Tag Archives: nature photography

Unknown's avatar

Weekly Photo Challenge: Favorite Place

by

You might as well ask me, “Which is your favorite child?”
How can I choose between woodland lakes…

…and desert canyons……or even my own front yard? 

I will just say that this place called Earth is my favorite and my home, and I will defend her to my dying day. I will take her as a whole and not state a preference for certain parts. She is a mosaic of interdependent cells, a Being of utter complexity and uniqueness. 

Coastal redwoods – taller but not as big around as sequoia gigantea
The Green River flows through Dinosaur National Monument
Canyon of the Ancients National Monument, Colorado

Favorite Place

 

Unknown's avatar

Weekly Photo Challenge: Story

by

“For this week’s challenge, do some visual storytelling with your photography.”
Once upon a time…

Sand Canyon, Canyon of the Ancients National Monument, Colorado
Canyon of the Ancients National Monument, Colorado

I am terribly afraid that this story will end in mining and development and that the places where these photos were taken will be forever altered. However, there is always a chance to re-write the ending. 

Story

Unknown's avatar

Weekly Photo Challenge: Out of This World

by

The Earth is a vastly fascinating place! You may think of rocks and trees and animals as familiar things, but they are often as unknown and otherworldly as specimens from Mars.

Here’s an example of a cave formation in Wind Cave National Park known as “boxwork”. Could be the surface of a distant planet, don’t you think?

Could these be aerial photos of alien landscapes? Or the skins and bodies of alien life forms?

Does this structure look like something you’ve seen before? 

turkey feathers

This one could be a satellite image of life on a distant moon. caterpillarThe startling discovery of unfamiliar living things is possible in your own back yard. Go take a look!

Out of This World

Unknown's avatar

Weekly Photo Challenge: Wisconsin Tour Guide

by

“Share with us an image, or two, or three, (or more!) of where you live.” 

If you look up over this post title, you will see two links to separate pages labelled “Wisconsin Historical” and “Wisconsin Outdoors”. You will find quite a few more than three photos there!

I moved to Wisconsin 7 years ago from Illinois, and have absolutely fallen in love with my new home state. I used to summer at Girl Scout camp as a child in northern Wisconsin, but I’ve come to feel like I’ve always belonged outside, here, even after living for 15 years in California. When I first moved north, I worked for 3 summers at Old World Wisconsin, a 575-acre living history museum that recreates 19th century farm and town settlement. Last year, I moved onto a property that is owned by the land trust that employs me. I have thoroughly enjoyed being surrounded by 56 acres of Wisconsin woodland, wetland, and restored prairie. 

Wisconsin is a ridiculously photogenic state. It can take your breath away, fill you with pride, and surprise you at every outing. When we’re out hiking, my partner Steve very often just flings wide his arms and remarks (to nobody in particular), “Ladies and gentlemen — Wisconsin!”

Yes, it deserves your attention and applause. Here’s why: 

Mineral Point
Photo credit: Carol Toepke
Old World Wisconsin

Tour Guide

Unknown's avatar

Weekly Photo Challenge: Ascend

by

The example set for this challenge is exceptional. Please take a look at Krista’s post on WordPress. 


I am thrilled when someone sets the bar high. “We can do better,” Steve often says, as a sort of mantra to a deeper call to “do no harm”. Here he is in Canyonlands National Park, just outside of Bears Ears National Monument. Can we ascend to higher thinking about how we treat wild places?   

The newest addition to the National Park system is Pinnacles National Park. What is our goal for protecting the natural beauty and balance of this place we call America? Have we reached that summit? Are we striving to ascend towards it?

“We can do better.” It doesn’t matter where you start. Ascend, and see how your perspective changes. 

Ascend

Unknown's avatar

Weekly Photo Challenge: Transformation

by

“Loss is nothing else but change, and change is nature’s delight.” — Marcus Aurelius (Roman Emperor)


“I am the joy in change and movement.” – Steve Wiencek  (Milwaukee guy)

 

Celebrating my place in Nature has long been my way to transcend losses and feel grounded. When my husband died, it was like my identity died with him. Transitioning to a new life was very difficult, but spending time pursuing my hobby, photographing the changes in nature, certainly opened my eyes to new life all around, even in unexpected places. 

Mayapple

Change is the characteristic of Life. Everything is transformed, even sadness, loss and fear. There is always something new, in a new state of being, to discover. In my case, I discovered Steve, in the state of Wisconsin. 

Transformation

Unknown's avatar

Weekly Photo Challenge: Temporary

by

This is my absolute favorite time of year. Fall colors resonate deeply with me, and I feel like I belong on this tapestry. Browns and golds and greens reflect in my eyes, red and burgundy flow in my veins. I always feel a little sad as the season begins. I feel even sadder as it ends. There’s something about this heroic explosion of color as the world marches slowly toward winter that makes me feel triumphant and nostalgic to the point of tears. This moment is temporary, but it holds the seeds of eternity and the losses of the past in its grip. It is a complex and fleeting experience, a poignant mood that sweeps by like a leaf on the wind. 

And soon color will be a memory.

Temporary

Unknown's avatar

Weekly Photo Challenge: Glow

by

We arrived at our favorite dispersed campsite in the North Woods of Wisconsin just as the sun was dipping into that golden place barely above the horizon. I felt like a kid again, bounding out of the car toward the lake with my camera. Setting up the tent could wait. The GLOW was magic beckoning toward the west. The sky was the promise of beyond. I was in a heaven of happiness, here and now. 

Glow