Seeing and Sharing Beauty

Category: Photography (Page 1 of 2)

Accept Your Gladness

We must risk delight.

We must have the stubbornness to accept our gladness in the ruthless furnace of this world.

Jack Gilbert

I have experienced delight in seeing the beautiful natural landscapes of the North American continent. I do have the stubbornness to accept this gladness, and hope for the best in mankind to be able to diminish the ruthless furnace we have been making of this world.

The Beauty of an Ukranian Church

SVOC Colors & Curves
SVOC Colors & Curves

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.

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

During 2021, I took three short road trips to satisfy my longing to get out and go somewhere “NEW”.Β  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!

A Concert of Color

Manifesting the Lighthouse in My Mind

In 2020, amid a pandemic, I intended to get good at Photoshop.  

Because I was not travelling to any destinations that  I love photographing, learning Photoshop seemed like a good way to wile away the weeks that turned into months, hoping to greatly improve some of my old photographs. 

So, we’re here now, still not travelling for over a year, and this is my first β€œPhotoshopped” project for a landscape image.

The Lighthouse in My Mind

Browsing through my inventory, I found this image I captured of Wind Point LighthouseΒ  in August 2019, on a trip through Racine, Wisconsin with my Grand Nephew Gavin. The day was cloudy white, I almost couldn’t tell the difference between the white lighthouse and the white sky, but I took the image anyway, and now on my monitor it spoke to me saying β€œHelp Me!” 

To the rescue β€” Photoshop’s new Sky Replacement tool! It made it much easier for me to put in a colorful sunset.  Other basic operations with brushes and masks and color overlays helped me to: 

  • add a shadow to make the lighthouse cylindrical shape appear
  • put a red  light in the tower
  • add a pinkish glow to the foreground.

It was still slow going for me. I knew what look I was trying to get, but I was pretty wobbly in knowing which tools to use and how to use them.  Photoshop enables one to do a lot with certain key combinations for actions that aren’t in the menus.  I try to keep a good set of notes about these, but because of my infrequent use in the past, I struggled to find the right set of keys to do what I wanted. 

Practice, Harry.Β  Practice!

Do you have any “pandemic” projects you’ve been working on? Let me know in the comments below.

You Are There (for Those Who Weren’t)

My “You Are There” exhibit at the Morton Arboretum in Lisle, Illinois was so much fun, to see family and friends who live locally, and to show 23 prints of my art and a fast-paced 6-minute video of my most dramatic images.

Now, for those of you who were not there, here’s 15 images you missed!

Water Color

“Water Color”, Haystack Rock, Cannon Beach, OR, June 28, 2010

My wife Marti made me take this picture. I was sleep-deprived, discouraged, and defeated by the cloud cover of the previous 36 hours. I really deserved a nap. β€œIf you take a nap now, you’ll miss what you came here for, honey.” God bless her!


Warm Creek Gold

Warm Creek Gold
Warm Creek Gold, Lake Powell, UT, August 15, 2011

My Cub Scout uniform had colors of blue and gold.  In scouting I learned to love the freedom and beauty of the outdoors.  Now in this new age of digital photography, I get outdoors early for serenity, solitude, and to capture some stunning sunlit beauty.


Jay Pritzker Pavilion

Jay Pritzker Pavilion, Millennium Park, Chicago, IL, February 18, 2012

Architect Frank Gehry’s design glows under colored lights and a trellis supporting speakers over the Great Lawn – a giant shiny ornament, a surprising sight during a Chicago February, while nature sleeps in the cold and dark, preparing for Spring.


Majesty Doubled

Majesty Doubled, Owen’s Valley, near Bishop, CA, October 29, 2013

I usually look up to see mountains. Looking down and also seeing them mirrored at my feet took my breath away.  You can learn more about this location in my blog post Majesty Doubled.


Tufa Transition

Mono Lake Tufa Transition
Tufa Transition, Mono Lake, Lee Vining, CA, October 30, 2013

β€œGod grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; the courage to change the things I can; and the wisdom to know the difference.”


Reinhold Niebuhr

Chicago Riverwalk

Chicago Riverwalk, Chicago, IL, June 26, 2015

Many architectural details adorn the Chicago Riverwalk.  A soaking rain lets their surfaces gleam and sparkle under an electric rainbow.  Reflections dance on the water to amplify the gaiety.  (Bring a tripod, a poncho or umbrella, and a friend.)


LaSalle Street Lights

LaSalle Street Lights, Chicago, IL, June 26, 2015

The city at night needs neither sun nor clouds – it makes its own light.  These unlit street lights form a parade of silhouetted posts, marching to the golden grain face of the Board of Trade Building.  A little rain is the frosting on this golden cake!


A Band of Light

A Band of Light
A Band of Light, East Beckwith Mountain, Crested Butte, CO, September 30, 2015

Our timing was perfect – the yellowest aspens I had ever seen! And the clouds were a photographer’s best friend, letting a little sliver of sun shine through.  The beavers were still sleeping and missed this sight.


Aspen Stepping Stones
Aspen Stepping Stones, Maroon Bells, Snowmass, CO, October 1, 2015

I love capturing mountains and fall color reflected in water.  This string of stones was a welcoming path into nature’s Fall Fantasy Land!


Mossy Little River

Mossy Little River
Mossy Little River, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, TN, October 27, 2015

Moss means no direct sunlight. But the golden reflected sunlight bouncing from a canyon wall signaled me to trek down the side of this river bank to capture the glow seen by these mossy rocks.


Little River Light

Little River Sunrise
Little River Light, Great Smoky Mountains NP, October 30, 2015

β€œIt’s all about the light!” AND the shapes AND the colors AND the perspective AND the time of year AND getting out of bed AND … the eyes and persistence to see what you might have driven past!


Beaver Marsh Dawn

Dawn at Beaver Marsh
Beaver Marsh Dawn, Cuyahoga Valley National Park, OH,

This calm scene was truly worth getting up early for!  Hints of color of the sunrise to come, a lone twiggy tree stretching across the beaver pond to meet the lily pads, the fog creeping in the horizon – all combine here to calm my frenzied urge to get the shot!


Saturday Night Pacific

Saturday Night Pacific, Cape Perpetua, Yachats, OR

On this Oregon Coast trip, 55 MPH winds and rain kept me in my car photographing seagulls who had hunkered down in the grass. But if you wait long enough, the day will come when the seagulls fly, the light is perfect, and all the scenes are above average.


Wabash Avenue Magic

Wabash Avenue Magic, Wabash Avenue Bridge, Chicago, IL, September 13, 2018

I once visited Disneyland and was awed by the Parade of Lights – magical floats covered in thousands of tiny lights.  Now, seeing the City at Night, I light up with an even bigger Magical Feeling than that 27-year-old father felt back then.

Under the Bridge R&B

Under the Bridge R&B, State Street Bridge, Chicago, IL October 30, 2013

I played with Red and Blue for this image.  The bridge and I were born in 1949, and we’ll be 70 years old in 2019.  Google does not know how many rivets it holds, nor do we know how many breaths are left for each of us to enjoy it.   Both matter – for now!


I will include the video a later post.

« Older posts