This photograph was last month at the Old Louisiana State Capitol in Baton Rouge. This is the 14th photo from my new Nikon Z9 camera to be recognized with a "Photo of the Day".

This marks the 99th time that one of my photographs was recognized by Imaging Resource as its "Photo of the Day". A photographer is limited to one winning entry per month, so this series of winning images stretches back more than 10 years. Click here to view all of the winning entries.

Capitol CeilingImaging Resource's Photo of the Day for March 8, 2023

This photograph was captured a few months at Goblin Valley State Park during my last road trip through Utah. This is the 13th photo from my new Nikon Z9 camera to be recognized with a "Photo of the Day".

This marks the 98th time that one of my photographs was recognized by Imaging Resource as its "Photo of the Day". A photographer is limited to one winning entry per month, so this series of winning images stretches back more than 8 years. Click here to view all of the winning entries.

Three SistersImaging Resource's Photo of the Day for February 19, 2023

This photograph was captured a few months during my last road trip through Utah. This is the 12th photo from my new Nikon Z9 camera to be recognized with a "Photo of the Day".

This marks the 97th time that one of my photographs was recognized by Imaging Resource as its "Photo of the Day". A photographer is limited to one winning entry per month, so this series of winning images stretches back more than 8 years. Click here to view all of the winning entries.

Bryce CanyonImaging Resource's Photo of the Day for February 8, 2023

This photograph was captured a few months ago at the Albuquerque Zoo. This is the 11th photo from my new Nikon Z9 camera to be recognized with a "Photo of the Day".

This marks the 96th time that one of my photographs was recognized by Imaging Resource as its "Photo of the Day". A photographer is limited to one winning entry per month, so this series of winning images stretches back more than seven years. Click here to view all of the winning entries.

Zebra StripesImaging Resource's Photo of the Day for January 30, 2023

This photograph was captured during my most recent road trip to Utah. This is the tenth photo from my new Nikon Z9 camera to be recognized with a "Photo of the Day".

This marks the 95th time that one of my photographs was recognized by Imaging Resource as its "Photo of the Day". A photographer is limited to one winning entry per month, so this series of winning images stretches back more than seven years. Click here to view all of the winning entries.

Gifford HomesteadImaging Resource's Photo of the Day for December 7, 2022

This photograph was captured two months ago in the Cook County Preserves of the Chicago suburbs. This is the ninth photo from my new Nikon Z9 camera to be recognized with a "Photo of the Day".

This marks the 94th time that one of my photographs was recognized by Imaging Resource as its "Photo of the Day". A photographer is limited to one winning entry per month, so this series of winning images stretches back more than seven years. Click here to view all of the winning entries.

Winter Over SummerImaging Resource's Photo of the Day for November 20, 2022

This photograph was captured on Utah's Bicentennial Highway during my road trip in August. This is the eighth photo from my new Nikon Z9 camera to be recognized with a "Photo of the Day".

This marks the 94th time that one of my photographs was recognized by Imaging Resource as its "Photo of the Day". A photographer is limited to one winning entry per month, so this series of winning images stretches back more than eight years. Click here to view all of the winning entries.

Road TripImaging Resource's Photo of the Day for November 9, 2022

This photograph was captured just last month at the Lake Katherine Nature Center in Palos Heights, Illinois. This is the seventh photo from my new Nikon Z9 camera to be recognized with a "Photo of the Day".

This marks the 92nd time that one of my photographs was recognized by Imaging Resource as its "Photo of the Day". A photographer is limited to one winning entry per month, so this series of winning images stretches back more than seven years. Click here to view all of the winning entries.

DahliaImaging Resource's Photo of the Day for October 17, 2022

This photograph was captured just last month at the water aeration station in Worth, Illinois. I've also been using this picture as my desktop screensaver. This is the sixth photo from my new Nikon Z9 camera to be recognized with a "Photo of the Day".

This marks the 91st time that one of my photographs was recognized by Imaging Resource as its "Photo of the Day". A photographer is limited to one winning entry per month, so this series of winning images stretches back more than seven years. Click here to view all of the winning entries.

WaterfallImaging Resource's Photo of the Day for October 12, 2022

Day 1: Omaha, NE

Day 2: North Platte, NE - Pioneer Village

Day 3- Laramie, WY - St Matthews Cathedral, Pedestrian footbridge, downtown

Day 4- Jackson, WY - Grand Teton National Park

Day 5- Jackson, WY - Grand Teton National Park

Day 6- West Yellowstone, MT - Yellowstone National Park

Day 7- West Yellowstone, MT - Yellowstone National Park

Day 8- West Yellowstone, MT - Yellowstone National Park

Day 9- Bozeman, MT - Montana Grizzly Bear Encounter

Day 10- Buffalo, WY - Zoo Montana; Little Bighorn National Battlefield

Day 11- Badlands National Park, SD - Cottonwood Ghost Town

Day 12- Sioux Falls, SD - 1880 Town; Porter Sculpture Park; Falls Park

Day 13- Iowa City, IA - Frank Gehry designed building

Day 14- Orland Park, IL

This photograph was captured last month in Colorado Springs. My intention was to photograph the amazing Cadet Chapel at the Air Force Academy, but the Chapel is closed for renovation until 2027. Fortunately, I happened to see this blue building from my hotel--and found it to be an interesting subject. This is the fifth photo from my new Nikon Z9 camera to be recognized with a "Photo of the Day".

This marks the 90th time that one of my photographs was recognized by Imaging Resource as its "Photo of the Day". A photographer is limited to one winning entry per month, so this series of winning images stretches back more than seven years. Click here to view all of the winning entries.

Blue BuildingImaging Resource's Photo of the Day for September 14, 2022

This photograph was captured just two weeks before it appeared as the Photo of the Day. This is the fourth photo from my new Nikon Z9 camera to be recognized with a "Photo of the Day".

This marks the 89th time that one of my photographs was recognized by Imaging Resource as its "Photo of the Day". A photographer is limited to one winning entry per month, so this series of winning images stretches back more than seven years. Click here to view all of the winning entries.

DaylilyImaging Resource's Photo of the Day for August 8, 2022

This photograph was captured in June at the Cook County Forest Preserves in the southwest suburbs of Chicago. This is the third photo from my new Nikon Z9 camera to be recognized with a "Photo of the Day".

This marks the 88th time that one of my photographs was recognized by Imaging Resource as its "Photo of the Day". A photographer is limited to one winning entry per month, so this series of winning images stretches back more than seven years. Click here to view all of the winning entries.

Saganashkee SloughImaging Resource's Photo of the Day for July 8, 2022

This photograph was captured earlier this year at the Tropic World exhibit at the Brookfield Zoo. This is the second photo from my new Nikon Z9 camera to be recognized with a "Photo of the Day".

This marks the 87th time that one of my photographs was recognized by Imaging Resource as its "Photo of the Day". A photographer is limited to one winning entry per month, so this series of winning images stretches back more than seven years. Click here to view all of the winning entries.

Gorilla PortraitImaging Resource's Photo of the Day for June 15, 2022

This photograph was captured last month at the Brookfield Zoo. This is the first photo from my new Nikon Z9 camera to be recognized with a "Photo of the Day".

This marks the 86th time that one of my photographs was recognized by Imaging Resource as its "Photo of the Day". A photographer is limited to one winning entry per month, so this series of winning images stretches back more than seven years. Click here to view all of the winning entries.

African LionImaging Resource's Photo of the Day for March 10, 2022

Clinton's birthplacePresident William Jefferson Clinton Birthplace Home National Historic Site at 117 S Hervey Street in Hope, Arkansas on February 21, 2022

Clinton's birthplacePresident William Jefferson Clinton Birthplace Home National Historic Site at 117 S Hervey Street in Hope, Arkansas on February 21, 2022 Clinton's birthplacePresident William Jefferson Clinton Birthplace Home National Historic Site at 117 S Hervey Street in Hope, Arkansas on February 21, 2022

This photograph was captured late last year. I positioned a small flashlight to the side of the butterfly to help bring out the texture of the wing. I used my Nikon 200 f4 Micro lens with an extension tube to get really close to the wing. Two of the pictures that I captured during that photo shoot were recognized with a "Photo of the Day".

This marks the 85th time that one of my photographs was recognized by Imaging Resource as its "Photo of the Day". A photographer is limited to one winning entry per month, so this series of winning images stretches back more than seven years. Click here to view all of the winning entries.

Butterfly Wing 2Imaging Resource's Photo of the Day for March 3, 2022

This photograph was captured late last year. I positioned a small flashlight to the side of the butterfly to help bring out the texture of the wing. I used my Nikon 200 f4 Micro lens with an extension tube to get really close to the wing.

This marks the 84th time that one of my photographs was recognized by Imaging Resource as its "Photo of the Day". A photographer is limited to one winning entry per month, so this series of winning images stretches back more than seven years. Click here to view all of the winning entries.

Butterfly WingImaging Resource's Photo of the Day for February 9, 2022

NIKON Z 7_2    ---    43mm    f/8.0    1/80s    ISO 64

2- Buffalo Bodega Complex

NIKON Z 7_2    ---    116mm    f/8.0    1/25s    ISO 64

3- Fairmont Hotel windows

NIKON Z 7_2    ---    48mm    f/8.0    1/30s    ISO 64

4- Main Street

NIKON Z 7_2    ---    70mm    f/8.0    1/20s    ISO 64

5- Bloody Nose Saloon

NIKON Z 7_2    ---    53mm    f/8.0    1/10s    ISO 64

6- Bullock Hotel

NIKON Z 7_2    ---    16mm    f/8.0    1/60s    ISO 64

7- Hickok's

NIKON Z 7_2    ---    14mm    f/8.0    1/60s    ISO 64

8- I don't want to turn this into a political post! But, a couple of the T-shirt shops definitely tried to stir the pot. T-shirts with a "stolen White House", extremely disturbing vulgarities toward Vice President Harris, "Biden Looney Tunes", Trump with his middle finger raised, etc. For retail stores, they definitely weren't trying to appeal to everyone!

NIKON Z 7_2    ---    200mm    f/8.0    1/8s    ISO 64

9- Another view of the Fairmont Hotel

NIKON Z 7_2    ---    16mm    f/8.0    1/80s    ISO 64

10- Bullock Hotel

NIKON Z 7_2    ---    14mm    f/8.0    1/40s    ISO 64

11- Wild Bill Bar

NIKON Z 7_2    ---    67mm    f/8.0    1/20s    ISO 64

12- Wild Bill Bar...site of the killing of Wild Bill Hickok

NIKON Z 7_2    ---    50mm    f/8.0    1/30s    ISO 64

A couple of other notes regarding my travels...

I stayed at the Hampton Inn on Main Street. This allowed me to walk to all of these locations at my convenience and to try to time the shots for the best possible lighting and with minimal crowds. During the offseason, the Hampton Inn was just $39 per night! The night after I left, the price went of to $215. The Hampton Inn is attached to a casino. I'm not much of a gambler, but they gave me $15 of "free play" when I checked in. I ran the free play through a slot machine and pulled $11 out of the machine. I then cashed out!

This photograph was captured during my October road trip to South Dakota. This is the sixth time one of my photographs has won this contest since I migrated to mirrorless with the Nikon Z7ii camera. This is the second photo to be recognized as Photo of the Day from Panorama Point in Badlands National Park!

This marks the 83rd time that one of my photographs was recognized by Imaging Resource as its "Photo of the Day". A photographer is limited to one winning entry per month, so this series of winning images stretches back more than seven years. Click here to view all of the winning entries.

Badlands SunsetImaging Resource's Photo of the Day for January 2, 2022

Here are my favorites, in no particular order:

A Winter Walk in the Orland Grassland
A Winter WalkHiker on a snowy trail at the Orland Grassland North at 104th Avenue and Santa Cruz Lane in Orland Park, Illinois on January 3, 2021 Sunset in the South Dakota Badlands
Badlands SunsetImaging Resource's Photo of the Day for January 2, 2022 Extreme Close-Up of a Bobcat
BobcatBobcat at Bear Country USA at 13820 US-16 in Rapid City, South Dakota on October 19, 2021 Residence Hall at Illinois State University
Watterson TowersWatterson Residence Halls on the campus of Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois on June 6, 2021 Butterfly Wing
Butterfly wingClose-up of a butterfly (Papilio gigon verso) wing in Orland Park, Illinois on November 26, 2021 Wooden Wagon Wheel Repair Shop
Blacksmith shopBlacksmith shop at the 1880 Town at 24280 SD Hwy 63 Interstate 90 Exit 170 in Midland, South Dakota on October 22, 2021 Wisconsin State Capitol
Assembly staircasesStaircases in front of the Assembly Room in the Wisconsin State Capitol at 2 East Main Street in Madison, Wisconsin on June 19, 2021 Bond Falls
Bond FallsBond Falls (Upper Falls) near Paulding, Michigan on September 25, 2021 Youth Football
Orland Park Pioneers FootballFootball game between the Orland Park Pioneers and the New Lenox Warriors at Lincoln Way West High School at 21701 Gougar Road in New Lenox, Illinois on March 28, 2021 Endless Prison Cell Bars, Ohio State Reformatory
Cell blockEndless bars of the cell block inside the Ohio State Reformatory at 100 Reformatory Road in Mansfield, Ohio on July 19, 2021

Happy New Year!

You may CLICK HERE to view a full preview of this year's book. It's most effective to view the images with the pages of the book expanded to fill your monitor.

I use Blurb to create my books. I'm very pleased with the quality of the product--from the binding and paper to the image quality. Producing such a small quantity of books makes for a high cost per unit. I make these available for purchase at the base cost from Blurb. However, the book isn't intended for general distribution. I like to create one for my own records--and family and friends occasionally order books as well.

This is the 14th annual "A Look Through My Lens" book that I've created!

A Look Through My Lens

By Glenn Nagel

This photograph was captured during my October road trip to South Dakota. This is the fifth time one of my photographs has won this contest since I migrated to mirrorless with the Nikon Z7ii camera.

This marks the 82nd time that one of my photographs was recognized by Imaging Resource as its "Photo of the Day". A photographer is limited to one winning entry per month, so this series of winning images stretches back more than seven years. Click here to view all of the winning entries.

South Dakota BadlandsImaging Resource's Photo of the Day for December 15, 2021

This photograph was captured during my road trip to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in September. This is the fourth time one of my photographs has won this contest since I migrated to mirrorless with the Nikon Z7ii camera.

This marks the 81st time that one of my photographs was recognized by Imaging Resource as its "Photo of the Day". A photographer is limited to one winning entry per month, so this series of winning images stretches back more than seven years. Click here to view all of the winning entries.

Bond FallsImaging Resource's Photo of the Day for November 12, 2011

CarhengeCarhenge sculpture at 2151 Co Road 59 near Alliance, Nebraska on October 16, 2021. Carhenge is a replica of England's Stonehenge. Carhenge is formed from vintage American automobiles, all covered with gray spray paint. Built by Jim Reinders. CarhengeCarhenge sculpture at 2151 Co Road 59 near Alliance, Nebraska on October 16, 2021. Carhenge is a replica of England's Stonehenge. Carhenge is formed from vintage American automobiles, all covered with gray spray paint. Built by Jim Reinders. CarhengeCarhenge sculpture at 2151 Co Road 59 near Alliance, Nebraska on October 16, 2021. Carhenge is a replica of England's Stonehenge. Carhenge is formed from vintage American automobiles, all covered with gray spray paint. Built by Jim Reinders. CarhengeCarhenge sculpture at 2151 Co Road 59 near Alliance, Nebraska on October 16, 2021. Carhenge is a replica of England's Stonehenge. Carhenge is formed from vintage American automobiles, all covered with gray spray paint. Built by Jim Reinders. CarhengeCarhenge sculpture at 2151 Co Road 59 near Alliance, Nebraska on October 16, 2021. Carhenge is a replica of England's Stonehenge. Carhenge is formed from vintage American automobiles, all covered with gray spray paint. Built by Jim Reinders.

