Category: Location (Page 1 of 8)

Creativity and Changing Perspective

March 28, 2025 / Hitzeman Photography / 4 Comments

Two months after I retired, I took a trip with a couple of friends to photograph Colorado. One of the iconic photo-ops in that state is the Maroon Bells Mountain peaks at sunrise that you see above. The sunrise lighting up the top of the mountain is the prize at this location. Many photographers compete for space along the lake shore to get the “best” perspective of this event.

The next photo below gives you some idea of the crowd size, even though I took this pic 30 minutes after the one above, when the crowd was even thicker.

I do like the so-called sunrise shot, but that scene also makes me feel separate from what I’m looking at. The mountains and lake looked huge, vast, and by comparison I felt so small and distant from it. I walked around the lakes edge until I found a different perspective. I like to capture more of the ground in front of me. It makes me feel more like I was there, and that I could walk into the photograph, the Aspen Stepping Stones.

I want to acknowledge my friend, Steve Ornberg—a master at photography trip planning, and an excellent landscape photographer. Steve has since gone on to concentrate on astro-photography and bird photography.

North Lake Sunrise — Sunrise on North Lake, Eastern Sierra, Near Bishop, California

Cold & Golden Valentine’s Day

February 14, 2025 / Hitzeman Photography / 0 Comments

As a child, it was FUN when it snowed! It meant, hopefully, a day off from school and getting together with my buds to make snow angels, snow men, snow forts and have snow fights.

Now, as an adult, snow can mean something different to me, and much less fun. Shoveling the driveway and sidewalk. Dangerous driving conditions. Road salt getting all over my car. And sometimes, for days after the snow arrives, temperatures can drop to dangerous levels for frostbite.

But young or old, I’ve always delighted in how the snow softens and quiets the world, how it forms in different ways on trees and stones and mountains, and how—with a bit of luck being in the right place at the right time—I can capture a photograph that displays the snow with a glorious backdrop of GOLD!

I share this gold photograph from today’s very cold Naperville IL, as a Valentine’s Day greeting. In these chaotic times, I chose to love my neighbors, love my sweetie pie, and love Love LOVE!

Thank you for reading/viewing my posts. And …

Happy Valentine’s Day!

I invite you to share your experience of snow in the comments.

Arch Paintings, Saints Volodymr & Olha Church, Chicago, Illinois

The Beauty of an Ukranian Church

March 5, 2022 / Hitzeman Photography / 6 Comments

Saints Volodymyr and Olha Church is a beautiful church in Chicago’s Ukranian Village. Photographing from the choir loft, I was able to create unique compositions such as this one. It captures the dramatic curve of the choir loft railing and still includes the beautiful view of the church windows, arches, and a huge radiant chandelier.

Per Aspera Ad Astra, Saints Volodymr & Olha Church, Chicago, Illinois

This church is an architectural symbol of the artistry and religious devotion of the Ukranian people. Let us pray for all those suffering in Ukraine.

You can also view these photos in my flickr album.

A Concert of Color

December 15, 2021 / Hitzeman Photography / 1 Comment

During 2021, I took three short road trips to satisfy my longing to get out and go somewhere “NEW”. This photo was taken on October 5 in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, near the Michigan Iron Industry Museum.

This day was one of the most beautiful days of my life, a quiet day, but looking at this image now, it is a bombastic concert of color. The red and orange are like large, deep instruments, tubas and kettle drums, in the back of the orchestra, while the yellows are like violins, playing their staccato notes across the front.

It was a beautiful, melodic performance, conducted for little old me! What a joyful blessing walking the earth that day!

My Best Images of 2017

December 31, 2017 / Hitzeman Photography / 20 Comments

Happy New Year Everyone!

It’s that time of year for lists but with this one, I am asking for your vote in selecting my Top 10 Images of 2017.

In appreciation for your time, if your 10 selections most closely match the final top 10 from the voting, I will send you a free a print of your favorite image!

I’ve posted 32 of my best photographs from 2017 below, in chronological order. Please look through these and list the numbers (they are below each image) of your ten favorites in the comment box at the bottom of the post.

After the voting is done I’ll post the top ten on this blog, and submit the final group to Jim Goldstein’s blog project, where he’ll be showcasing the best images of the year from over 300 photographers. The voting deadline is this Wednesday, January 3rd, at 6pm Central time.

Enjoy viewing these images, and thanks for your input — I really appreciate your help!

— Harry Hitzeman