Photo Posts

This evening I was shooting a pair of office towers on the north side of Milwaukee.  It became apparent to me that the reflective surface of the glass panels that made up the exterior of the tower was taking on the same color and shade of the sky.  The result was this rather “Tron-like” look to the framework of the building.  A bit of post-processing and I’ve got this thing!  I kind of like it.

Soon the evening was revealing a half moon surfaced over the top of one of the towers.  I kinda liked that too.

Once the sun went down, the building’s window framework took on a new abstraction.  The lights directed on the building cast a crisp, colorful geometry that I found very attractive.  The single office with it’s light on helps remind us of the reality that this is an office tower not just an eyeful of fun.

Madison, Wisconsin is where I was born and raised.  It is one of the most beautiful cities in the Midwest.  I find myself there often, visiting my daughter, going to a Badger game, or passing through as I’m traveling to the Baraboo Hills.  Here’s the Kohl Center – home of Wisconsin Basketball and Hockey.

Camp Randall is the name of the football field on campus.  But it’s name originated during the 1800’s as a military camp used by the Union during the Civil War.

More State Capitol Building photographs.

The grounds are incredibly attractive to me.  The Capitol’s reflection in what used to known as the First Wisconsin Building.

Tonight was a foggy spring night.  The snow has been melting all day as temperatures reached into the 50s.  It’s rained most of the day and there hasn’t been enough wind to mix the moisture off ground level.  Good picture taking weather:

This is the same bridge that I shot in a blanket of new snow a couple of weeks ago.  The light behind the stone bridge frame creates great drama.

In this photograph the fog has created a discernible dome of light.  The fog limits the light’s ability to illuminate outside the reach of it’s dome, but in return the fog gives the light shape, a visible length and depth.

Milwaukee has some beautiful bridges over the Milwaukee River.  This is a photograph of  the Cherry St Bridge that was renovated to include these unique light spires.   The view is looking north (upriver) from the Manpower office complex.

I’ve been sensitive to comments from friends at work that question why I seem to favor dark and night-time subjects.  My body of work does not, as I see it, support concerns that I’m dark and dangerous.  So today I set out to capture a subject during the daytime.  I sought out color, contrast, and interesting shapes.

What do you think?  Have I proven that I’m just like any other well-adjusted photographer?   What…..you’re not convinced?  Shucks – I guess I’ll try again.

Kidding aside, this photograph was taken in Wood National Cemetery on the grounds known after the Civil War as Soldiers Home – today co-located on a complex known as the Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center.  Soldiers Home would become the birthplace of federal veteran’s care in America providing soldiers’ recuperation and living settlement facilities.  Until 1989 these 90 acres had it’s own post office and zip code 53193.  A total of 36,738 soldiers, veterans and their relatives are buried in the National Cemetery.

I spent a couple of hours at night in Old Montreal (or Vieux-Montréal in French) recently.  What an incredible place!

This is looking from the steps of the Notre-Dame Basilica towards the Bank of Montreal.

This is the site of Montreal’s City Hall.   One of the most beautiful buildings in the city is getting a face-lift.  Rather than putting up with the scaffolding and clutter during the work, they stretch printed sheets over the work area.  The result is some sort of surreal replica of the building hidden inside.

Residents work and live in this historic community.  This is an apartment complex in the foreground and the impressive Aldred Building rising behind.

The cobblestoned streets, multicolored lights and old stone construction make even the more neglected buildings wonderful to look at.

The Vieux district overlooks a still active port on the St. Lawrence River.  The row of shops, art galleries, restaurants and apartments just at the edge of the riverway create a visual gateway to the old city district.

Still another remarkable building, the Old Court House, is built in a neo-Classical design.

I want to go back, spend more time, and try the food.

This building could be from the Adams Family set!  It’s actually building #2 on the Milwaukee VA Hospital grounds.  Construction was finished in 1868.

The technical detail: This image was converted to B&W from a 5 photo HDR enabling the highlight and shadow areas on the building to become more apparent.

More snow today.  I drove downtown tonight to see what the new snow looked like on some of the more distinctive buildings.  It was windier than I’d like, but I did manage to shoot the Milwaukee Central Library from the shelter of bus stop windbreak.  This beautiful old limestone building dates back to 1898.

What a beautiful night last night.  The snowfall during the day had the sticky quality that you get when the weather combines light winds and temperatures around 32° F.  After dark I struck out to shoot a bridge over the Menomonee River in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin.  I had remembered the bridge being unique, but I had forgotten just how wonderful the stone structures were.  The cable supports held just enough snow to create visual interest.  What I didn’t expect at all was the location of a single snow coated tree in ideal framing from the stone arches.

I was interested to see what this scene looked like from the other end of the bridge.  I’m glad I looked.  The street light illuminating the bridge and path created an almost cinematic look to the area.

Last Sunday I was able to spend in an hour inside the Wisconsin State Capitol Building in Madison with my wonderful daughter.  What a feast for the eyes….and ears – they were having a string concert featuring very tiny children with very, very tiny instruments.

This is a photo of the capitol dome (rotunda) – best viewed from a flat on your back position on the floor below.

This wing of the Capitol Building houses the State Supreme Court.  A badger head adorns each of four wings of the Capitol.  What a majestic, overgrown, mean-tempered rodent!  Ore miners digging holes in the ground in the southwest portion of the state reminded settlers of badgers.  Or was it the miners temperament.

I love the stairways in the Capitol.  The marble and wood glows so beautifully.