This was the first trip that I took with an all electric vehicle. I purchased a Tesla just weeks before the trip. The Tesla performed well throughout the road trip...and driving an electric car on a long road trip can be the subject of another article.

Here was my itinerary for this trip:

Day 1:  Omaha, NE (commuting day)

Day 2:  North Platte, NE (Nebraska State Capitol, Pioneer Village)

Day 3:  Cheyenne, WY (Buffalo Bill's Ranch, Wyoming State Capitol)

Day 4:  Scottsbluff, NE (Scotts Bluff, Carhenge, Chimney Rock)

Day 5:  Deadwood, SD (Fort Laramie, Register Cliff, Deadwood)

Day 6:  Deadwood, SD (Deadwood historic Main Street, Spearfish Canyon)

Day 7:  Rapid City, SD (Bear Country, Art Alley)

Day 8:  Wall, SD (Badlands National Park)

Day 9:  Wall, SD (Badlands National Park, Minuteman Missile National Historic Site)

Day 10: Pierre, SD (Badlands National Park, South Dakota State Capitol)

Day 11: Sioux City, IA (Native American National Scenic Byway, Yankton downtown)

Day 12: Orland Park, IL (commuting day)

This photograph was captured from Clingmans Dome in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It was captured nearly 8 years ago with the Nikon D800 camera.

This marks the 80th time that one of my photographs was recognized by Imaging Resource as its "Photo of the Day". A photographer is limited to one winning entry per month, so this series of winning images stretches back more than seven years. Click here to view all of the winning entries.

Smoky MountainsImaging Resource's Photo of the Day for October 10, 2021

This photograph was captured in July at the Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield, Ohio. I arranged for private photography access to this fascinating building. In order to maintain sharpness throughout the frame, I used the "focus stacking" technique to create this picture. This is the third time one of my photographs has won this contest since I migrated to mirrorless with the Nikon Z7ii camera.

This marks the 79th time that one of my photographs was recognized by Imaging Resource as its "Photo of the Day". A photographer is limited to one winning entry per month, so this series of winning images stretches back more than seven years. Click here to view all of the winning entries.

Prison Cell BlockImaging Resource's Photo of the Day for August 18, 2021

When I visit such a location, I always offer to share any photographs I capture with the church. The church can then use the full resolution files for any purpose they wish--for no charge. So, I strive to do my best in presenting the church in the images.

Here are some of the pictures from my visit:

Basilica of St. JohnNave from the balcony of the Basilica of St. John at 1915 University Avenue in Des Moines, Iowa on July 29, 2021 Basilica of St. JohnNave from the balcony of the Basilica of St. John at 1915 University Avenue in Des Moines, Iowa on July 29, 2021 Basilica of St. JohnPipe organ and rose window of the Basilica of St. John at 1915 University Avenue in Des Moines, Iowa on July 29, 2021 Basilica of St. JohnBasilica of St. John at 1915 University Avenue in Des Moines, Iowa on July 29, 2021 Basilica of St. JohnBasilica of St. John at 1915 University Avenue in Des Moines, Iowa on July 29, 2021

I, along with two other photographers, were granted access to the interior of the prison from 9am until 11am. At 11am, the prison opened to the general public. I was permitted to stay, so I ended up visiting for five or six hours.

Here are some images from my visit:

Ohio State ReformatoryExterior of the Ohio State Reformatory at 100 Reformatory Road in Mansfield, Ohio on July 19, 2021 Ohio State ChapelChapel inside the Ohio State Reformatory at 100 Reformatory Road in Mansfield, Ohio on July 19, 2021 Cell blockEndless bars of the cell block inside the Ohio State Reformatory at 100 Reformatory Road in Mansfield, Ohio on July 19, 2021 Ohio State ReformatoryStaircase inside the Ohio State Reformatory at 100 Reformatory Road in Mansfield, Ohio on July 19, 2021 Hand printHand print on the wall of the Ohio State Reformatory at 100 Reformatory Road in Mansfield, Ohio on July 19, 2021 To view more of my photographs of the prison, please CLICK HERE.

The library was challenging to photograph. Harsh sunlight was shining through the windows. The sunlight not only made it difficult from a color perspective due to the mixed lighting sources (daylight vs. the warmer light from the chandeliers), but it also made balancing the exposure a challenge. I converted the picture to black and white in part due to the color issues.

Law libraryState Law Library at the Iowa State Capitol at 1007 E Grand Avenue in Des Moines, Iowa on July 28, 2021 I pay attention to symmetry in my photographs. No matter how carefully tried to align things, the picture continued to look unbalanced. The reason for this is that the tables were not centered on the floor. Notice how the tables are positioned such that they align with the second set of diamond tiles on the left, but the third set of diamond tiles on the right. If I were able to move the tables to the right, I could have aligned the tables with the chandeliers. But this was not to be. As I tried moving the first table, I quickly noticed that the weight was going to make this process a big effort. There are a lot of tables--and before long I would have attracted the attention of the librarian. The tables make a lot of noise when they slide on the tile. I had already moved some trash cans from the scene (although I missed some on the left).

So, I ended up shooting the scene as is. I like it, but not as much as if I had moved all the tables!

This photograph was captured in June in Madison, Wisconsin. I was visiting the area while coaching my 14U travel baseball team in a tournament. I got away one afternoon to capture some photographs in downtown Madison. This is the second time one of my photographs has won this contest since I migrated to mirrorless with the Nikon Z7ii camera.

This marks the 78th time that one of my photographs was recognized by Imaging Resource as its "Photo of the Day". A photographer is limited to one winning entry per month, so this series of winning images stretches back more than seven years. Click here to view all of the winning entries.

Wisconsin State CapitolImaging Resource's Photo of the Day for August 18, 2021

A few years ago, I discovered this building and captured some exterior images of one of the wings:

Des Moines Art CenterDes Moines Art Center at 4700 Grand Avenue in Des Moines, Iowa on July 16, 2016 Stairway to NowhereDes Moines Art Center at 4700 Grand Avenue in Des Moines, Iowa on July 16, 2016 This time, I entered the building in hopes of capturing some interior pictures. But, at least initially, that wasn't to be. I was told that I couldn't enter with any professional gear, including a tripod. I asked if I could take some photos with my camera--handheld. At that point, I stripped my gear down to its smallest size...my Nikon Z7ii (without grip) with one lens attached (the Nikon 14-24 S). No tripod. Security personnel said it was OK.

I was mostly interested in taking pictures of this contemporary staircase in the Richard Meier wing of the Art Center. I set my camera for a three frame exposure bracket (using high speed frame rate) and fired three snaps while trying to keep the lens as steady as possible. It helped that my Nikon Z7ii offers image stabilization. So, even though my lens didn't have vibration reduction--the camera did steady things. I was able to capture an acceptable photograph. Yes, that's a "Taco Pizza Slice" chandelier hanging from the ceiling!

Des Moines Art CenterStaircase in the Richard Meier wing of the Des Moines Art Center at 4700 Grand Avenue in Des Moines, Iowa on July 29, 2021. Justin Favela is the artist who created the "Taco Pizza Slice Chandelier" hanging from the ceiling. I also captured this photograph of a corridor in the same wing of the Art Center. While composing this image, I placed a knee on the floor to gain a lower perspective. As soon as my knee touched the ground, I heard one of the employees approach me from behind. She shouted "now that's a professional photo shoot!" She told me to stop taking pictures as it was clear that I was a professional. I explained that I was cleared by security after I left my "professional" tools (mainly the tripod) in my car. I also said that just because I lowered myself to change the perspective doesn't mean that I'm a professional. I had no plans to sell these photos. She relented and I continued shooting.

Des Moines Art CenterCorridor in the Des Moines Art Center at 4700 Grand Avenue in Des Moines, Iowa on July 29, 2021 Before leaving, I captured this photograph of a staircase inside the wing designed by architect I.M. Pei. The brutalist style of this wing contrasts with the contemporary wing designed by Richard Meier.

Brutalist staircaseArchitect I.M. Pei designed this brutalist staircase in the Des Moines Art Center at 4700 Grand Avenue in Des Moines, Iowa on July 29, 2021 In the end, I found many interesting subjects to photograph during my short stay in Des Moines. CLICK HERE to view those images.

Iowa Women of Achievement BridgeIowa Women of Achievement Bridge over the Des Moines River at Principal River Walk in Des Moines, Iowa on July 15, 2016 I arrived at the bridge about 20 minutes before sunset and set up my composition. I waited until 30 or 40 minutes after sunset, but the bridge lights never went on. My photo shoot was spoiled.

I left the site and checked into my hotel--the Hampton Inn. As I entered the room, I was shocked to see my own photograph hanging on the wall!

I submit my pictures to a number of photo stock agencies, so I assume that the Hilton purchased my photograph from one of those agencies.

What an incredible coincidence!

This photograph was captured last month in Baraboo, Wisconsin. The barn dates back to 1908. It was one of the buildings within the headquarters of the Ringling Brothers Circus. The harsh light in this situation was a blessing. It created the shadows that make the lines of the barn stand out more.

This marks the 77th time that one of my photographs was recognized by Imaging Resource as its "Photo of the Day". A photographer is limited to one winning entry per month, so this series of winning images stretches back more than seven years. Click here to view all of the winning entries.

Red BarnImaging Resource's Photo of the Day for July 7, 2021

This photograph was captured earlier this year at Lake Michigan in Michigan City, Indiana. I partially desaturated the image while editing it in Photoshop.

This marks the 76th time that one of my photographs was recognized by Imaging Resource as its "Photo of the Day". A photographer is limited to one winning entry per month, so this series of winning images stretches back more than seven years. Click here to view all of the winning entries.

Lifeguard TowerImaging Resource's Photo of the Day for June 6, 2021

This photograph was captured in 2014 during one of my most memorable road trips. CLICK HERE to read my blog entry about the challenging road conditions that I faced to capture this image!

This marks the 75th time that one of my photographs was recognized by Imaging Resource as its "Photo of the Day". A photographer is limited to one winning entry per month, so this series of winning images stretches back more than six years. Click here to view all of the winning entries over the past few years.

Fajada ButteImaging Resource's Photo of the Day for May 14, 2021

• Just placed an order for the Z7ii.
• Once the Z7ii arrives, I plan to replace the 14-24 and 24-70 lenses with the S 2.8 versions. The S version of the 24-70 looks to be a significant improvement over my 24-70 (first version) and the 14-24 also looks to be improved (although that's tough to do against my 14-24). The filter options for the 14-24 S look to be a lot more convenient.
• I plan to keep my 70-200 F mount (latest version) and use it with the FTZ adapter.
• I plan to keep all of my other F mount lenses and use the FTZ adapter for now.
• I plan to keep my D850 for a while and use it for action photography with my long lenses. I suspect the D850 will outperform the Z7ii for action photography--sports and birds in flight.
• Within the next year, I expect the Z7ii to transition to my backup camera. It's possible that the Z9 (or whatever the model) will be my primary camera, but I'll wait to see the pricing and specs on that first. In any event, once the Z7ii moves to being a backup, I'll sell my D850 and two of my Holy Trinity lenses.
• I plan to keep the long telephoto primes for quite some time and use with the FTZ adapter. I will likely sell one or two of them (probably the 200 f2 and the 300 2.8) in time.

It's an expensive transition, but not as costly as it could be as I'm retaining all but two of my lenses. I have made the decision to stick with Nikon--mostly because I'm so heavily invested in the system, particularly the lenses.

I decided that mirrorless is going to be the future for me and that it's best to start making the transition now. I don't expect the Z7ii to outperform my D850 in terms of image image quality, but I do expect the S lenses to be superior to my F mount lenses...and will also appreciate the size and weight savings. As I'm making this transition, I think I'll be better positioned to take advantage of future advances with mirrorless technology...such as the ones we are already seeing with the most recent Sony flagship body.

So, that's the plan. I made the first step by placing an order for the Z7ii today!

So, here's the preliminary itinerary for this summer's road trip. This trip covers 8 states, 20 days and 3,500 miles:

Day 1: Des Moines, IA - revisit Iowa Capitol

Day 2: Omaha NE - Zoo

Day 3: North Platte - NE - revisit Nebraska Capitol, Buffalo Bill Ranch

Day 4: Scottsbluff, NE - Oregon Trail, Fort Laramie

Day 5: Cheyenne, WY - revisit Wyoming Capitol

Day 6: Cheyenne, WY - Botanic Gardens

Day 7: Laramie, WY 

Day 8: Rawlins, WY - Wyoming Frontier Prison

Day 9: Jackson, WY - Grand Teton National Park

Day 10: West Yellowstone, MT - Yellowstone National Park

Day 11: West Yellowstone, MT - Yellowstone National Park

Day 12: Gardiner, MT - Mammoth Springs

Day 13: Bozeman, MT - Livingston, Montana Grizzly Encounter

Day 14: Helena, MT - revisit Montana Capitol, Gates of the Mountains boat tour

Day 15: Billings, MT - Zoo Montana

Day 16: Custer, SD - Mt Rushmore, Little Bighorn

Day 17: Wall, SD - Murdo, Badlands National Park

Day 18: Pierre, SD - revisit South Dakota Capitol

Day 19: LaCrosse, WI - Porter Sculpture Park

Day 20: Orland Park, IL

This photograph was captured on an unusually warm December (2020) evening at Silver Beach in St. Joseph, Michigan.

This marks the 74th time that one of my photographs was recognized by Imaging Resource as its "Photo of the Day". A photographer is limited to one winning entry per month, so this series of winning images stretches back more than six years. Click here to view all of the winning entries over the past few years.

Lake MichiganImaging Resource's Photo of the Day for March 7, 2021

This photograph was captured five years ago at Mono Lake in California. I was practicing some newly learned post processing techniques and decided to revisit this photograph from the past.

This marks the 73rd time that one of my photographs was recognized by Imaging Resource as its "Photo of the Day". A photographer is limited to one winning entry per month, so this series of winning images stretches back more than six years. Click here to view all of the winning entries over the past few years.

Mono LakeImaging Resource's Photo of the Day for February 11, 2021

This photograph was captured over a decade ago at Badwater salt pan in Death Valley National Park, California. Last week, I was practicing some newly learned post processing techniques and decided to revisit this photograph from the past.

This marks the 72nd time that one of my photographs was recognized by Imaging Resource as its "Photo of the Day". A photographer is limited to one winning entry per month, so this series of winning images stretches back more than six years. Click here to view all of the winning entries over the past few years.

Death ValleyImaging Resource's Photo of the Day for January 8, 2021

This year, I decided to do something different. The book is a collection of my favorite photographs from the past decade. The process of selecting the pictures to include in the book helped me relive so many remarkable experiences. It really has been an amazing ten years of photography.

You may CLICK HERE to view a full preview of this year's book. It's most effective to view the images with the pages of the book expanded to fill your monitor.

I use Blurb to create my books. I'm very pleased with the quality of the product--from the binding and paper to the image quality. Producing such a small quantity of books makes for a high cost per unit. I make these available for purchase at the base cost from Blurb. However, the book isn't intended for general distribution. I like to create one for my own records--and family and friends occasionally order books as well.

This is the 13th annual "A Look Through My Lens" book that I've created!

A Look Through My Lens

By Glenn Nagel

This photograph was captured last month at an office building near my home. I happened to notice the reflections--and went back home to grab my camera!

This marks the 71st time that one of my photographs was recognized by Imaging Resource as its "Photo of the Day". A photographer is limited to one winning entry per month, so this series of winning images stretches back more than six years. Click here to view all of the winning entries over the past few years.

Office Building ReflectionImaging Resource's Photo of the Day for December 22, 2020

This photograph was captured last month at the Old Joliet Prison. I live less than 30 minutes from the Joliet Prison and have always wanted to go inside the walls of this historic structure. But, the prison was closed for many years. Now that it is open for tours, I joined a photography tour--which enabled me to spend four hours on the grounds with limited visitors. Best of all, tripods were allowed.

