I wasn't sure what to expect when I pointed my Nikon at the moon on Wednesday night at the height of the lunar eclipse.   I used my 300mm zoom and set the camera up on the tripod using the timer to release the shutter. I was pleasantly surprised to find the results were pretty good. Lunar Eclipse Near Total 2.20.08
Lunar Eclipse 2.20.08
Enjoy.

I've posted a number of rather chilly Winter photos recently but this capture from earlier today is of a considerably warmer subject.
 As on most days, My cat Akasha spent the day sprawled on the bed while "catching up on her rest" but the appearance of the sun pouring through the window for a few minutes late this afternoon bathed her in a golden light that made the moment anything but ordinary. Afternoon Delight

While out capturing some of the snowy scenes the frequent snowfalls have been providing this Winter season, I happened to shoot from a nearly identical spot along Baird Creek that I had stood in this past Spring. Somehow I managed to capture the scene framed almost exactly the same in both Winter and Spring . I think it makes for an interesting comparison.

This photo is as fresh as the newly fallen snow on the top hat of my frosty back yard inhabitant. I took this just ten minutes ago. The weather forecast is calling for several more inches yet today.
A snowman couldn't be happier.

 The Upper Midwestern Winter has been uncharacteristically snowy this year when compared to December/January of the previous decade or so. The downside, of course, is the constant cleanup but the upside is the opportunity to capture a scene like this in Green Bay's Baird Creek Parkway.

The weather forecast here in WI is calling for up to 10 inches of snow this weekend. Looks like Old Man Winter is here to stay for awhile.  
But knowing Spring will come again always gets me through. The reappearance of beauties like these will make the long wait worthwhile.

I have always had a fascination with the sky and clouds, whether stormy  and foreboding  or interesting in color or form . So, earlier in the year, I scouted out a spot where I could get a reasonably clear shot of the sky at sunset or when storms approached from the west. Unfortunately, time and circumstance did not allow me to be there as often as I would have liked but I did have some fun and feel like I got some interesting shots as a result of my efforts. I hope to continue with this subject in the Spring.

I woke up to a howling wind and snow on the ground for the first time today and had to face the fact that Summer is long gone. So, in memory of the warm season, I thought I'd share a photo from the early part of Summer when thewild orchid blooms grace the Ridges Sanctuary on Wisconsin's Door Co. Peninsula.

Another interesting exotic plant I've enjoyed and had some success with during the Summer months has been the nocturnal moonflower vine.
Late in the season these massive white flowers (about 6 inches across) begin blooming in the middle of the night...usually before midnight. The flower lasts no later than mid morning of the next day and then the show is over.
Fleeting as they are, I still think it's worth the effort to see these beauties grace my garden fence.

I grow strange things. Beside photography, it's my other passion. I was messing around with my old Tamron macro lens on my D70 this morning and myNepenthes Ventricosa seemed like the perfect subject.

One of the things I particularly love about cemeteries beyond the quiet and solitude is the fact that, being Hallowed Ground, nature is allowed to flourish in a way that, in most places, it cannot. With a single exception, they represent my city's only urban forest areas. Needless to say, the cemetery is a great place to go to take in some Color and enjoy the way the Shadows Fall in the golden Autumn light.

Cemeteries have long been one of my favorite places to shoot. Not only does the history preserved there entice me but also the beautiful natural setting and the quiet that can be found there, despite the fact that I'm in the middle of the city.

The following shots are just a few among many that resulted from a few hours spent losing track of time in one of my favorite local graveyards.Allouez Cemetery


Broken Angel

Against the Light

Looking Down the Cross

(This one might qualify for the current angel..er..ANGLES challenge)

I've featured my furry, feline, desktop companion Akasha
here before but this photo is just too good not to share. For once she held the pose I wanted to capture long enough for me to get the camera ready. Her expression is priceless.

Hello.
I've not posted here at Photographica for some time now but happened on the site the other day and thought I might give this another shot.
This photo A Walk in Baird Creek was taken in a city nature preserve that was once slated for development. Had the plan not been fought by a group of concerned citizens who helped to raised the million dollars needed to buy the land back from the developer, it would be nothing but big homes and even bigger lawns by now.  As you can see, it looks much nicer in it's natural state.

Of course rock music is all about movin' and groovin' and shakin' it to the beat but here's a different perspective on all that music in motion... A Rock 'n' Roll Still Life

(hope this works..having trouble previewing my post)