of a great grey owl that has been hanging out behind the Middleton Post Office for the past week. He was there on Friday and Sunday, but on neither day I was there. So, today after failing to find the owl, I … Continue reading Tundra Swans in a Corn Field
White Sands National Monument is one of the most beautiful places on earth. In direct sunlight the sand is as white as snow and is surprisingly cool to the touch. About ten miles from Alomogordo, New Mexico, the dunes are so quiet that you can hear yourself breathe. Listen closely and you can hear you heart beat. I took these photos in 2002, 2003 and … Continue reading White Sands National Monument
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