This marks the 70th time that one of my photographs was recognized by Imaging Resource as its "Photo of the Day". A photographer is limited to one winning entry per month, so this series of winning images stretches back more than six years. Click here to view all of the winning entries over the past few years.

Cell BlockImaging Resource's Photo of the Day for November 14, 2020

This photograph was captured earlier this summer. The plant lives right outside my front door!

This marks the 69th time that one of my photographs was recognized by Imaging Resource as its "Photo of the Day". A photographer is limited to one winning entry per month, so this series of winning images stretches back more than six years. Click here to view all of the winning entries over the past few years.

Hosta LeafImaging Resource's Photo of the Day for October 21, 2020

This photograph earlier this year at the Howell Nature Center in Michigan.

This marks the 68th time that one of my photographs was recognized by Imaging Resource as its "Photo of the Day". A photographer is limited to one winning entry per month, so this series of winning images stretches back more than six years. Click here to view all of the winning entries over the past few years.

Bald EagleImaging Resource's Photo of the Day for September 2, 2020

This photograph was a couple of months ago at the Lake Katherine Nature Center in Palos Heights, Illinois. I was fortunate enough to see the baby mute swans (cynets) up close on two occasions.

This marks the 67th time that one of my photographs was recognized by Imaging Resource as its "Photo of the Day". A photographer is limited to one winning entry per month, so this series of winning images stretches back more than six years. Click here to view all of the winning entries over the past few years.

Baby SwanImaging Resource's Photo of the Day for July 16, 2020

In any event, I found the subject to be interesting. So, I removed this one small section of the plant and brought it home with me to photograph it.

I quickly set up a miniature "studio" on my kitchen table. The studio included a small piece of white foam board as my background. I lit the background with a tiny flash (the Nikon SB R-200):

I then lit the plant with a somewhat larger flash (the Nikon SB-900). I handheld the SB-900 and aimed it through a diffuser. Both flashes were triggered remotely by the Nikon SU-800. The light output of each flash can be set directly through the SU-800--which is positioned on the hotshoe of the camera (Nikon D850). The lens was the Nikon 200mm f/4 Micro.

Here is the final result:

Canada thistleCanada thistle in Orland Park, Illinois on June 20, 2020  

I captured the following images with my Nikon D850 camera, Nikon 200 f/4 Micro lens. I also attached Kenko extension tubes so that I could get even closer.

Butterfly wingCloseup of an Indonesian cethosia hypsea butterfly wing in Orland Park, Illinois on May 3, 2020. This butterfly is of the family Nymphalidae. It is found in from Burma to Indonesia and the Philippines. Butterfly wingCloseup of a yellow orange callicore cynosura butterfly wing in Orland Park, Illinois on May 3, 2020 Butterfly wingCloseup of a butterfly wing in Orland Park, Illinois on May 3, 2020

Most of these images were captured from a distance of 9 or 10 feet. The swans were comfortable with me being at that distance as long as I stayed very low to the ground and kept relatively still.

CygnetsBaby swans, or cygnets, at 7402 Lake Katherine Drive in Palos Heights, Illinois on May 13, 2020 CygnetBaby swan, or cygnet, at 7402 Lake Katherine Drive in Palos Heights, Illinois on May 13, 2020 SwanMale mute swan, or cob, at 7402 Lake Katherine Drive in Palos Heights, Illinois on May 13, 2020 CygnetBaby swan, or cygnet, at 7402 Lake Katherine Drive in Palos Heights, Illinois on May 13, 2020 CygnetBaby swan (cygnet) at 7402 Lake Katherine Drive in Palos Heights, Illinois on May 16, 2020. This baby swan was 8 days old. SwanFemale mute swan at 7402 Lake Katherine Drive in Palos Heights, Illinois on May 16, 2020 SwansBaby mute swans with mother at 7402 Lake Katherine Drive in Palos Heights, Illinois on May 13, 2020. These baby swans were 8 days old.
 

This photograph was captured at White Sands National Monument during my recent road trip through New Mexico. Since my return from New Mexico, White Sands has been elevated to White Sands National Park. This is the fifth photograph from that road trip to win a contest.

This marks the 66th time that one of my photographs was recognized by Imaging Resource as its "Photo of the Day". A photographer is limited to one winning entry per month, so this series of winning images stretches back more than six years. Click here to view all of the winning entries over the past few years.

White SandsImaging Resource's Photo of the Day for May 20, 2020

This photograph was captured at the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge during my recent road trip through New Mexico. This is the fourth photograph from that road trip to win a contest.

This marks the 65th time that one of my photographs was recognized by Imaging Resource as its "Photo of the Day". A photographer is limited to one winning entry per month, so this series of winning images stretches back more than six years. Click here to view all of the winning entries over the past few years.

Snow GooseImaging Resource's Photo of the Day for March 5, 2020

When I started this photography website back in 2012, I never imagined that the site would attract this many viewers.

Another advantage of the internet is having the opportunity to share my photographs with people throughout the world. People from 157 different countries have visited my website.

Photography wouldn't be nearly as much fun if I didn't have a way of sharing the images with other people. So, thanks to everyone who has taken the time to view my photographs over the years.

This photograph was captured at the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge during my recent road trip through New Mexico. This is the third photograph from that road trip to win a contest.

This marks the 64th time that one of my photographs was recognized by Imaging Resource as its "Photo of the Day". A photographer is limited to one winning entry per month, so this series of winning images stretches back more than six years. Click here to view all of the winning entries over the past few years.

Sandhill CranesImaging Resource's Photo of the Day for February 18, 2020

Very Large ArrayVery Large Array (VLA) on the plains of the San Agustin desert just north of Magnalena, New Mexico on November 16, 2019. The Very Large Array is a radio astronomy observatory made up of 27 massive radio telescopes. Each dish is 82 feet across and weighs more than 200 tons. They are positioned along three arms of a track shaped in a Y configuration with each arm extending out 13 miles. So, in its widest configuration the telescopes extend 26 miles across.

It's one of my favorite places. But, it can be a difficult place for photography:

1. The park is not open to visitors until 7am and closes by 6pm...so photographers will most likely miss the best light around sunrise and sunset.
2. I had to walk up to two miles in the sand with my equipment to get far enough away from the many footprints in the sand.
3. If you aren't careful, it is easy to get disoriented. The sand dunes go on for miles and look the same in all directions. Fortunately, there are some "trails" with stakes for guidance. And, I had a map, cell phone and GPS. I didn't go very far from the stakes as people have died getting lost in this place.
4. If it gets windy, there's a good chance you won't be able to see the stakes any longer!

During my visit, there wasn't much wind. Once I got about a mile out, I don't think I've ever experienced an environment as quiet as this one. It was a memorable experience. The place is otherworldly!

CLICK HERE to view the B&W images.

CLICK HERE to view the color images.

White SandsDunes at White Sands National Monument near Alamogordo, New Mexico on November 20, 2019 Endless sand ripplesSand ripples in the dunes at White Sands National Monument near Alamogordo, New Mexico on November 18, 2019 White SandsSunset at White Sands National Monument with Sacramento Mountains from the Backcountry Trail near Alamogordo, New Mexico on November 20, 2019 White SandsSand ripples in the dunes at White Sands National Monument near Alamogordo, New Mexico on November 19, 2019
 

This photograph was captured at the Albuquerque Zoo during my recent road trip through New Mexico. This is the second photograph from that road trip to win a contest. And, both of those winning photos were from that same visit to the Albuquerque Zoo!

This was a very challenging picture to capture and the story of how I approached those technical challenges probably warrants its own blog post.

This marks the 63rd time that one of my photographs was recognized by Imaging Resource as its "Photo of the Day". A photographer is limited to one winning entry per month, so this series of winning images stretches back more than six years. Click here to view all of the winning entries over the past few years.

CheetahImaging Resource's Photo of the Day for January 19, 2020

Roadrunner SculptureRecycled Roadrunner Sculpture at a rest stop off Interstate 10 just west of Las Cruces, New Mexico on November 22, 2019 Roadrunner SculptureRecycled Roadrunner Sculpture at a rest stop off Interstate 10 just west of Las Cruces, New Mexico on November 22, 2019 Roadrunner SculptureRecycled Roadrunner Sculpture at a rest stop off Interstate 10 just west of Las Cruces, New Mexico on November 22, 2019 Roadrunner SculptureRecycled Roadrunner Sculpture at a rest stop off Interstate 10 just west of Las Cruces, New Mexico on November 22, 2019 Roadrunner SculptureRecycled Roadrunner Sculpture at a rest stop off Interstate 10 just west of Las Cruces, New Mexico on November 22, 2019 While I was photographing the sculpture, a truck drive approached me from the rest area parking lot. He was fascinated by the lens that I was using to capture closeup images of the roadrunner's head. I was using the Nikon 500mm f4 VR lens...which he thought was some kind of telescope. It was positioned on a tripod with a gimbal head--which makes it easy to maneuver. But, it also makes it look more like a telescope!

In recent years, a sizable percentage of these sales take place in countries outside of the United States. Over the past few days my photos were sold in the following locations:

• Cardiff, United Kingdom
• Toronto, Canada
• Mexico City, Mexico
• Sydney, Australia
• Bratislava, Slovakia
• Shinjuku-ku, Japan
• Selnika Ob Dravi, Slovenia
• Sopot, Poland
• Zurich, Switzerland
• Mumbai, India
• Chia, Colombia
• Sao Paulo, Brazil
• Warsaw, Poland
• Les Acacias, Switzerland
• Lima, Peru
• Milan, Italy
• Moscow, Russia

With such a high number of images being sold, it's a shame that the price of a digital download has deteriorated so much over the years!

I used just one camera for the entire trip--the Nikon D850. As usual, the 14-24 led the way. But, three other lenses were used extensively...accounting for 20 to 23 percent of the images each. I used the Nikon 24-70 more than I usually do. And, the Nikon 500 f4 VR came in handy, especially when it came to photographing wildlife.

The Sigma fisheye accounted for just 5 pictures, but it's a very useful lens for me. It's a specialty lens that I don't use a lot, but when I need it there's nothing else that can do what it does. Here are a couple of images from this trip with the fisheye:

New Mexico State CapitolCeiling from the rotunda floor of the New Mexico State Capitol at 490 Old Santa Fe Trail in Santa Fe, New Mexico on November 12, 2019 St. Louis AbbeyThe Abbey of Saint Mary and Saint Louis (St. Louis Abbey) at 500 S Mason Road in Creve Coeur, Missouri on November 6, 2019  

The 500 VR was essential to capture images like these:

Wood duckMale wood duck at the ABQ Biopark (Rio Grande Zoo) at 903 10th Street SW in Albuquerque, New Mexico on November 15, 2019 Sandhill cranesSandhill cranes at the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge at 1001 NM-1 in San Antonio, New Mexico on November 17, 2019 Santa Fe National CemeterySanta Fe National Cemetery at 501 N Guadalupe Street in Santa Fe, New Mexico on November 12, 2019 Couple of CheetahsA couple of cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus jubatus) at the ABQ Biopark (Rio Grande Zoo) at 903 10th Street SW in Albuquerque, New Mexico on November 15, 2019. (focus stack 229 and 241) Silverback GorillaWestern lowland silverback gorilla at the Oklahoma City Zoo at 2000 Remington Place in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on November 8, 2019

Sandhill cranesSandhill cranes at the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge at 1001 NM-1 in San Antonio, New Mexico on November 17, 2019

This photograph was captured just last month at the Albuquerque Zoo.

This marks the 62nd time that one of my photographs was recognized by Imaging Resource as its "Photo of the Day". A photographer is limited to one winning entry per month, so this series of winning images stretches back more than six years. Click here to view all of the winning entries over the past few years.

Wood DuckImaging Resource's Photo of the Day for December 30, 2019

This collection includes photos through December 1st, so it excludes the photos from my most recent trip to New Mexico.

Here are my favorites, in no particular order:

Driftwood Beach, Jekyll Island, GA
Driftwood BeachDriftwood Beach off Beachview Drive on Jekyll Island, Georgia on December 4, 2018 Burrowing Owl, Marco Island, FL
Burrowing OwlBurrowing owl at 489 W Elkcam Circle in Marco Island, Florida on December 13, 2018 Regions Bank Building, Tampa, FL
Tampa architectural abstractArchitectural abstract of the Regions Bank Building at 100 N Tampa Street in Tampa, Florida on December 11, 2018 Cleveland Arcade, Cleveland, OH
Cleveland ArcadeCleveland Arcade at 420 Superior Avenue in Cleveland, Ohio on July 10, 2019. Skyline and Monongahela River from the Grandview Overlook, Pittsburgh, PA
Pittsburgh SkylinePittsburgh skyline and the Monongahela River from the Grandview Overlook at 136-160 Grandview Avenue on Mount Washington in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on July 30, 2019 Wren Building, College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA (oldest academic building in continuous use in the United States)
Wren staircaseWren Building at the West End of Duke of Gloucester Street on the campus of the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia on July 25, 2019. With a construction history dating to 1695, it is the oldest academic building in continuous use in the United States. Avenue of the Oaks, Saint Simons Island, GA
Avenue of the OaksAvenue of the Oaks at 100 Retreat Avenue near the entrance to the Lodge At Sea Island Golf Club in Saint Simons Island, Georgia on December 4, 2018 Sunset over the Matanzas River, St. Augustine, FL
Marshy sunsetSunset over branch of the Matanzas River at 299 Dondanville Road in St. Augustine, Florida on December 7, 2018 Ponce de Leon Hotel (now Flagler College), St. Augustine, FL
Ponce de Leon Hotel rotundaCeiling in the rotunda of the Ponce de Leon Hotel on 74 King Street in St. Augustine, Florida on December 6, 2018. The Ponce de Leon Hotel was an exclusive luxury hotel built by millionaire developer and Standard Oil co-founder Henry M. Flagler and completed in 1888. In 1968, the hotel became the centerpiece of the newly-established Flagler College. Amazon Milk Frog, Middleburg Heights, OH
Amazon milk frogAmazon milk frog on a calla lily in Middleburg Heights, Ohio on October 27, 2018 One thing that I found interesting is that 2 of these 10 pictures were captured on the same day (#1 and #7) and that I initially had a third image from that day in this collection before I removed it in favor of another photograph!

Happy New Year!

Please CLICK HERE to view my favorite images from this adventure.

This trip has kept me busy. Once the road trip came to a close, I had a lot of editing to do. So, most of my photography time was dedicated to this trip and very little to this blog.

I could easily write a blog entry about each one of the photos in this collection. Nearly every image presented a challenge of some kind...whether it be access, logistics, processing solutions and/or multiple exposures to address those challenges. Multiple exposures were used often for extending the amount of the frame in sharp focus and/or dealing with challenging exposures with extreme dynamic range.

I hope you have a very prosperous and Happy New Year!

Turquoise doorTurquoise door at 2009 Calle de Correo in the historic district of Mesilla, New Mexico on November 21, 2019

Boot

Nikon 200 f4 Micro

One feature that caught my eye was the ceiling in the lobby of the resort.

Four Winds ceilingCeiling in the lobby of the Four Winds Casino Resort at 11111 Wilson Road in New Buffalo, Michigan on August 28, 2019 If you look closely, you'll see that this image isn't perfectly symmetrical. However, it was the best that I was going to get during that visit.

I had just finished setting up my camera. I was sitting on floor in the center of the lobby, had the lens focused and the camera set to bracket three consecutive exposures (to account for the dynamic range of light in the scene). Just as I was about to make further minor adjustments to the framing, security fast approached. As the security guard was explaining that photography is not permitted, I was silently clicking through the sequence of exposures with my cable release. Fortunately, the camera was in Live View mode--which meant that there was absolutely no indication that any pictures were being captured. The camera was dead silent.

