Day 304 > Happy Halloween

A reshoot of last year's Halloween composition with wider framing and an alternative photoshop edit. I quite like the resulting mood so I'm feeling ok about this shameless act of self-plagiarism.

Day 303 >

I've always, always got an eye out for the next photo subject and yesterday was lucky enough to spot this large mushroom growing halfway up a tree's trunk a little way back in the woods off Baird Creek Parkway road. I returned today once the rain let up and grabbed an easy image which makes up for the days when so much more hunting has been needed.

Day 302 > Birches

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Day 301 > They're Baaaaack....

Yes, the fungi are back and it seems these friends of mine are going to be with me until the bitter end...or at least until winter sets in for good. A large group of these pinkish, almost skin colored mushrooms -some nearly dinner plate sized- formed 3/4 of a large fairy ring in a loamy area of a Baird Creek lowland.

Day 300 > Castaways

I noticed an interesting similarity today between Man and Nature. As I've made my way around the city the past several days, I've seen a much greater volume of unwanted items left on the curb for the trash collectors by people cleaning up their yards, garages and basements in preparation for Winter.
In the forest something very similar is happening. All around, the unwanted leaves and pine needles, twigs and branches and anything else no longer of use are being cast off. The forest however, unlike the people, has a much better disposal plan. Whereas the broken and discarded plastic lawn chair I saw today will remain a broken plastic lawn chair for ages to come, the forest's castaways will quickly break down and once again become a part of the system from whence it came.

Day 299 > Bridge Over Baird Creek

I've visited the banks of Baird Creek hundreds of times over the past decade and yet, until today, had never been to its mouth in the inner city where it pours into the East River and then carried on to the bay. For me, Baird Creek has always been a natural place separate from the nearby city so I've avoided the urban areas it flows through perhaps just to keep that wild illusion intact in my mind. However, I recently noticed this little bridge, barely visible across a field from a nearby street, and today decided to investigate. To my surprise, I found a very pleasant setting of old oak trees near the bridge and on down the creek that reflected in the calm water and blotted out the surrounding city.

Day 298 > Meandering Through Autumn

An ab solutely stunning morning in the Baird Creek woods as Autumn's climax continues...

Day 297 > Autumn Flow / Fonferek Glen Falls

The upper Falls of Fonferek Glen has been featured in this project a number of times this year. It appeared first as a massive frozen sculpture and not long after as a rushing spring torrent seen looking out from the cave behind. Now, after a long dry period, thin ribbons of water brought by sustained Autumn rains fall into the pool below.

Day 296 >

I stood on a rock in the middle of a creek in a steady rain, clothes soaked, trying to set up the camera while keeping it as dry as possible. My dedication to this project is unquestionable.

Day 295 > Baird Creek / Autumn Gold

There's GOLD in them hills!










A bonus:

Day 294 > Mt. Olivet Cemetery

A heavily overcast sky, intermittent rain and golden fall color combined to create a strange atmosphere in this old cemetery this morning. Beautifully gloomy, no?

Day 293 > Fern's Autumn Glow

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Day 292 >

A lichen-covered cross in the Fort Howard Cemetery

Day 291 > Fort Howard Cemetery Autumn

A great place to wander and enjoy the Fall colors only minutes from home.

Day 290 > I'll Just Fade Away...

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Day 289 > Treeshells

These fungi looked to me just like seashells growing from the tree's trunk, thus the title.

Day 288 > Six Steps

I've shot this steps in the Fort Howard Cemetery many times over the years and therefore have avoided returning to it this year so as to not repeat my past works. But as one of my favorite graveyard subjects I decided I wanted it to be included in this project so I attempted to see it with fresh eyes this morning.

Day 287 Pick Me! Pick Me!

Pumpkins wait patiently in a field hoping they'll be chosen as this year's Halloween Jack O' Lantern.

Day 286 > Cold Day Fungus

The huge snow flakes which fell for half an hour yesterday afternoon were followed by temperatures that plummeted well below freezing last night so it was with great surprise that I discovered this fresh looking beauty sprouted from the side of a tree this morning in the university campus arboretum.

Day 285 > Cascade Of Color

The Autumn color show should be reaching the its peak very soon now...

Day 284 > Cave Point

On the rocky shore of Lake Michigan at Cave Point County Park.

Day 283 > Trinity Church 1878

Trinity Church of Milwaukee, WI

Constructed in 1878. The building was designed by Fredrick Velguth in Victorian Gothic style.

Declared a Milwaukee landmark in 1967, a State Historical Landmark in 1979 and placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

Day 282 > Devil's River Autumn

I've looked forward to capturing this autumn shot since the Spring, just knowing it was going to be stunning. Indeed.

Day 281 > America...The Beautiful?

Since the very beginning of this project I've had the idea for a photo of the day that would address an environmental issue. Today I was inspired..or perhaps infuriated enough...to finally go with it. This site, a badly neglected public access point to the Fox River, exists not far from the middle of downtown Green Bay where over the past few years, millions of dollars have been spent on a riverfront boardwalk and other improvements designed to draw people to the river and the newly "revitalized" downtown district.
Meanwhile, away from the shiny, renewed city center, there is this disgraceful mess. Trash and debris of every description litters the shore. But there is something far worse that isn't evident in a photograph...contamination from oil storage tanks just across the street. The stink of oil here is overpowering. A drainage pipe leads from the property of US OIL carrying with it residuals that end up going directly into the river just a few hundred yards from it's mouth and the bay beyond.
I suspect the Environmental Protection Agency will enjoy this photo of the day...

Day 280 > Baird Creek / Autumn Cascade

Back to Baird Creek once again today. The morning started out sunny which is great but my plan to capture this image was contingent upon even lighting. Luckily, clouds began to move in just as I arrived and the shot went perfectly.

Day 279 > Into The Forest Ethereal

It's been another cool, rainy autumn day but the light was nice and the wetness added color saturation and good contrast to the woods. I added a little atmosphere of my own by experimenting with a fogged lens which I accomplished by breathing on the lens a second or three before the timer ended and the shutter released. It tooks some time to get the effect just right but I think this turned out really well in the end.

Day 278 > Steeples

The steeples of St. John's and St. Wille brord's churches as seen from the top of a downtown parking ramp.

Day 277 > Rail Bridge

Well, maybe this photo works or maybe it doesn't but I had fun once again exploring where I've not been before...

Day 276 > A Forgotten Bridge

Like so many people, I've driven past this old train bridge that parallels one of the busiest thoroughfares in my city a thousand times yet I had scarcely noticed it as I went by. It does take a bit of craning of the neck to see these stone arches below so it's understandable that it is so overlooked.
Recently I had begun to look more closely as I passed and today decided to see what it looked like from below. Arriving at the edge of the little river that passes under the bridge it became evident that few people ever go there judging by the lack of trash that visitors to anywhere tend to leave behind and the lack of much graffiti on the bridge. It's kind of nice to think there are places like this within the city that are rarely seen by anyone else...

Day 275 > On A Rainy Day Hike

It was "raining cats and dogs" most of this morning but during a short respite I took a quick hike to shoot my favorite trail which I had saved as a subject for just this sort of day. The even light and the more vibrant colors of the wet surfaces made the scene absolutely perfect.

Day 274

A quick one at a nearby church. I captured a similar image of this a few years ago and wanted to give it another try. It's wholly (or perhaps HOLY haha) different from what I came up with that first time and I'd say more interesting. You'll have to take my word for it on that.