March 11 has been a good day for photography, starting with the image above created 40 years ago today.
Favorite Photos – March 11
Category Archives: Photographs
Favorite Photo – March 10
The Orion Nebula in Orion Nebula, Canon 7D camera, 300mm lens, and an iOptron Sky Tracker.
It was 10 years ago tonight, March 10, 2016 at 11:04 pm. I had acquired a simple star tracker and was ready to test it out. I set up in a park west of Lamoni Iowa. I was using a 70-300mm lens on a Canon 5D Mark III. The aperture was f/11 and the shutter was open for 177 seconds. Without the star tracker my shutter speed would have been limited to about 1-2 seconds to prevent the everything from blurring due to earth’s rotation.
iPhone vs 250mm Lens at 450 Yards
Four people going ice fishing on Lake LaShane. iPhone image resized for the web. Click for a larger version.
I was looking at some iPhone photos from a month ago and came across this photo. My dog and I were out walking at one of the local lakes and I took this picture with my iPhone. Hundreds of yards off in the distance (upper left) I saw some people on the lake, so I got out my “toy” camera and lens. (See the 2nd and 3rd links below).
Beth and Aquila – Engagement Photos
Beth and Aquila, the Ad Building.
On January 27 it was my happy privilege to do the engagements photos for Beth and Aquila. I told them I would not post any photos until they had the opportunity to send out photos with the announcement of their engagement. The indoor photos were created at the “Ad Building” on the Graceland University campus. We also shot outside the Ad Building and near two local lakes. The windchill was 9 degrees so it was one of my coldest outdoor portrait shoots. Beth and I have done violin portraits outside in the cold and snow before (link below), so her name shows up twice on my list of “ten coldest portrait shoots”.
Favorite Photos – 2025
Click to see a larger version.
“Why don’t you post your favorite photos at the end of the year?” Good question. A lot of photographers do that. I have not been one of them, at least until today. This morning I decided to pick my favorite photos for 2025 and post them. The individual photos are below.
Hundreds of Geese in Flight
Snow Geese and Greater White-fronted Geese near Lake LaShane. February 27, 2026.
Hundreds of Greater White-fronted Geese and Snow Geese have been in the Lamoni Iowa area. These geese are flying in all kinds of directions over a corn field, looking for a place to land.
iPhone vs 400mm Lens
iPhone photo
I took a photo from the same location with my iPhone and a 400mm lens on my Canon 7D2 DSLR. This is the iPhone photo above.
Colorado Winter Photography Series – 2008
Bear Lake Road and Hallett Peak, Rocky Mountain National Park February 27, 2008.
In 2008 I went on my first and only winter photography trip to Colorado. I spent 6 glorious days. When the trip was over I posted two photos at this blog, and was quickly involved in other projects. 18 years later I decided it was about time to pull those discs off the shelf, look through the photos and see what I could find. I picked my favorite photos for each date. The result is this series of articles.
Links
Colorado, February 29
Bishop Castle, Rye Colorado. February 29, 2008. The three large windows at the top right are in the Great Room.
As I made my way north from southern Colorado toward Denver Colorado, I stopped at Bishop Castle not far from Rye Colorado. This is one of my favorite unusual places in Colorado.
Colorado, February 28
Mount Princeton. February 28, 2008.
I began the day by backtracking a bit. From Buena Vista I went north on U.S. 285 just far enough to stop at a picnic area on a hill east of town. This is one of my favorite views of Mt. Princeton and I wanted to capture it with all of the winter snow.
Colorado, February 27
Moraine Park, Rocky Mountain National Park. February 27, 2008.
Today was half Rocky Mountain National Park and half travel. It was a beautiful blue sky with clouds kind of morning.
Colorado, February 26
Moraine Park in Late Evening Light, RMNP, Colorado. Feb 26, 2008.
My favorite picture of the day was at the end of the day. I was near the Moraine Park visitor’s center watching clouds drift across the sky as the stars came out.
Colorado, February 25
Deer, Rocky Mountain National Park. February 25, 2008.
This fine young buck was standing not very far from one of the park roads.
Upper Tahquamenon Falls
Upper Tahquamenon Falls, Michigan. February 25, 2006.
A winter storm was on the way to Northern Michigan so I hopped in the car February 24, for the long drive from Columbus Ohio to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. My plan was to beat the storm to St. Ignace. I didn’t quite make it. It was snowing like crazy north of Gaylord, and crossing the Mackinac Bridge was not fun. But I made it safely to St. Ignace.
Colorado, February 24
St. Malo Center, Colorado. February 24, 2008.
This series of articles is kind of a nostalgia thing. Rocky Mountain National Park is one of my favorite places on the planet and it has been a while since I have been there. I am usually here in the summer or better yet in the fall, my favorite season in Colorado, but I am usually not keen on winter photography trips. But here I was, 18 years ago today.
Sami with Rose Petals
Sami with rose petals. February 23, 2007.