Ordinarily, I would have studied the pictures on the back of my camera and continued to make minor refinements to improve the picture. In this situation, I was lucky to get a photograph at all!

Here are some images of a two-month old baby with her mother:

90th Birthday Party (Eleanor Gorz)Eleanor Gorz's 90th birthday party at Silver Lake Country Club in Orland Park, Illinois on October 26, 2019 90th Birthday Party (Eleanor Gorz)Eleanor Gorz's 90th birthday party at Silver Lake Country Club in Orland Park, Illinois on October 26, 2019 90th Birthday Party (Eleanor Gorz)Eleanor Gorz's 90th birthday party at Silver Lake Country Club in Orland Park, Illinois on October 26, 2019 90th Birthday Party (Eleanor Gorz)Eleanor Gorz's 90th birthday party at Silver Lake Country Club in Orland Park, Illinois on October 26, 2019 I used just one strobe to light the subject(s)--the Paul C. Buff Soft Silver PLM umbrella with White Front Diffusion Fabric. This umbrella is 86" (or more than 7 feet) from tip to tip. That's a big umbrella! I positioned the main light just left of the camera. My intention was to use the very large light source and more centered positioning of the light to create very soft portraits.

I am always impressed with the quality and ease of use of the Buff products. Assembling this product is as easy as opening an umbrella.

I didn't recall capturing a photograph of my lighting set up, but upon reviewing the images I noticed that I did get a picture of the studio light after all:

90th Birthday Party (Eleanor Gorz)Eleanor Gorz's 90th birthday party at Silver Lake Country Club in Orland Park, Illinois on October 26, 2019

This photograph was captured just last month at the Brookfield Zoo.

This marks the 61st time that one of my photographs was recognized by Imaging Resource as its "Photo of the Day". A photographer is limited to one winning entry per month, so this series of winning images stretches back more than six years. Click here to view all of the winning entries over the past few years.

GorillaImaging Resource's Photo of the Day for October 19, 2019

As I entered the chapel in the early afternoon, there were about 15 people inside the chapel. I asked the attendant when it might be best to return with fewer people. He expected the chapel to be busy throughout the day and said that it would be best to return just before closing or right at the opening the following day. About five minutes after this conversation, the 15 people who were inside the chapel left...and I suddenly had the chapel to myself!

I thought that I might only have the interior of the chapel to myself for a few minutes, so I worked very quickly. After about 20 more minutes the attendant asked me if I wanted to get some shots from the balcony. The balcony was closed off to the the general public, but with his permission I captured images from this more advantageous viewpoint. During the time, I still had this incredible chapel to myself!

Once I had captured my last picture from the balcony, a large group of visitors entered the chapel. From then on, it was crowded with people.

I returned the next morning when the chapel opened. This time, a different attendant was on duty. As I went to set up a picture from the floor level, she began questioning me about why I was taking pictures. Access to the balcony was not an option. It was clear that photography during my return trip wasn't going to be nearly the favorable experience that it was during my visit the previous day.

So, it can sometimes pay off to visit a location more than once. And, I was very fortunate to be able to capture photographs of this magnificent cathedral during my visit to Pittsburgh.

Heinz Memorial ChapelHeinz Memorial Chapel at S Bellefield Avenue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on July 29, 2019

During several of my architectural photo shoots, I used all of those lenses. Here's an example of four different perspectives (lenses) while shooting a staircase inside the Cleveland Public Library:

1- Sigma 15mm fisheye

Library staircaseStaircase inside the Louis Stokes Wing of the Cleveland Public Library at the corner of Superior Avenue and East 6th Street in downtown Cleveland, Ohio on July 11, 2019 2- Nikon 14-24 2.8

Library staircaseStaircase inside the Louis Stokes Wing of the Cleveland Public Library at the corner of Superior Avenue and East 6th Street in downtown Cleveland, Ohio on July 11, 2019 3- Nikon 24-70 2.8

Library staircaseStaircase inside the Louis Stokes Wing of the Cleveland Public Library at the corner of Superior Avenue and East 6th Street in downtown Cleveland, Ohio on July 11, 2019 4- Nikon 70-200 2.8

Library staircaseStaircase inside the Louis Stokes Wing of the Cleveland Public Library at the corner of Superior Avenue and East 6th Street in downtown Cleveland, Ohio on July 11, 2019

Day 1: Urbana, IL - Illini basketball game

Day 2: Springfield, MO - St. Louis Abbey

Day 3- Oklahoma City, OK - Tulsa

Day 4- Oklahoma City, OK - OKC National Monument, Skydance Bridge

Day 5- Tucumcari, NM - Blue Swallow Motel

Day 6- Santa Fe, NM - State Capitol, Old Santa Fe

Day 7- Santa Fe, NM - Pecos National Historic Site

Day 8- Santa Fe, NM - Bandelier National Monument

Day 9- Taos, NM - High Road to Taos

Day 10- Alburquerque, NM - Zoo

Day 11- Bosque del Apache, NM

Day 12- Bosque del Apache, NM

Day 13- Bosque del Apache, NM

Day 14- White Sands, NM

Day 15- White Sands, NM

Day 16- White Sands, NM

Day 17- Las Cruces, NM - New Mexico State University

Day 18- Roswell, NM - Carlsbad Caverns

Day 19- Liberal, KS - Cathedral of the Plains

Day 20- Kansas City, MO

Day 21- Orland Park, IL
 

I used just one camera for the entire trip--the Nikon D850. 62% of my photographs were captured using the Nikon 14-24 2.8 lens. The reason for this is that the vast majority of the pictures from this trip are interiors. I visited many impressive cathedrals and libraries along the way. The trip included stops in Cleveland, Buffalo, Harrisburg, Richmond, Raleigh and Pittsburgh.

The Sigma fisheye accounted for just 5% of the pictures, but it's a very useful lens for me. It's a specialty lens that I don't use a lot, but when I need it there's nothing else that can do what it does. Here are a few images from this trip with the fisheye:

Library staircaseStaircase inside the Louis Stokes Wing of the Cleveland Public Library at the corner of Superior Avenue and East 6th Street in downtown Cleveland, Ohio on July 11, 2019 Pennsylvania State CapitolInterior of the capitol rotunda in the Pennsylvania State Capitol at 501 N 3rd Street in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on July 19, 2019 Heinen's of ClevelandHeinen's Grocery Store at 900 Euclid Avenue in Cleveland, Ohio on July 11, 2019. This building opened in 1907 as the Cleveland Trust Company Building. At that time, it was the third largest bank building in the United States.

This photograph is of a player who plays on the 12U travel baseball team that I coach.

This marks the 60th time that one of my photographs was recognized by Imaging Resource as its "Photo of the Day". A photographer is limited to one winning entry per month, so this series of winning images stretches back more than six years. Click here to view all of the winning entries over the past few years.

The CatcherImaging Resource's Photo of the Day for August 14, 2019

Yet, I was reluctant to carry less. During many of the photo shoots, I used all four lenses.

Here's an example from the Pennsylvania State Capitol. From the floor of the rotunda, I started very wide and then worked my way up through the higher focal length lenses:

1- Sigma 15mm fisheye

Pennsylvania State CapitolInterior of the capitol rotunda in the Pennsylvania State Capitol at 501 N 3rd Street in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on July 19, 2019 2- Nikon 14-24 2.8

Pennsylvania State CapitolInterior of the capitol rotunda in the Pennsylvania State Capitol at 501 N 3rd Street in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on July 19, 2019 3- Nikon 24-70 2.8

Pennsylvania State CapitolInterior of the capitol rotunda in the Pennsylvania State Capitol at 501 N 3rd Street in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on July 19, 2019 4- Nikon 70-200 2.8 (at 70mm)

Pennsylvania State CapitolInterior of the capitol rotunda in the Pennsylvania State Capitol at 501 N 3rd Street in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on July 19, 2019 5- Nikon 70-200 2.8 (at 100mm) Pennsylvania State CapitolInterior of the capitol rotunda in the Pennsylvania State Capitol at 501 N 3rd Street in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on July 19, 2019 6- Nikon 70-200 2.8 (at 165mm)

Pennsylvania State CapitolInterior of the capitol rotunda in the Pennsylvania State Capitol at 501 N 3rd Street in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on July 19, 2019 All of these photographs were captured without moving the camera. While it can be a burden to carry a lot of lenses, it was worth the load to have the ability to capture the scene with a variety of pictures.

I captured this image from an observation deck off Grandview Avenue above the Monongahela River. Thankfully, the observation decks are still open. The surrounding sidewalks off Grandview Avenue are mostly closed due to safety concerns. The sidewalks are breaking apart and pedestrians are warned not to step on them or risk falling quite some distance.

This observation deck provided a great view of the city. And, the clouds brought drama into the scene. My biggest concern was whether the storm would hold off long enough for me to capture the photograph in the best light. I could see the thunderstorm approaching from the northeast. You can probably see the lightning strikes at the horizon in the left portion of the frame. These are actual lightning strikes. I did not add them in Photoshop.

The storm did hold off. I was able to navigate the tricky drive back to my hotel before the rain started. My hotel was located near the Cathedral of Learning on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh. You can see the Cathedral of Learning in the distance. If you move along the horizon from right to left it is the second building that you first come across...a 42 story academic building (the tallest academic building in the Western Hemisphere). I'll cover more about this amazing building in an upcoming post.

Once it started raining, it came down hard for hours. The severely saturated grounds were partially attributed to a freak accident that occurred in the metro Pittsburgh area a few hours later. A tree that was 80 feet tall fell through the roof of a house. A man was pinned down while laying in his bed and later died. Click here for that news story.

So here's the photograph:

Pittsburgh SkylinePittsburgh skyline and the Monongahela River from the Grandview Overlook at 136-160 Grandview Avenue on Mount Washington in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on July 30, 2019

The trip will covered 22 days and 2,900 miles.

Cooperstown Road TripThis road trip was both a photography and a baseball trip. I coach a 12U baseball team and we played in a week long tournament in Cooperstown, New York. The photography portion of the trip took place before and after that tournament.

The trip covered 22 days and 2,900 miles. Day 1: Cleveland, OH - Cathedral of St. John; Public Library; City Hall; Arcade

Day 2: Buffalo, NY - St. Joseph's Cathedral; City Hall; St. Paul's Cathedral

Day 3- Syracuse, NY

Day 4- Cooperstown, NY - baseball tournament

Day 5- Cooperstown, NY - baseball tournament

Day 6- Cooperstown, NY - baseball tournament

Day 7- Cooperstown, NY - baseball tournament

Day 8- Cooperstown, NY - baseball tournament

Day 9- Cooperstown, NY - baseball tournament

Day 10- Harrisburg, PA - PA Capitol, Negley Park (cityscape); Cathedral of St. Patrick

Day 11- Gettysburg, PA - Historical Park

Day 12- Gettysburg, PA - National Cemetery

Day 13- Richmond, VA - VA Capitol; St. Paul's Episcopal Church

Day 14- Richmond, VA - City Hall; Maymont mansion; Hollywood Cemetery

Day 15- Williamsburg, VA - Colonial Willamsburg

Day 16- Williamsburg, VA - Jamestown; College of William & Mary

Day 17- Raleigh, NC - James Hunt Library; Wilson Library (UNC)

Day 18- Raleigh, NC - Duke University Chapel; Skyline (Boylan Bridge)

Day 19- Morgantown, WV - University of West Virginia; Mt. Airy (Mayberry)

Day 20- Pittsburgh, PA - Mount Washington; Heinz Memorial Chapel; First Presbyterian Church

Day 21- Pittsburgh, PA - Cathedral of Learning; Phipps Conservatory; St. Paul Cathedral

Day 22- Orland Park, IL

12U Orland Park Warriors12U Orland Park Warriors baseball team in Orland Park, Illinois on March 30, 2019
 

This photograph was captured during my road trip to Newfoundland last summer. I came across this scene at Petty Harbour in Newfoundland.

This marks the 59th time that one of my photographs was recognized by Imaging Resource as its "Photo of the Day". A photographer is limited to one winning entry per month, so this series of winning images stretches back more than six years. Click here to view all of the winning entries over the past few years.

Dog in the WindowImaging Resource's Photo of the Day for June 6, 2019

Imaging Resource's published an article about the winning entries from November. Apparently, all five winning photographs (the three prize money winners along with the two runner-ups) were submitted by photographers who had previously won the top prize (first place photograph) for a month. A section of the article covers my "Peeking Frog" photograph--which finished in second place for November.

To see the full article, click here.

I very much enjoy participating in these photo contests. There isn't any entry fee and the competition is strong. And, the cash (gift card) prizes are an added bonus...I've won a few thousand dollars doing this. Last month, I used my gift card to purchase a pair of Apple Airbuds!

I then tried another approach. I had my Nikon 300 2.8 lens in my bag. When most photographers think about panoramas, they usually aren't envisioning using a telephoto lens. But, the 300 is one of the sharpest lenses that I own. And, it forced me to shoot many more images to cover the same scene. After stitching all of those exposures together, the resolution of the final image is far greater than the photograph that was captured with one frame and then cropped.

Pictou waterfrontPictou waterfront from the Jitney walking trail at 143 Norway Point Road in Pictou, Nova Scotia on July 19, 2018

The stitched image consists of 14 vertical frames. The resulting file is more than 33,000 pixels across and nearly 7,000 pixels high. The file is almost 1.5 GB in size.

CLICK HERE to view the higher resolution image. This one is downsized to 24,000 pixels across to make it less time consuming to download and view. Be sure to zoom in and pan around when viewing this waterfront scene.

The priest leaves this church open all the time...and it is often unattended. When I entered the church, I was the only one on the grounds. After shooting for 30 minutes or so, I noticed that the lights were dimming. The priest had entered the sanctuary and turned off the lights--not knowing I was there.

When he saw me, he started apologizing for turning off the lights! He then asked me exactly how bright I wanted the chandeliers as he could adjust the dimmer (I didn't have access to that area).

The amazing thing about this interior is that this priest painted the entire space. Every inch of this church is covered with artwork...including the entire ceiling.

To view 19 photographs of this colorful church, please CLICK HERE.

Annunciation Byzantine Catholic ChurchInterior of the Annunciation Byzantine Catholic Church at 14610 S. Will Cook Road in Homer Glen, Illinois on April 18, 2019 Annunciation Byzantine Catholic ChurchInterior of the Annunciation Byzantine Catholic Church at 14610 S. Will Cook Road in Homer Glen, Illinois on April 18, 2019 Annunciation Byzantine Catholic ChurchInterior of the Annunciation Byzantine Catholic Church at 14610 S. Will Cook Road in Homer Glen, Illinois on April 18, 2019 Annunciation Byzantine Catholic ChurchInterior of the Annunciation Byzantine Catholic Church at 14610 S. Will Cook Road in Homer Glen, Illinois on April 18, 2019

This photograph was captured two months ago at the Brookfield Zoo. This is my fifth Photo of the Day winning entry from the Brookfield Zoo.

This marks the 58th time that one of my photographs was recognized by Imaging Resource as its "Photo of the Day". A photographer is limited to one winning entry per month, so this series of winning images stretches back more than six years. Click here to view all of the winning entries over the past few years.

GorillaImaging Resource's Photo of the Day for May 1, 2019

Here are a few from Tampa...

Tampa architectural abstractArchitectural abstract of the Regions Bank Building at 100 N Tampa Street in Tampa, Florida on December 11, 2018 DotsAbstract of the ceiling outside the Tampa Museum of Art at 120 Gasparilla Plaza in Tampa, Florida on December 11, 2018 DotsAbstract of the ceiling outside the Tampa Museum of Art at 120 Gasparilla Plaza in Tampa, Florida on December 11, 2018 And a few more from Miami...

