Favorite Photo, July 21

Meteor, Sagittarius; Scorpius, and Saturn over St. Joseph and Kansas City, Missouri. July 21, 2016

You shouldn’t be able to photograph stars from a plane. At least that is the conventional wisdom and the conventional wisdom, and in this case it almost always right. I have tried to photograph stars from a plane in flight numerous times but without success. But this flight was different.

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Favorite Photo, July 20

Pika, Rocky Mountain National Park
Pika, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado. July 20, 2005

I was up on Trail Ridge Road at Rock Cut. Pika were everywhere, gathering grass to stash away for the long winter. They have about about 3 or 4 months to gather enough food to last through an 8 or 9 month long winter. This was the only pika gathering flowers.

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Favorite Photo, July 17

Jim III, Janae, and Jared, O’Haver Lake, Colorado. July 17, 1989

If you have been following this series, this photo should look familiar. It is one in a series of photos of our children at this sign taken from 1979 to 1990. This series is a special favorite and this is my favorite photo for this date.

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Favorite Photo, July 16

Hummingbird, Fremont California. July 16, 2016.

Doris, my mother-in-law, has a beautiful Lantana in her back yard with numerous orange blossoms. On three consecutive trips to California I would occasionally notice a hummingbird feeding at the Lantana. I would grab a camera and lens but the hummingbird would be gone.

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Favorite Photo, July 15

Doris and Family, Fremont California. July 15, 2012.

The big day arrived, the celebration for Doris’ 90th birthday. Doris in the middle of the seated row, along with her four daughters. Gathered around are her sons-in-law, all of her grandchildren and some of her great-grand grandchildren. This is a favorite family portrait and one of my two most favorite images for this date.

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Favorite Photo, July 14

Janae and Doris, Fremont California. July 14, 2012.

It was a very busy week in Fremont California. Doris, my mother-in-law, turned 90 years old and birthday preparations were in full swing. At the end of a long day we were headed back to the house. Our daughter Janae walked her grandmother Doris up to the front door. I grabbed my camera and snapped this image. It is one of my all time favorite images, and one of my two most favorite photos for this date.

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Favorite Photo, July 12

Bay Area Bridge looking toward San Francisco California. July 12, 2006.

I was heading toward San Francisco and I liked the way the tunnel framed the bridge. I was deliberately in the center lane so the towers would line up. This is my favorite image for this date.

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Favorite Photo, July 10

Samantha, Worthington Ohio. July 10, 2011

Samantha is an Ohio model and we were in a local park creating images for our respective portfolios. It was a beautiful, soft light kind of day that is perfect for portraits. This is my favorite image from our photo shoot, and one of my two most favorite images for July 10.

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Favorite Photo, July 7

Kirtland Temple at Dusk, Kirtland Ohio. July 7, 2003.

The Kirtland Temple is a fascinating 1830s era building on the National Register of Historic Places. The walls of the Temple are white, but you wouldn’t know from this photo. The late evening light, combined with a nearby street light created this unusual color mix. This is my favorite photo for July 7.

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Colorado Fall Color Travel and Photography Guide

Maroon Bells and Maroon Lake. Mid-morning. September 24, 2015.

Maroon Bells and Maroon Lake. Mid-morning. September 24, 2015.

Welcome to my Colorado fall color travel and photography guide with over 100 pages of information (if you print it all out), 120 photos, and 17 maps. I cover some of the best known fall color locations in Colorado, and one real gem of a road that is mostly unknown to photographers and leaf peepers. Spend anywhere from a few days to three weeks exploring the beautiful Colorado Rockies at a gorgeous time of year.

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Favorite Photo, July 6

Jupiter in Scorpio, Park of the Pines, Michigan. July 6, 1995.

Park of the Pines is a campground on beautiful Lake Charlevoix near Boyne City Michigan. One night at summer camp I went to get a camera and tripod to photograph Jupiter in the stars of Scorpio over the tents, one of which had Christmas lights. I love the mix of warm and cool tones. This is my favorite image for this date.

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Favorite Photo, July 1

Showy Ladyslipper in sunlight
Sunlit Showy Ladyslipper, Northern Michigan. July 1, 2004.

I have quite a few favorite images for July 1 in my “favorite photos” folder. When I spotted this orchid at Thorne Swift Nature Preserve, the sunlight coming through the white petals was perfect. This is one of my two most favorite images for this date. Thorne Swift near Harbor Springs is a great place to do nature photography.

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Favorite Photo, June 30

Eastern Ribbon Snake, Portage Michigan. June 30, 1995.

This is another hard date to pick a favorite photo. If you have been following this series you know there are about 3400 images in my “favorite photos” folder, which would average out to about 9 photos for each date of the year. But some dates have a lot less, or none at all. The folder for June 30 has 38 favorite images to pick from.

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Favorite Photo, June 29

Sunny in the moonlight, Columbus Ohio. June 29, 2012.

There was a power outage in our part of town, so it was a perfect night to do moonlit photos without the intrusion of city lights. The three lights in the yard run on batteries that are charged by small solar panels during the day. The remarkable thing about this photo is how little our dog Sunny moved during the 30 second exposure. He was patiently waiting for me to finish what I was doing so we could get on with our night walk. This is my favorite photo for this date.

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Favorite Photo, June 24

Melissa, Columbus Ohio. June 24, 2017.

My lovely wife Melissa wanted a portrait, so we picked a nice location and went there on a day with nice, soft light – ideal for doing portraits. This is one of her favorite images, and a favorite of mine too. This is my favorite photo for June 24.

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Favorite Photo, June 23

Rebecca in Silver Metallic Bodypaint, Columbus Ohio. June 23, 2008

Rebecca is a professional model currently living in New York City. One of our goals was to do a photo shoot with Rebecca covered (except for her hair) in silver metallic body paint. This is my favorite photo for June 23.

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Favorite Photo, June 22

Metaphid Jumping Spider
Metaphid Jumping Spider, Columbus Ohio. June 22, 2014.

My wife spotted this metaphid jumping spider at a garden center. It kept jumping on to her whenever she got close to look at it. I tried to photograph it but it kept jumping onto my iPhone, or my hand. Besides, my phone minus a closeup adapter could not handle the task at hand.

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