It was nine days after Valentine’s Day and I had a photo shoot scheduled. Most of the dozen Valentine’s Day roses were done and had been thrown away, but a few were still looking good.
Graceland University Winter Concert – February 19, 2026
Graceland University Concert Choir. February 19, 2026. Click the image to see a larger version.
“Pure Imagination”. That was the name for Graceland’s February 19, 2026 performance. The evening featured an eclectic choice of musical selections from G. F. Handel to contemporary composers. The Concert Choir opened the performance, followed by Graceland’s Harmonium, and the Graceland Jazz Ensemble. Addison Cole and Luke Clark were featured vocal soloists. Instrumental soloists were Brayden Ingram (guitar), Miles Winship (trumpet), and Jamin Wilson (alto sax). A select group of singers joined the Jazz Ensemble for the final number, S’posin’.
Snowy Owl
Snowy Owl, February 21, 2016.
I found an online report that there were numerous Snowy Owl sightings in northern Michigan thanks to lots of snow and cold weather. I made spur of the moment decision to leave Ohio and drive to Michigan. I am so glad I did. It was 10 years ago today.
Lyn Marie, Day 3
Lyn Marie, Columbus Ohio. Windchill 8 degrees.
Lyn wanted to go out and play in the snow, so she put on another of the many outfits she brought with her from St. Louis. She opted for clothes that look a bit distressed. The windchill was 8°F so she got very cold.
Lyn Marie, Day 2
Lyn Marie, Columbus Ohio. February 19, 2008.
Lyn came all the way from St. Louis to work with me. The windchill for the outside photo was 4.5 degrees, making it my third coldest portrait shoot ever. Lyn is a cold hardy model
Lyn Marie, Day 1
Lyn Marie, Columbus Ohio. February 18, 2008
The message went something like this: “If I drive from St. Louis Missouri to Columbus Ohio, can we spend a few days working together?” I said yes and she came to Columbus. We created these images 18 years ago today, February 18, 2008.
Beth in the Snow
Beth playing her violin in the snow.
February 12 is a red letter day! It started when Beth and I did a photo shoot in a snow storm in January 2020. We had so much fun we wanted to do it again. I was working in my office six years ago today and I looked out the window. Big, beautiful snowflakes were falling. I said to myself, “This would be a great day for another photo shoot in the snow.”
Second Coldest Portrait Shoot
Selina, Downtown Columbus Ohio. January 29, 2010, 5:57 pm. Windchill 4°F.
It was 16 years ago this evening. The windchill when I took this photo was 4°F. We scheduled this photo shoot weeks ahead of time and we knew it would be cold in January, but not THIS bone chillingly cold. I contacted her before she left home and asked if she wanted to re-schedule, but she wanted to go ahead with the shoot despite the forecast and she drove up from Kentucky. By the end of our shoot (photo below) the windchill was 3°F. This is my second coldest portrait shoot ever.
Your Camera Loves “Middle Gray” – And Why That is Important
Sarah, Professional Fitness Trainer
Your camera is in love with middle gray. The quicker you learn how to deal with this infatuation, the better your photos will look, including all of your color photos.
How to Use Your Camera’s Exposure Compensation Scale
Dawn at Sprague Lake, Rocky Mountain National Park
The exposure compensation scale on your camera is one of the keys to mastering exposures, getting better images, and ending up with professional quality colors. This means taking your camera off of full auto mode and taking control of your own exposures.
How To Series: Snowy Owl Photography
Snowy Owl looking for prey.
If there are cold enough temperatures and plenty of snow cover on the ground, the northern United States has a winter invasion of Snowy Owls. These are magnificent creatures and well worth your photographic time and attention. This series is filled with tips on how to find and photograph snowy owls.
Metering Evening Winter Scenes
Snow Hummocks, Merced River
Just like metering daytime winter scenes, the key to metering evening winter scenes is knowing what to meter and deciding how much exposure compensation to use.
January 10, 2022, 4:47 PM and 5:01 PM
Sunset, Corn Field, Lamoni Iowa. 4:47 PM.
Four years ago this afternoon my wife sent me on a quick errand to the grocery store. As I got close to the store I looked at the sun. I ended up laying down in a corn field instead.
Metering People in the Snow
Kristina in the Snow
The white snow in a winter scene can and often does fool a camera meter into underexposing a portrait, so here are the steps to take to get the right exposure. I throw in a few portrait suggestions too.
Rating Photos On The Road
Adobe Bridge, partial screen capture. Click to see a larger version.
For a project I am working on, I opened my “favorite photos” folder with Adobe Bridge to look for my favorite portraits created in Michigan. I did a search for “Michigan” + “portraits” and in less than a second Bridge showed me all of my favorite portraits taken in Michigan. This is a partial screen capture of some the results. (Bridge found a total of 154 favorite portraits taken in Michigan.) As I looked at the stars under the portraits of Anoush, it gave me an idea that became this article. My camera can rate photos with one to five stars. when I download the photos and open them in Bridge I see those star ratings. Sometimes that can be very important.