Architectural abstractArchitectural abstract on Brickell Avenue in downtown Miami, Florida on December 15, 2018. The green building on the left is the Mayfield Condo Building at 1395 Brickell Avenue in Miami. Architectural abstractArchitectural abstract at 1395 Brickell Avenue in downtown Miami, Florida on December 15, 2018 Solitair Brickell ApartmentsSolitair Brickell Apartments at 86 SW 8th Street in Miami, Florida on December 15, 2018 Miami Beach Convention CenterMiami Beach Convention Center at 1901 Convention Center Drive in Miami Beach, Florida on December 14, 2018

In addition to creating individual portraits, I used the images to produce a banner for the team:

12U Orland Park Warriors12U Orland Park Warriors baseball team in Orland Park, Illinois on March 30, 2019 This was a fun project. It was a daunting at first (because I have so little experience with portraits and lighting), but I was able to get a little help. I purchased a Photoshop layered template for the overall design. I then lit and photographed the players, inserted and sized them within the template, and adjusted the text and colors. The file was sent into a banner printing company...and I'm looking forward to seeing the finished product.

Most years, I keep the lighting very simple. This year, I tried something far more complex--five lights and a reflector! I also photographed a volleyball player during the photo session.

The setup consisted of the following:

• Main light was a large (47") octabox with Einstein strobe positioned camera left.
• One rim light was a gridded strip softbox with Einstein strobe positioned behind the subject to the left.
• Another rim light was a gridded strip softbox with Einstein strobe positioned behind the subject to the right.
• The green screen background was lit by a Nikon SB-900 flash unit fired into an umbrella.
• The hair light was a Nikon SB-800 suspended over the subject with a bungee cord.
• A large reflector was used to partially fill in the shadows on the subject.
• The camera was a Nikon D850 placed on a tripod.

Here are a few photographs from the session:

Max HeidenreichMax Heidenreich of the 12U Orland Park Warriors baseball team in Orland Park, Illinois on March 28, 2019 Cooper SigelCooper Sigel of the 12U Orland Park Warriors baseball team in Orland Park, Illinois on March 29, 2019 Ali ElaghaAli Elagha of the 12U Orland Park Warriors baseball team in Orland Park, Illinois on March 28, 2019 Madelyn StackMadelyn Stack of the Michio volleyball team in Orland Park, Illinois on March 30, 2019 Madelyn StackMadelyn Stack of the Michio volleyball team in Orland Park, Illinois on March 30, 2019 I would like to do more with the studio lights in the future. One thing of interest to me would be pet photography.
 

So, I returned the next night to capture the picture. The challenge is that the pier isn't lit until the sky is very dark. By that time, the colors in the sky are mostly gone and the picture has too much contrast. The way that I approached solving this problem was to blend a couple of exposures. The first photograph was captured during sunset when the sky looked good to my eye. I then kept the camera in the same spot (mounted securely to my tripod) until well after sunset when the pier lit up. Later in post processing, I blended the two images. I used the original scene as my base picture and then brought the lights from the pier into the image. This way, I was able to light up the pier myself!

The softness of the water in the Gulf of Mexico is a result of a very long exposure. To accomplish that, I attached a ND (neutral density) to my Nikon 24-70 lens. My neutral density filters got a real workout during this road trip.

Naples PierNaples Pier at 25 12th Avenue S in Naples, Florida on December 13, 2018

Not unexpectedly, I was told that I wouldn't be permitted to bring my tripod inside the museum. Also prohibited was my camera backpack. Since I had walked a great distance to get to the museum, I had no way of returning to my car to store these items. The security guard suggested that I use the storage lockers which were situated outside the building. As my gear is quite expensive, I was hesitant to do so. But, the security guard assured me that the items would be safe. He said that nothing has ever been stolen from the lockers in the history of the museum! I took a chance by storing my tripod along with three or four lenses in the locker--and everything worked out OK.

There were several challenges to overcome in photographing the staircase. First, the scene is very crowded. Not only are people constantly on the steps, but there's quite a crowd standing near the information desk right under the stairs. There's also a small cafe in the lobby which made it difficult to set up. Finally, a security guard is stationed at the top of the staircase. I was able to overcome most of these issues by being patient. I also revisited just before closing--and the security guard tended to wander away from his chair at that hour as very few new visitors were entering the building.

My next challenge was dealing with the wide range of light. Ordinarily, I would stabilize my camera with the tripod and bracket some exposures to create a high dynamic range (HDR) image. Since I couldn't use a tripod, I tried another approach. I set my Nikon D850 to a continuous burst of 9 frames per second with bracketed exposures (1 stop apart). With the frames blasting so quickly, I hoped that I could keep the camera steady enough to allow me to align the images later in post processing. Later, I used Photoshop to align the images...and it worked! The only downside of hand-holding the camera for these shots was that I had to raise the ISO setting to achieve fast enough shutter speeds. Instead of using the base ISO setting of 64 for the D850, I boosted the ISO to 800. ISO 800 is still very reasonable and fully capable of creating photographs of high image quality.

Here are a few photographs of the staircase:

Dali StaircaseSpiral staircase inside the Salvador Dali Museum at 1 Dali Blvd in St. Petersburg, Florida on December 11, 2018. Referred to as the "Enigma", the glass entryway is 75 feet tall and encompasses a spiral staircase. Dali StaircaseSpiral staircase inside the Salvador Dali Museum at 1 Dali Blvd in St. Petersburg, Florida on December 11, 2018. Referred to as the "Enigma", the glass entryway is 75 feet tall and encompasses a spiral staircase. Dali StaircaseSpiral staircase inside the Salvador Dali Museum at 1 Dali Blvd in St. Petersburg, Florida on December 11, 2018. Referred to as the "Enigma", the glass entryway is 75 feet tall and encompasses a spiral staircase.

I very much enjoyed my time on St. Simons Island. The highlight of my stay was a sunrise photo session at the Avenue of Oaks near the entrance to the Lodge At Sea Island Golf Club. I arrived at the location well before sunrise. I knew that it was expected to be a clear sky and that the scene would be destroyed for photography once the direct, harsh sunlight struck the oak trees.

So, I started shooting before sunrise. I like the photos, even though the light was a bit flat. I kept shooting through sunrise until the sun became too bright. My favorite picture of the morning was the one taken right as the sun rose over the horizon and gently lit small portions of the live southern oak trees:

Avenue of the OaksAvenue of the Oaks at 100 Retreat Avenue near the entrance to the Lodge At Sea Island Golf Club in Saint Simons Island, Georgia on December 4, 2018 I like the photograph for a number of reasons. First, I very much like southern live oak trees. Also, have a tendency to favor pictures that feature a vanishing point as it draws my eyes into the frame. Lighting is always important. And, the colors and textures are an added bonus.

This photograph was captured two months ago during my road trip to Florida. This is the second picture from that road trip to win a Photo of the Day. This photograph is a blend of images spanning about 45 minutes. I first captured the sunset and then waited until the pier was illuminated after dark. I later blended the two images during post processing. The tripod never moved during that 45 minute window.

Another element in creating this photograph was the use of a neutral density filter. This enabled me to use a long exposure of 25 seconds--which helped to smooth out the water and capture some motion in the clouds.

This marks the 57th time that one of my photographs was recognized by Imaging Resource as its "Photo of the Day". A photographer is limited to one winning entry per month, so this series of winning images stretches back more than six years. Click here to view all of the winning entries over the past few years.

Naples PierImaging Resource's Photo of the Day for March 15, 2019

During my road trip through Florida, I came across this challenge during my visit to the historic Ponce de Leon Hotel on the campus of Flagler College in St. Augustine. After persuading the security guard to allow me to set up my tripod and photograph the interior of the lobby dome, I captured a series of ceiling pictures. While reviewing the images on the screen on the back of my camera, I determined that it would be impossible to salvage the colors in a large segment of the frame due to the effect of bright daylight streaming in from a low angle through the entrance door. Segments of the ceiling were blown out...and very blue (due to the color of the daylight as compared to the interior lighting). No amount of exposure adjustments or highlight recovery would save the pictures.

So, I returned later that afternoon to inspect the interior again. The lighting was much more favorable in part due to the higher angle of the sun in the sky. I was also able to wait for cloud cover to further improve the image.

I returned again the next day to take another look at this interior. This time, not only did the daylight situation improve, but I also noticed that the interior lights did a better job of illuminating the ceiling. Once again, I repeated the entire photo shoot!

Here are the final images:

Ponce de Leon Hotel rotundaCeiling in the rotunda of the Ponce de Leon Hotel on 74 King Street in St. Augustine, Florida on December 8, 2018. The Ponce de Leon Hotel was an exclusive luxury hotel built by millionaire developer and Standard Oil co-founder Henry M. Flagler and completed in 1888. In 1968, the hotel became the centerpiece of the newly-established Flagler College. Ponce de Leon Hotel rotundaCeiling in the rotunda of the Ponce de Leon Hotel on 74 King Street in St. Augustine, Florida on December 6, 2018. The Ponce de Leon Hotel was an exclusive luxury hotel built by millionaire developer and Standard Oil co-founder Henry M. Flagler and completed in 1888. In 1968, the hotel became the centerpiece of the newly-established Flagler College. Ponce de Leon Hotel rotundaCeiling in the rotunda of the Ponce de Leon Hotel on 74 King Street in St. Augustine, Florida on December 8, 2018. The Ponce de Leon Hotel was an exclusive luxury hotel built by millionaire developer and Standard Oil co-founder Henry M. Flagler and completed in 1888. In 1968, the hotel became the centerpiece of the newly-established Flagler College. Ponce de Leon Hotel rotundaCeiling in the rotunda of the Ponce de Leon Hotel on 74 King Street in St. Augustine, Florida on December 6, 2018. The Ponce de Leon Hotel was an exclusive luxury hotel built by millionaire developer and Standard Oil co-founder Henry M. Flagler and completed in 1888. In 1968, the hotel became the centerpiece of the newly-established Flagler College.

I don't often photograph people, but not because I don't enjoy doing so. At the fortress, there were many opportunities to capture portraits of reenactors in period attire.

I noticed this young girl inside one of the exhibit interiors. Of course, I didn't have any lighting equipment with me during my visit. So, I asked her if she would sit near a window. I thought that the light streaming in from that window would provide an excellent lighting source for this portrait.

As I first started capturing pictures, the girl was looking directly into the lens. I then asked her if she could pretend that I wasn't there...and just go about her knitting as if she wasn't being photographed.

This was the final result:

Girl knittingA young girl knitting in window light at the Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site of Canada at 259 Park Service Road in Louisbourg, Nova Scotia on July 22, 2018

I granted permission and asked if she would send me a picture of the finished painting.

Here's my photograph...followed by Janet's painting:

Grizzly bearGrizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis) at the Brookfield Zoo in Brookfield, Illinois on May 3, 2011. Thanks to Janet for sharing this painting with me!

Earlier today, I noticed that I made my 723rd post since starting this blog. That's a lot of entries!

I guess this post makes it 724...

The judges select the top five pictures from the 31 daily winners. This photo was the Photo of the Day on January 4th. The winning entries are then ranked: First, Second and Third Place along with First and Second Place Runner Ups. The first place picture is awarded with a $300 gift card.

Here's a larger view of the winning image:

Driftwood BeachImaging Resource's Photo of the Day for January 4, 2019

First Place Winner for month of January, 2019

This image was captured during my recent road trip through Florida. On the way to Florida, I stopped at Driftwood Beach on Jekyll Island in Georgia. Driftwood Beach has been on my photography wish list for quite some time. I'm very glad I made the trip. It's a world class landscape location in my opinion.

Andersonville was a Confederate prisoner of war camp during the Civil War. It was overcrowded to four times its capacity. It had inadequate food and water supplies and the prisoners suffered immensely. Of the approximately 45,000 Union prisoners held at the prison during the war, nearly 13,000 died.

The national cemetery at Andersonville contains 13,714 graves, of which 921 are marked "unknown".

Andersonville National CemeteryGrave markers at the Andersonville National Cemetery at the Andersonville National Historic Site at 760 POW Road in Andersonville, Georgia on December 2, 2018 Andersonville Prison SiteMassachusetts monument at the Andersonville Civil War Prison site at the Andersonville National Historic Site at 760 POW Road in Andersonville, Georgia on December 2, 2018 Andersonville National CemeteryGrave markers at the Andersonville National Cemetery at the Andersonville National Historic Site at 760 POW Road in Andersonville, Georgia on December 2, 2018 In the summer of 1864, tens of thousands of Union prisoners of war were dying of thirst at Andersonville. Suddenly, a spring erupted from the ground within the stockade. The prisoners credited its appearance to divine intervention, and Providence Spring became part of the established lore of the Civil War.

Providence SpringProvidence Spring at the Andersonville Civil War Prison site at the Andersonville National Historic Site at 760 POW Road in Andersonville, Georgia on December 2, 2018.

In the summer of 1864, tens of thousands of Union prisoners of war were dying of thirst at Andersonville. Suddenly, a spring erupted from the ground within the stockade. The prisoners credited its appearance to divine intervention, and Providence Spring became part of the established lore of the Civil War. Providence SpringProvidence Spring at the Andersonville Civil War Prison site at the Andersonville National Historic Site at 760 POW Road in Andersonville, Georgia on December 2, 2018.

In the summer of 1864, tens of thousands of Union prisoners of war were dying of thirst at Andersonville. Suddenly, a spring erupted from the ground within the stockade. The prisoners credited its appearance to divine intervention, and Providence Spring became part of the established lore of the Civil War. Providence SpringProvidence Spring at the Andersonville Civil War Prison site at the Andersonville National Historic Site at 760 POW Road in Andersonville, Georgia on December 2, 2018.

In the summer of 1864, tens of thousands of Union prisoners of war were dying of thirst at Andersonville. Suddenly, a spring erupted from the ground within the stockade. The prisoners credited its appearance to divine intervention, and Providence Spring became part of the established lore of the Civil War. After the war, the commander of the prison was tried for war crimes--and was executed.
 

I had this shrine mostly to myself during this visit, which was fortunate given how crowded St. George Street was with tourists. Here are a few photographs from the shrine:

St. Photios ShrineSt. Photios National Greek Orthodox Shrine (built in 1749) at 41 St George Street in St. Augustine, Florida on December 6, 2018 St. Photios ShrineSt. Photios National Greek Orthodox Shrine (built in 1749) at 41 St George Street in St. Augustine, Florida on December 6, 2018 St. Photios ShrineSt. Photios National Greek Orthodox Shrine (built in 1749) at 41 St George Street in St. Augustine, Florida on December 6, 2018. The covered container (reliquary) on the left contains bone fragments from 18 saints and was certified by the Vatican. The saints represented include 3 apostles and those of St. Nicholas of Myra who served as the basis for the legends of Santa Claus. St. Photios ShrineSt. Photios National Greek Orthodox Shrine (built in 1749) at 41 St George Street in St. Augustine, Florida on December 6, 2018 This shrine also contains bone fragments from 18 saints--including the apostles Peter and Paul. I outlined the box that contains those bone fragments in yellow in the following photograph:

St. Photios ShrineSt. Photios National Greek Orthodox Shrine (built in 1749) at 41 St George Street in St. Augustine, Florida on December 6, 2018. The covered container (reliquary) on the left and outlined in yellow contains bone fragments from 18 saints (including Peter and Paul) and was certified by the Vatican. The saints represented include 3 apostles and those of St. Nicholas of Myra who served as the basis for the legends of Santa Claus. I do a lot of planning for my photo shoots before arriving in a new city. But, sometimes it is beneficial to just walk around without a plan just to see what I might see. On occasion, I'll stumble across an unexpected gem such as this one!
 

A guard was standing at the entrance to the Citadel. I asked him if it would be OK for me to capture some photographs of him standing there. What I didn't realize is that the guard is not permitted to talk, move or even change his expression. He just kept standing exactly as pictured while I reeled off about 40 exposures from different distances and angles!

Citadel sentrySentry at the entrance gate to the Halifax Citadel National Historic Site at 5425 Sackville Street in downtown Halifax, Nova Scotia on July 15, 2018

Washington Oaks GardensGazebo under oak tree at 6400 N Ocean Shore Blvd at Washington Oaks Gardens State Park in Palm Coast, Florida on December 8, 2018

This picture presented some technical challenges. My lens was positioned very close to the foreground leaves. So, even at a narrow aperture (f/16), it wasn't possible to get the entire scene in focus. Ultimately, I set the aperture to f/9--which yielded a shutter speed of 1/10th of a second and focused stacked a few shots. But, that didn't work either. The leaves in the front were blurred due to the wind at such a slow shutter speed.

So, I captured an additional exposure of just the foreground leaves at 1/250th and opened the aperture up to f/7.1 (just so that the ISO wouldn't have to go too high). The ISO ended up at 1000--which wasn't high enough to compromise image quality too much. Rather than use ISO 1000 throughout the entire frame, I applied it only to those leaves in the very front of the picture. The rest of the image is at ISO 64 (optimal image quality) at the slower shutter speed of 1/10th of a second. This mixing and matching of various apertures and ISO settings within the same photograph can help solve a number of problems out in the field!

Another consideration in a scene such as this (i.e., a lot of foliage) is to control the glare off all the leaves. Even in overcast conditions, the glare from the light hitting the leaves sucks color and contrast from the greens. I attached a polarizing filter to cut through the glare to enable to greens and yellows to pop more.

While capturing this image, I made sure to wait until some clouds covered the bright sunlight. This took a bit of patience, but this photograph wouldn't have been worth taking in direct, harsh sunlight. Direct sunlight introduces too much contrast into a scene like this one.

Creating photographs such as this one will often present challenges. I enjoy trying to solve photography problems like this by blending various exposures and using the appropriate filters. Sometimes it works...and the desired photograph gets produced.

• Use slow shutter speed
• Make more precise compositions
• Blend exposures to solve a multitude of problems
• Maximize image quality by using base ISO settings and appropriate apertures
• Remove camera shake related to high magnification pictures (i.e., macro and super telephoto)

I purchased a high quality Gitzo tripod 11 years ago...the Gitzo 3540XLS Systematic 6X Carbon Fiber Tripod. I love the features of this tripod. It is rock solid, very tall, and relatively light for its size (being carbon fiber). When I bought this tripod for $750 back in 2007, I assumed that it would last a lifetime.

For years, I had no issues with this tripod. Then, about a year ago, it became increasingly difficult to lock the legs. The bearings were wearing out. This wasn't entirely unexpected as I have set the tripod up thousands of times. I sent the tripod into the repair facility in Chandler, Arizona. Unfortunately, Gitzo repairs can take quite some time. It took a week for the tripod to get from Chicago to Chandler (UPS Ground). It took another week for the repair facility to assess the repair. I approved the work immediately. It took about a week for the repairs to be completed and another week for the return shipment. So, $325 and a month later, I had my tripod back. I assumed I was good to go for another decade. Not so.

During my recent road trip to Florida, the tripod legs started to flop around. Despite tightening the screws with a wrench, the legs would loosen very quickly. This is particularly annoying when walking great distances with the tripod or when trying to make small adjustments to the positioning of the legs.

I called Gitzo for assistance and was told that the likely culprit was that the washers inside the upper joint were probably worn out. Unfortunately, I was having trouble removing the legs to get at the washers. The representative said he would order the parts so that they would be in inventory when I returned from my trip. They recommended that I send it into Chandler for repair. I knew that I was probably looking at another month without my tripod!

I sent my tripod to Chandler on the morning of December 26th. It arrived at the facility on January 3rd. The tripod was assessed on January 8th. I approved the repair in January 8th. For the past three weeks, the tripod is on a "parts hold" in Chandler. Most Gitzo parts are not in stock in the United States. The Chandler facility orders the parts from Italy...and the parts are shipped very slowly first by boat and then across the country to Arizona.

My parts were ordered on January 8th. I was told today that the parts haven't been shipped from Italy yet. They have no idea when they will be shipped, but said it will take at least a week to ten days to arrive in Chandler once they are shipped. Then, I'm looking at another week for the repair...and yet another week for the return shipment. So, I was told that the very earliest that I would get my tripod back would be February 18th or so...and that's if the parts get shipped from Italy tomorrow.

I was also told that the more likely scenario is another 4-6 weeks before the parts are shipped...which means that I would get the tripod back until early April. That's 3 1/2 months since I sent it in.

A comparable replacement Gitzo tripod would run about $1,200 today. I told the representative that having such an expensive tripod out of service for a few months (and twice within the past year or so) is totally unacceptable. It's not like I'm talking about maintaining something like a car. It seems to me that a tripod has relatively few moving parts for such extensive downtime.

I have no choice but to purchase a backup tripod! I refuse to buy Gitzo. I also don't want to make a large investment in a backup item that will hopefully see little use once my Gitzo is back in my hands. So, I bought the Benro TMA38CL Long Series 3 Mach3 Carbon Fiber Tripod. It gets great reviews and should serve my purpose for now. Once I get my Gitzo back, I'll continue to use the Benro in more challenging conditions--such as when the tripod needs to be submerged in salt water.

Gitzo tripods are great. But, if you plan to purchase one please be aware that servicing a Gitzo tripod is no picnic.

Burrowing owls are quite small. This one is about 8 inches tall. These owls are about the size of a robin.

Eventually, I worked in very close with a lot of focal length. This image was captured with 700mm of focal length (500mm lens with 1.4x teleconverter attached)...and I was within an inch of the minimum focus distance. If I moved any closer, even an inch, the lens would no longer have been able to focus on the owl!

Fortunately, there was some cloud cover which provided decent light for this portrait.

Burrowing OwlBurrowing owl at 489 W Elkcam Circle in Marco Island, Florida on December 13, 2018

I used just one camera for the entire trip--the Nikon D850. Almost 90% of my photographs were captured with one of Nikon's "Holy Trinity" of lenses--the 14-24, 24-70 and 70-200. Of those three lenses, I'm finding the Nikon 24-70 to be the least sharp...even though it led the way for this trip in the number of keepers. The latest 70-200 lens is razor sharp. And, the 14-24 is typically my most used lens and is quite sharp as well.

The Sigma fisheye accounted for just 6% of the pictures, but it's a very useful lens for me. It's a specialty lens that I don't use a lot, but when I need it there's nothing else that can do what it does. Here are a few images from this trip with the fisheye:

St. Photios ShrineSt. Photios National Greek Orthodox Shrine (built in 1749) at 41 St George Street in St. Augustine, Florida on December 6, 2018. The covered container (reliquary) on the left contains bone fragments from 18 saints and was certified by the Vatican. The saints represented include 3 apostles and those of St. Nicholas of Myra who served as the basis for the legends of Santa Claus. Sacred Heart Catholic ChurchSacred Heart Catholic Church (1905) at 509 N Florida Avenue in Tampa, Florida on December 9, 2018 Dali StaircaseSpiral staircase inside the Salvador Dali Museum at 1 Dali Blvd in St. Petersburg, Florida on December 11, 2018. Referred to as the "Enigma", the glass entryway is 75 feet tall and encompasses a spiral staircase.

When I arrived, a mass was underway. After sitting through that mass (and I've sat through countless services in the quest to photograph churches), I thought the interior would soon clear. But, about 40 people remained in the church and conducted some kind of ongoing service with prayer and song. After another 30 minutes, the church interior finally cleared.

I quickly started shooting--because often times the lights go out shortly after a service ends. One individual from the congregation was telling other people that I was there to "film" the interior. I'm not sure why she was saying that, but everyone assumed I was there in some official capacity after that, so I had a well lit church all to myself for more than an hour!

This panoramic was captured during my last visit in 2012. Back then, I was shooting with a D700. But, the resolution was high as this is an 11 frame stitch.

The crucifix is suspended from the rear wall of the sanctuary and weighs 4,200 pounds. It measures 23 feet in height. The two shadows on either side of the cross represent the two criminals crucified with Christ or the three persons of the Holy Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Ghost.

Ave Maria Catholic ChurchAve Maria Catholic Church at 5068 Annunciation Cir #101 in Ave Maria, Florida on December 12, 2018. The crucifix is suspended from the rear wall of the sanctuary and weighs 4,200 pounds. It measures 23 feet in height. The two shadows on either side of the cross represent the two criminals crucified with Christ or the three persons of the Holy Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Ghost.

This statue of the Infant of Prague was brought to Prague in 1628. It was found in the ruins of a church. The infant is the Patron Saint of vocations, family life and travelers.

Ave Maria Catholic ChurchStatue of the Infant of Prague outside the Ave Maria Catholic Church at 5068 Annunciation Cir #101 in Ave Maria, Florida on December 12, 2018. This statue was brought to Prague in 1628. It was found in the ruins of a church. The infant is the Patron Saint of vocations, family life and travelers.

Vertical view of the nave

Ave Maria Catholic ChurchAve Maria Catholic Church at 5068 Annunciation Cir #101 in Ave Maria, Florida on December 12, 2018. The crucifix is suspended from the rear wall of the sanctuary and weighs 4,200 pounds. It measures 23 feet in height. The two shadows on either side of the cross represent the two criminals crucified with Christ or the three persons of the Holy Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Ghost.

The front of the church displays sculptor Marton Varo's 30-foot-tall sculpture of the Annunciation, depicting the Archangel Gabriel greeting the Virgin Mary. It's carved in marble from Cave Michelangelo in Carrara, Italy. The 12 apostles are 18 inches tall and are fashioned from gilded-bronze colored gold.

Ave Maria Catholic ChurchFacade of the Ave Maria Catholic Church at 5068 Annunciation Cir #101 in Ave Maria, Florida on December 12, 2018. The front of the church displays sculptor Marton Varo's 30-foot-tall sculpture of the Annunciation, depicting the Archangel Gabriel greeting the Virgin Mary. It's carved in marble from Cave Michelangelo in Carrara, Italy. The 12 apostles are 18 inches tall and are fashioned from gilded-bronze colored gold.

Another perspective of the nave and sanctuary...

Ave Maria Catholic ChurchAve Maria Catholic Church at 5068 Annunciation Cir #101 in Ave Maria, Florida on December 12, 2018
The 12 apostles are made of wood and range from 218-289 pounds and average 6 feet in height. They are surrounded by statues of Joseph and Mary.

Ave Maria Catholic ChurchAve Maria Catholic Church at 5068 Annunciation Cir #101 in Ave Maria, Florida on December 12, 2018. The 12 apostles are made of wood and range from 218-289 pounds and average 6 feet in height. They are surrounded by statues of Joseph and Mary.

Statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe

Ave Maria Catholic ChurchStatue of Our Lady of Guadalupe outside the Ave Maria Catholic Church at 5068 Annunciation Cir #101 in Ave Maria, Florida on December 12, 2018.

The baptismal weighs 3,500 pounds and was carved from a single block of white marble.

Ave Maria Catholic ChurchThe baptismal font inside Ave Maria Catholic Church at 5068 Annunciation Cir #101 in Ave Maria, Florida on December 12, 2018. The baptismal weighs 3,500 pounds and was carved from a single block of white marble.

Fisheye perspective of interior

Ave Maria Catholic ChurchAve Maria Catholic Church at 5068 Annunciation Cir #101 in Ave Maria, Florida on December 12, 2018. The crucifix is suspended from the rear wall of the sanctuary and weighs 4,200 pounds. It measures 23 feet in height. The two shadows on either side of the cross represent the two criminals crucified with Christ or the three persons of the Holy Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Ghost.

Choir loft and pipe organ speakers at the rear of the church

Ave Maria Catholic ChurchThe choir loft and organ speakers and the rear of the Ave Maria Catholic Church at 5068 Annunciation Cir #101 in Ave Maria, Florida on December 12, 2018

This photograph was captured exactly one month ago during my road trip to Florida. Driftwood Beach was on my photography wish list for quite some time. I'm glad I was finally able to visit this amazing location on Jekyll Island in Georgia. It did not disappoint.

This marks the 56th time that one of my photographs was recognized by Imaging Resource as its "Photo of the Day". A photographer is limited to one winning entry per month, so this series of winning images stretches back five years. Click here to view all of the winning entries over the past few years.

Driftwood BeachImaging Resource's Photo of the Day for January 4, 2019

First Place Winner for month of January, 2019

1- Taken at 6:51 am...about 15 minutes before sunrise

St. Augustine Beach PierSt. Augustine Beach Pier, or St. Johns County Ocean Pier, at 350 A1A Beach Blvd in St. Augustine, Florida on December 8, 2018

2- What looked to be a very promising sunrise really fizzled out. This picture was captured at 7:13 am. I used a neutral density (ND) filter to just go with the flow and soften the scene since there weren't any dramatic colors or clouds.

St. Augustine Beach PierSt. Augustine Beach Pier, or St. Johns County Ocean Pier, at 350 A1A Beach Blvd in St. Augustine, Florida on December 8, 2018

3- By 7:17 am, the scene was not brightening at all. In fact, practically all of the color was getting erased. I used a stronger ND filter to try to salvage the photograph by going with a more minimalistic approach.

St. Augustine Beach PierSt. Augustine Beach Pier, or St. Johns County Ocean Pier, at 350 A1A Beach Blvd in St. Augustine, Florida on December 8, 2018

4- Things started to open up a bit by 7:22 am. There was enough interest in the clouds and some of the returning color, that I removed the ND filter for this last shot.

St. Augustine Beach PierSt. Augustine Beach Pier, or St. Johns County Ocean Pier, at 350 A1A Beach Blvd in St. Augustine, Florida on December 8, 2018

All four image were taken from the exact same spot with the camera secured to my tripod. You can get a lot of different looks within a very short window of time!

One of the highlights of the year from a photography perspective was my 28 day road trip through the western portion of the United States. This road trip covered 6,428 miles by car (Prius), 460 miles by ferry (with Prius on board) and 245 miles by foot. It was tempting to include some pictures from two other trips during the year--Iceland and Cincinnati.

You may CLICK HERE to view a full preview of this year's book. It's most effective to view the images with the pages of the book expanded to fill your monitor. I also recommend selecting the Dust Jacket version of the preview (positioned under the book).

I use Blurb to create my books. I'm very pleased with the quality of the product--from the binding and paper to the image quality. Producing such a small quantity of books makes for a high cost per unit. I make these available for purchase at the base cost from Blurb. However, the book isn't intended for general distribution. I like to create one for my own records--and family and friends occasionally order books as well.

This is the 11th annual "A Look Through My Lens" book that I've created!

A Look Through My Lens: 2018

By Glenn Nagel

This picture was captured in October, 2018 at a photography conference that I attended in Cleveland.

These are presented in random order:

Top 10 PicturesMy top 10 photographs over the past year.

Summary

Ice Cave, Iceland

Iceland ice caveIce cave at the Vatnajokull Glacier, the largest glacier in Europe, near Jokulsarlon, Iceland on February 21, 2018 Halifax architecture, Nova Scotia

Downtown HalifaxHarbor Ridge Apartments in front of modern buildings at 1663 Brunswick Street in Halifax, Nova Scotia on July 15, 2018 Grainger Engineering Library, University of Illinois

Grainger staircaseStaircase in the Grainger Engineering Library at 1301 W Springfield Avenue on the campus of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in Urbana, Illinois on January 24, 2018 Rocky Harbour Sunset, Newfoundland

Rocky HarbourRocky Harbour with the Lobster Cove Head Lighthouse in the distance in Rocky Harbour, Newfoundland and Labrador on July 30, 2018 Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia

HarborLobster traps at foggy harbor at Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia on July 17, 2018 Atlantic Puffin, Newfoundland

Atlantic puffinAtlantic puffin (Fratercula arctica) in Elliston, Newfoundland and Labrador on July 28, 2018 Diamond Beach, Iceland

Diamond BeachDiamond beach, or Jokulsarlon beach, by Jokulsarlon glacial lagoon in southeast Iceland on February 23, 2018 Girl Knitting, Louisbourg, Nova Scotia

Girl knittingA young girl knitting in window light at the Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site of Canada at 259 Park Service Road in Louisbourg, Nova Scotia on July 22, 2018 Cincinnati Skyline

Cincinnati skylineCincinnati skyline, the Ohio River and the John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge from Riverside Drive in Covington, Kentucky on July 6, 2018 Overture Center, Madison, Wisconsin

Overture HallOverture Hall at the Overture Center for the Arts on 201 State Street in Madison, Wisconsin on November 14, 2017 That's a wrap for my past year of shooting. Now, it's onto processing the images from my recent Florida road trip!

Holy Trinity Anglican ChurchHoly Trinity Anglican Church on Highway 406 in Codroy, Newfoundland and Labrador on August 2, 2018. This church was rebuilt in 1913 to replace the 1906 church which was destroyed in a wind storm.

Here are a few more from my visit:

Holy Trinity Anglican ChurchHoly Trinity Anglican Church on Highway 406 in Codroy, Newfoundland and Labrador on August 2, 2018. This church was rebuilt in 1913 to replace the 1906 church which was destroyed in a wind storm. Holy Trinity Anglican ChurchHoly Trinity Anglican Church on Highway 406 in Codroy, Newfoundland and Labrador on August 2, 2018. This church was rebuilt in 1913 to replace the 1906 church which was destroyed in a wind storm. Holy Trinity Anglican ChurchHoly Trinity Anglican Church on Highway 406 in Codroy, Newfoundland and Labrador on August 2, 2018. This church was rebuilt in 1913 to replace the 1906 church which was destroyed in a wind storm. Holy Trinity Anglican ChurchHoly Trinity Anglican Church on Highway 406 in Codroy, Newfoundland and Labrador on August 2, 2018. This church was rebuilt in 1913 to replace the 1906 church which was destroyed in a wind storm.

First, the lighting presented problems. I arrived at Signal Hill one evening and before I could compose a picture it started raining. The rain didn't stop until well after sunset. I returned the next morning to better, but not spectacular, light. The issue that morning was wind.

High winds are common at Signal Hill. During my photo shoot, I experienced a sustained 40-45 mph wind with occasional gusts that made it difficult for me to stand. I really wanted this particular shot, so I did my best to minimize camera shake in these challenging conditions.

My first idea was to block the wind with my body and my open jacket. Unfortunately, that wasn't possible as the wind was blowing directly into the lens.

This is a photo that I captured of Cabot Tower at Signal Hill. You will notice the stone walls surrounding the building. The next thing I tried was to position my tripod so that only the lens was peeking over the wall. Using this approach, at least the tripod wasn't getting hit with any wind. Cabot TowerCabot Tower at Signal Hill in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador on July 25, 2018

This didn't work either. The wind was too strong and caused the camera and lens to shake enough to blur the images.

So, I then tried the following additional steps to improve the sharpness of the picture:

1. I removed the lens hood. The lens hood for the 500mm f/4 lens is massive. It was acting like a sail in the wind. This helped.
2. I increased the ISO so that I could use a higher shutter speed.
3. I set the camera for rapid burst mode. Shooting at 9 frames per second improved my odds of getting one sharp picture.
4. Of course, I waited for brief lulls in the wind.

After capturing a few bursts with the higher shutter speed, I noticed that approximately 1 in 20 pictures was sharp. I did this by carefully checking the photograph on the screen on the back of my camera--after zooming in to at least 100%.

Thankfully, my Nikon D850 isn't a film camera. This makes it well worthwhile to capture as many images as it takes to get the shot.

Colorful houses of St. John'sColorful houses of St. John's from Signal Hill in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador on July 25, 2018

In the end, I captured a sharp image of the picture that I wanted. I wish the light would have been better. That's one of the greatest challenges of travel photography. I had to leave after that morning's photo shoot--whereas a resident of St. John's can return once the shooting conditions become ideal.

I almost always try to capture photographs of places of worship that I come across during my travels. In fact, I have now photographed 223 places of worship! So, the Chapel at the Fortress of Louisbourg was an appealing subject.

A young woman was acting as a tour guide inside the chapel. I politely asked her if it would be possible to have the lights turned on for all the chandeliers. I explained that the interior of most buildings looks a lot nicer when illuminated.

She looked surprised and told me that lighting those chandeliers takes quite an effort. She explained that the chandeliers are not electric fixtures. Rather, they must be lit one candle at a time! She said that the chandeliers have not been lit for at least a decade.

So, I lit them just a touch in Photoshop...although in a rough and sloppy manner.

Fortress of Louisbourg ChapelFortress of Louisbourg Chapel at the Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site of Canada at 259 Park Service Road in Louisbourg, Nova Scotia on July 22, 2018

In Alabama, workers were placing a large tree on the stairs of the Capitol.

Alabama State CapitolMen working on holiday decorations in front of the Alabama State Capitol building from Dexter Avenue in Montgomery, Alabama on December 3, 2014

I was told that the tree would be lit for the first time on Friday night--a day or two after I was scheduled to leave Montgomery. One night, I decided to take a photograph of the Capitol's exterior despite the dark tree:

After capturing several images, I was pleasantly surprised to see the tree light up! Unfortunately, the Capitol's dome was still dark:

Alabama State CapitolHoliday decoratoins in front of the Alabama State Capitol building from Dexter Avenue in Montgomery, Alabama on December 3, 2014 A few seconds later, the dome lit up. I captured a few bracketed long exposures while everything was lit...made a few adjustments to my settings...and began shooting some more pictures. The only problem was that the tree had gone dark during the time I was making those adjustments. Apparently, this was just a lighting test--so I guess I was fortunate to be shooting during the 30 seconds that the tree was lit that night! Here's my final image:

Alabama State CapitolHoliday decorations in front of the Alabama State Capitol building from Dexter Avenue in Montgomery, Alabama on December 3, 2014

This year, my holiday card features one of my favorite photographs (and favorite experiences) of the year. The picture was captured inside of an ice cave in Iceland. The downside was that the ice cave wasn't nearly as isolated as I expected it to be. You can read all about it in one of my earlier blog entries.

At the risk of ruining the surprise for the recipients of my cards, here's the design for this year's card:

Front

Inside

Back

And, here's the original image:

Iceland ice caveIce cave at the Vatnajokull Glacier, the largest glacier in Europe, near Jokulsarlon, Iceland on February 21, 2018 I am sometimes asked why the card reads "Happy Holidays" rather than Merry Christmas. The reason is that I send these cards to a number of people--not all of whom are Christians. The card expresses my wish that everyone (regardless of their religious beliefs) enjoys the holiday season and has a happy New Year.

I use Vistaprint to produce these cards.

During my recent road trip to Newfoundland, I visited two provincial capitol buildings--Nova Scotia and Newfoundland.

Capturing interesting images of the interior of the Newfoundland capitol, the Confederation Building, proved to be challenging. One morning I entered the building with the intention to photograph the interior. This is permitted inside all of the state capitols in the United States and was also encouraged inside the Province House of Nova Scotia. While working my way through security, I was told that photography is permitted, but that I needed to be escorted through the building by a guide. The next tour was at 2:30 PM...so I had to return to the Confederation Building to capture the photographs.

I was pleased to see that I was the only person on the tour. This usually makes it very easy to compose pictures. The guide told me that photography was permitted. So, I began the hour long tour. The issue is that this building offers very little of interest other than the magnificent House of Assembly. So, I patiently waited until we entered the House of Assembly at the very end of the tour.

As I started to set up my tripod, the tour guide informed me that the House of Assembly was off limits for photography! I asked why that was since it was empty...the representatives were not in session during my visit. She said she didn't know and was just following directions. I asked if I could speak to someone else about getting permission for the photography. She called a manager in the Communications Department--but that call went into voice mail.

So after two visits and an hour long tour, I left the building without a single image.

Later that night, I received an email from the tour guide letting me know that permission was granted and that I could gain access to the House of Assembly at 8:30 AM the next day. I replied to the email to express my appreciation for that follow up and to make a couple of requests: (1) that the lights be turned on inside the room, and (2) that the door to access the center of the balcony area be unlocked.

The next morning, I met the tour guide in the lobby and we immediately went into the House of Assembly. The floor was off limits, but I had access to the balcony--or most of it. This next image shows the section within the room in which a perfectly symmetrical shot of the interior is possible. Note the section circled in red. That wooden door was locked. Unfortunately, nobody could find the key! So, I wasn't able to capture any of the more traditional perspectives of this beautiful room.

However, I very much appreciated how friendly and cooperative everyone was at the Confederation Building. While I was shooting, my guide asked me if I would prefer that the ceremonial mace be placed on the table as it would be if the assembly was in session. So, they brought it out and placed it on the table. The mace is circled in white.

Here are a few images from my photo session:

House of AssemblyThe House of Assembly chamber in the Confederation Building on Confederation Hill overlook at 100 Prince Phillip Drive in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador on July 24, 2018 Confederation BuildingThe Confederation Building on Confederation Hill overlooking Newfoundland and Labrador's capital city at 100 Prince Phillip Drive in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador on July 24, 2018. This building serves as the home of the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly. Confederation BuildingConfederation Building at 100 Prince Phillip Drive from Summit Hill in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador on July 25, 2018 House of AssemblyThe House of Assembly chamber in the Confederation Building on Confederation Hill overlook at 100 Prince Phillip Drive in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador on July 24, 2018

This photograph was last month at a photography conference that I attended outside of Cleveland. One of the presenters, Mike Matthews, brought a few frogs and reptiles with him. I was able to capture a photograph of the Amazon milk frog peeking over the petal of a calla lily. I am considering joining one of Mike's workshops next year.

This marks the 55th time that one of my photographs was recognized by Imaging Resource as its "Photo of the Day". A photographer is limited to one winning entry per month, so this series of winning images stretches back five years. Click here to view all of the winning entries over the past few years.

Peeking FrogImaging Resource's Photo of the Day for November 19, 2018

Second Place winner for the month of November, 2018

CLICK HERE to view the current collection of 57 photographs.

I also created a 2019 calendar featuring a dozen of these pictures. This calendar is currently offered for the low cost of $12.75. And, if you do a Google search for promo codes on Lulu calendars, you might even get it for less. I used the FWD15 promo code for 15% off my order earlier today.

CLICK HERE to purchase the calendar. There is a preview link below that calendar so that you may view the included photographs.

Here are a few favorites included in the calendar:

Foellinger AuditoriumFoellinger Auditorium from the Quad on the campus of the University of Illinois in Urbana, Illinois on January 9, 2013 Whimsical staircaseColorful staircase at the Grainger Engineering Library on the campus of the University of Illinois at 1301 W. Springfield Avenue in Urbana, Illinois on May 6, 2012 Great HallFoellinger Great Hall in the Krannert Center for Performing Arts on the campus of the University of Illinois in Urbana, Illinois on February 9, 2018 Psychology BuildingCenter Court of the Psychology Building (1970) at 603 E Daniel Street on the campus of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in Champaign, Illinois on February 8, 2018 Illini UnionIllini Union at 1401 West Green Street on the campus of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in Urbana, Illinois on January 24, 2018

The Great Western Staircase is located inside the New York State Capitol. It is also known as the Million Dollar Staircase. It took an unheard of 14 years to build this staircase at a cost of more than $1 million back 1883. During the course of those 14 years, more than 500 stone cutters and carvers were brought in from Europe. One of their goals was to carve 77 famous faces into the sandstone walls of the staircase. The sculptors spent years, at a salary of $5 per day (a big salary back then), to sculpt some of the finest carvings in the world.

Toward the end of this massive project, the sculptors were then permitted to continue adding faces--but faces of their choosing. So, along with the prominent faces are faces of friends, family and others (sometimes someone they happened to see on the street)--all of which can be seen when viewed from the staircase.

From a photography perspective, I found this staircase to be very challenging. The light streaming in from the skylight and side windows can be very harsh. And, it can be difficult to set up compositions from the stairs. It's also tough to shoot anything symmetric as the light fixtures are positioned in the most symmetrical locations.

To view my photographs of the staircase, CLICK HERE.

Great Western StaircaseThe Great Western Staircase (or "Million Dollar Staircase") inside the New York State Capitol building at State Street and Washington Avenue in Albany, New York on August 6, 2018. This staircase took 14 years to complete at a cost of $1.5 million dollars...back in the late 1800's. Great Western StaircaseThe Great Western Staircase (or "Million Dollar Staircase") inside the New York State Capitol building at State Street and Washington Avenue in Albany, New York on August 6, 2018. This staircase took 14 years to complete at a cost of $1.5 million dollars...back in the late 1800's. Staircase sculptureSculpture on the Great Western Staircase, also known as the Million Dollar Staircase, in the New York State Capitol building on State Street in Albany, New York on June 27, 2013 CarvingsIntricate carvings in the stone inside the New York State Capitol building at State Street and Washington Avenue in Albany, New York on August 6, 2018

As I entered the lobby, I asked an employee at one of the teller windows for permission to take pictures. Clearly, the Lincoln Bank Tower sees a lot of photographers. Without hesitation, the teller asked me to sign a form waiving my rights to sell any of the photographs.

As is customary, I first attached the Nikon 14-24mm lens to my camera. The 14mm focal length is ultra-wide and helps me capture as much of the scene as possible without using a fisheye lens. Here's my first shot of the ceiling with the 14-24:

Lincoln Bank TowerCeiling in the lobby of the Lincoln Bank Tower at 116 East Berry Street in Fort Wayne, Indiana on October 29, 2018

I liked the picture, but wanted to capture even more of the scene in a single frame. Due to the difficulty of aligning such an image, I did not wish to try to stitch multiple exposures into a panoramic photograph.

Without moving the camera from the tripod, I swapped lenses. The following picture was captured with the Sigma 15mm fisheye lens from the same perspective:

Lincoln Bank TowerCeiling in the lobby of the Lincoln Bank Tower at 116 East Berry Street in Fort Wayne, Indiana on October 29, 2018.

Of course this is all personal preference, but I very much prefer the fisheye picture. I think including the murals on both sides of the frame really adds to the picture. I also like that the fisheye photograph includes more of the walls and lights.

I left the fisheye lens on the camera for a while longer and captured a couple of more shots before putting the 14-24 back on the D850:

Lincoln Bank TowerCeiling in the lobby of the Lincoln Bank Tower at 116 East Berry Street in Fort Wayne, Indiana on October 29, 2018 Lincoln Bank TowerCeiling in the lobby of the Lincoln Bank Tower at 116 East Berry Street in Fort Wayne, Indiana on October 29, 2018

This photograph was captured in July during my road trip to Newfoundland. This is the first picture from that road trip to be recognized in a photo contest. I recently posted a blog entry about this photo.

This marks the 54th time that one of my photographs was recognized by Imaging Resource as its "Photo of the Day". A photographer is limited to one winning entry per month, so this series of winning images stretches back more than four years. Click here to view all of the winning entries over the past few years.

Atlantic PuffinImaging Resource's Photo of the Day for October 28, 2018

I don't usually deal with such large files. This panoramic image is about 36,000 pixels wide. Although I have a high powered computer, it was slow to process the photograph and then exporting from Lightroom was giving me issues. In any event, here's the smaller version.

CLICK HERE to have a look around the Lunenburg waterfront with a higher resolution view. Please be patient while the image loads. Once the image loads, please take the time to zoom in and to pan around the file to view some of the details.

While walking along the waterfront, I captured this picture of some lobster cages. Can you find this in the high resolution panoramic of the waterfront? I can.

Lobster trapsCarbon steel lobster traps against red wall near waterfront in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia on July 17, 2018

This photograph was featured in the May 10, 2012 edition of "Digital Camera World" in the United Kingdom as one of the 30 most beautiful photos of roads or highways. It was the lead photograph in that article.

The "Long Desert Highway" photograph was also recognized as an Editors' Choice pick by 500px. The Editors' Choice award is limited to the top .01% (1 out of every 10,000) of photographs submitted to the editors.

You never know where you will find the photographs that you captured. But, I certainly never expected a complete stranger to find one of my pictures literally blowing around the streets of Brooklyn!

Day 2: Americus, GA - Andersonville National Historic Site

Day 3: Simons Island, GA - Avenue of the Oaks, Fishing Pier

Day 4: Jekyll Island, GA - Driftwood Beach; Historic District

Day 5: St. Augustine, FL - Basilica, Washington Oak State Park

Day 6: St. Augustine, FL - Flagler College; Marineland Beach

Day 7: St. Augustine Beach, FL - Pier

Day 8: St. Augustine, FL - Lighthouse

Day 9: Tampa, FL - Riverwalk, Sacred Heart Catholic Church

Day 10: Tampa, FL - Cityscape

Day 11: St. Petersburg, FL - Dali Museum; Marina

Day 12: Bonita Springs, FL - Ave Maria Oratory

Day 13: Bonita Springs, FL - Naples Pier

Day 14: Miami, FL - Convention Center, Brickell District

Day 15: Miami, FL - Cityscape; Design District

Day 16: Homestead, FL - Everglades National Park; Anhinga Trail; Long Pine Key Lake

Day 17: Melbourne, FL - Viera Wetlands

Day 18: Gainesville, FL - University of Florida; Butterfly Rainforest

Day 19: Forsyth, GA 

Day 20: Marion, IL

Day 21: Orland Park, IL

Basilica of St. JosaphatBasilica of St. Josaphat at 2333 S 6th Street in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on November 16, 2017 Stained glass domeStained glass dome (designed by Pennsylvania native Alfred Godwin) in the Supreme Court Chamber in the Pennsylvania State Capitol building in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on July 5, 2013. This photograph consists of five exposures blended together using HDR Efex Pro2 software to create a high dynamic range (HDR) image. James R. Thompson CenterInterior of the James R. Thompson Center, or State of Illinois Center, at 100 W Randolph Street in Chicago, Illinois on December 18, 2013. This photograph consists of five exposures blended together to create a high dynamic range (HDR) image. Alliolani Hale domeInner dome from the rotunda of the Aliiolani Hale at 447 S King Street in Honolulu, Hawaii on January 20, 2017. This building houses the Hawaii State Supreme Court. It is the former seat of government of the Kingdom of Hawaii. To view more of my favorite pictures of ceilings, please click here.

Aligning ceiling pictures is very challenging. In order to see through the viewfinder, I'm usually laying on the floor and trying to slide underneath the camera (which is positioned on a tripod very low to the floor). It can take a while to line everything up--and in the meantime I often end up with a sore neck!

The good news is that my new Nikon D850 now makes this process easier. The D850 has a tilting LCD screen on the back of the camera.

Now, I am able to sit to the side of the camera and align the photo using the tilted screen.

I plan to continue looking up during my photography sessions.

Here's an iPhone photo of the area:

The hope is that a puffin (or several) will fly over to our side of the water. Between us and the nesting rock is a steep drop...and yes, people have died here.

So, I arrived one morning to photograph the puffins. I had visions of puffins everywhere...and all on my side of the water. But, after a couple of hours of waiting, there wasn't any indication that the puffins would land near me...or I should say, us. I gathered that part of the problem was that there were 30 or more people standing near me and that the crowd might be keeping the puffins away.

I returned the next morning at 5:45 AM...and was pleased that I was the only person there. But, by 9:30 AM the crowds were building and the light was getting very harsh...and not a single puffin made a move to my side of the water!

That night, I decided to go back for a third try. I arrived at 5:00 PM and found about 12 people there...no puffins. By 6:30 PM or so, everyone left except for one man. He was visiting from Switzerland...and was just finishing up some landscape photographs. I told him that people told me that on occasion puffins would fly over to our side...so he waited with me. We waited for about an hour when he told me that he reluctantly would have to leave because he was freezing...and that his jacket was back at his campsite about a mile away. I told him he could use my jacket...and he was very appreciative.

About 30 minutes later a single puffin fluttered over to our side and landed briefly on a rock. I captured a quick shot with my 300 2.8 VR...and it flew off. I was so happy to get a shot! He looked at the image and joked about how jealous he was that I got that shot...and that he only had a wide angle lens with him. So, I removed the 300 2.8 from my Nikon D850 and handed it to him. I told him he could use it for the rest of the shoot as it worked perfectly with his Niion D4. I then attached the 500 f4 to my camera--which was sitting in my bag. Yes, I carried a lot of weight!

A few minutes later, another puffin landed. Then another...and finally more than a dozen. We had a great time capturing portraits of these birds. At one point, he mentioned that he should have brought a teleconverter with him...so I reached into my bag and handed him a 1.4x teleconverter. He couldn't believe his good fortune...a jacket, a 300 2.8 VR and a TC...all saved his photo shoot! And, it was an amazing photo shoot for both of us.

Here are some of my images. To view more, CLICK HERE.

Atlantic puffinFull body portrait of an Atlantic puffin (Fratercula arctica) in Elliston, Newfoundland and Labrador on July 28, 2018 Atlantic puffinCloseup portrait of an Atlantic puffin (Fratercula arctica) in Elliston, Newfoundland and Labrador on July 28, 2018 Atlantic puffinAtlantic puffin (Fratercula arctica) spreading its wings in Elliston, Newfoundland and Labrador on July 28, 2018 Atlantic puffinAtlantic puffin (Fratercula arctica) in Elliston, Newfoundland and Labrador on July 28, 2018

I used just one camera for the entire trip--the Nikon D850. More than 80% of my photographs were captured with one of Nikon's "Holy Trinity" of lenses--the 14-24, 24-70 and 70-200.

An advantage of driving is that it is easier to bring long lenses along. Although the 300mm and 500mm accounted for just 13% of my photographs overall, they represent some of my favorites from the trip. The same goes for the Sigma fisheye pictures. Here are a few from the longer lenses:

Atlantic puffinFull body portrait of an Atlantic puffin (Fratercula arctica) in Elliston, Newfoundland and Labrador on July 28, 2018 Colorful houses of St. John'sColorful houses of St. John's from Signal Hill in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador on July 25, 2018 Atlantic puffinCloseup portrait of an Atlantic puffin (Fratercula arctica) in Elliston, Newfoundland and Labrador on July 28, 2018

There are a few advantages to visiting a church during a mass:

• I'm assured that the doors will be open.
• The interior will be properly lit.
• There will be someone there to talk with about getting permission to photograph the interior.

As a result, I've sat through hundreds of services (especially Catholic masses) over the past few years. I have now photographed more than 200 places of worship!

My experience at the Reykjavik Cathedral was unique in that the entire service was conducted in Icelandic. Unfortunately, I didn't understand a word throughout the entire mass. Once the service ended, I met with the pastor and asked if I could capture some photographs of the interior of the church. As with everyone I met in Iceland, he quickly transitioned to speaking perfect English. My request was granted.

The Reykavik Cathedral is a historic site that is located right next to Iceland's Parliament building. The pastor pointed out that his Lutheran church is the one that is called a cathedral...while the far larger Lutheran church (Hallgrimskirkja) is not designated as such. When I explained that I've photographed more than 200 places of worship, he said that he's certain that I've never visited a smaller cathedral.

Following is one of the pictures that I captured after the Icelandic service:

Reykjavik CathedralReykjavik (Domkirkjan) Cathedral in Reykjavik, Iceland on February 18, 2018

I arrived in Iceland a few days before the tour to explore Reykjavik. This ended up being a good plan as I had some of the best light of the entire trip during my first two days in Reykjavik. While in Reykjavik, I enjoyed walking the streets of the city and logged more than 40 miles of walking over a three day period. One of my favorite locations is the Harpa Concert Hall.

I visited the Harpa Concert Hall early one morning and captured photographs of the interior. It was nice having the place practically to myself. And, I never once had any issues using a tripod during my time in Iceland. I moved some chairs and tables from the open floor to clean up the frame before shooting this scene:

Here are some of the interior photographs:

Harpa Concert HallHarpa Concert Hall at Austurbakki 2, 101 in Reykjavik, Iceland on February 17, 2018

Harpa Concert HallHarpa Concert Hall at Austurbakki 2, 101 in Reykjavik, Iceland on February 17, 2018

Harpa Concert HallHarpa Concert Hall at Austurbakki 2, 101 in Reykjavik, Iceland on February 17, 2018

And the abstracts:

Harpa Concert HallAbstract of the exterior of the Harpa Concert Hall at Austurbakki 2, 101 in Reykjavik, Iceland on February 17, 2018

Harpa Concert HallAbstract of the exterior of the Harpa Concert Hall at Austurbakki 2, 101 in Reykjavik, Iceland on February 17, 2018

And the exterior:

Harpa Concert HallHarpa Concert Hall at Austurbakki 2, 101 in Reykjavik, Iceland on February 17, 2018 Harpa Concert HallHarpa Concert Hall at Austurbakki 2, 101 in Reykjavik, Iceland on February 17, 2018

A view of the Old Harbor from the Harpa:

Harbor viewOld Harbor view through Harpa Concert Hall windows in Reykjavik, Iceland on February 17, 2018

I also returned one night to see the show "Icelandic Sagas Greatest Hits".

This is a count of independent visitors. When a visitor returns to view the site, it does not add to the count.

According to Google Analytics, visitors come from all over the world--and represent 157 countries and all 7 continents (including Antarctica)!

In the past few years, the website consistently attracts about 3,000 new visitors each month.

Thanks to all who come to this site to view my pictures. I hope you enjoy viewing the world through my lens.

This photograph was captured in February during my trip to Iceland. I posted a blog entry about this photo shoot last month.

This is the fourth photograph from my Iceland trip to win a "Photo of the Day".

This marks the 53rd time that one of my photographs was recognized by Imaging Resource as its "Photo of the Day". A photographer is limited to one winning entry per month, so this series of winning images stretches back more than four years. Click here to view all of the winning entries over the past few years.

Sun Voyager sculptureImaging Resource's Photo of the Day for August 24, 2018

Third Place Winner of month of August, 2018

One is named Mohamed and the other is Ali. Or, when the two names are put together it's Muhammad Ali!

It took more than two seasons for me to be able to tell the twins apart. Even now, I fail to properly identify one of the twins 25% of the time--and I have a 50% chance of being right if I just guess!

A couple of weeks ago, I captured pictures of the players on my team. After taking pictures of the individual players, I captured some images of the twins together:

Elagha twinsAli (left) and Mo (right) Elagha of the 11U Orland Park Warriors baseball team in Orland Park, Illinois on June 20, 2018 Elagha twinsAli (left) and Mo (right) Elagha of the 11U Orland Park Warriors baseball team in Orland Park, Illinois on June 20, 2018 Muhammad Ali.

I suspect that the wolves approached me that afternoon out of curiosity. I was probably the first visitor to their exhibit in a long while. In all my visits to the Brookfield Zoo, I have never seen it so empty. And it was a "free day" at the zoo. I arrived at the zoo just after lunch and my car was one of the only ones in the large north parking lot:

I wanted to capture some closeup portraits of the wolves, so I attached a 1.4x teleconverter to my 500mm lens. This gave me an effective 700mm of focal length on my Nikon D850. Here are a few of the photographs:

Mexican gray wolfMexican gray wolf at the Brookfield Zoo in Brookfield, Illinois on February 1, 2018 Mexican gray wolfMexican gray wolf at the Brookfield Zoo in Brookfield, Illinois on February 1, 2018 Mexican gray wolfMexican gray wolf at the Brookfield Zoo in Brookfield, Illinois on February 1, 2018 Mexican gray wolfMexican gray wolf at the Brookfield Zoo in Brookfield, Illinois on February 1, 2018 To give some perspective of how close I was to the wolves, that last picture is hardly cropped--it's 6,500 pixels across!

Visiting the zoo in the Winter has its challenges. It was 18 degrees and windy...and my fingers were stinging from the cold. But, not having to deal with field trips and large crowds makes it well worth any discomfort.

Here are a few of my favorites from the visit:

Basilica of St. JosaphatBasilica of St. Josaphat at 2333 S 6th Street in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on November 16, 2017 Basilica of St. JosaphatBasilica of St. Josaphat at 2333 S 6th Street in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on November 16, 2017 Basilica of St. JosaphatBasilica of St. Josaphat at 2333 S 6th Street in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on November 16, 2017 Basilica of St. JosaphatBasilica of St. Josaphat at 2333 S 6th Street in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on November 16, 2017 Basilica of St. JosaphatBasilica of St. Josaphat at 2333 S 6th Street in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on November 16, 2017 Having lived in the Chicago suburbs for most of my life, it's kind of surprising how little time I've spent in nearby Milwaukee. This brief trip opened my eyes to some amazing architecture. I had no idea that Milwaukee City Hall was the tallest structure in the United States upon its completion. And, the dome of the Basilica (pictured above) was the second largest dome in the nation upon completion--second only to the United States Capitol building in Washington, D.C.

Not only did we have 2 1/2 hours of access to the exhibit before it opened to the public, but we were also allowed to use a tripod. The tripod provided me with a number of advantages:

• Use of long exposures (up to 20 seconds) to maximize image quality by leaving ISO at 64
• Ability to keep camera stable while holding a diffuser and/or foam board in my hands
• Easier to achieve precise focus on the smallest of details
• Able to use extension tubes for extreme macros without concern over camera shake
• Ability to shoot multiple exposures for blending in post (more about this below)

The only downside to this level of access is that it required me to leave my house by 5:30 am to get to the Chicago Botanic Garden on time!

For several of my pictures, I blended exposures using different aperture settings. Quite often, I would capture one image wide open and a second image at a very narrow aperture (f/22). During post processing, I start with the wide open exposure to achieve the soft, blurred backgrounds that could not be achieved with a narrow aperture. However, with the wide open exposure, I usually wasn't able to achieve enough depth of field to render the fine details of the flower in focus. So, I then stack the narrow aperture version of the picture on top of the wide open one--and brush the sharp detail into the frame only where I need it. In my view, this blending approach provides the best of both worlds--an overall soft, abstract photo with enough detail in the areas where more sharpness is desired.

CLICK HERE to view my pictures from the show.

Here are a few of my favorites:

OrchidsGroup of purple and white orchids at the Chicago Botanic Garden at 1000 Lake Cook Road in Glencoe, Illinois on March 17, 2018 OrchidOrchid at the Chicago Botanic Garden at 1000 Lake Cook Road in Glencoe, Illinois on March 17, 2018 OrchidOrchid at the Chicago Botanic Garden at 1000 Lake Cook Road in Glencoe, Illinois on March 17, 2018 OrchidOrchid at the Chicago Botanic Garden at 1000 Lake Cook Road in Glencoe, Illinois on March 17, 2018

All photographs were captured with my Nikon D850 camera and Nikon 200 f4 Micro lens.

One location that I hoped to photograph was the Sun Voyager sculpture. However, at sunset, people are lined up to take pictures of each other while they stand next to the sculpture. Many people stand right in front of the sculpture to capture selfies. It's a line of people that doesn't end until the light is gone and the photograph is no longer worth capturing.

So, I returned at sunrise.

The only problem is that the snow surrounding the sculpture had many deep footprints from visitors approaching the sculpture well before sunrise:

In my view, these footprints ruin the image. So, I cleared the footprints as best I could using Photoshop. Note how in the following picture I have activated the upper layer--the one in which I addressed the footprint issue:

And, here's the final image:

Sun Voyager sculptureSun Voyager sculpture in Reykjavik, Iceland on February 17, 2018

I returned the next day and captured a photograph of the sculpture that I like more--because I think the sunrise was more colorful the next morning:

Sun Voyager sculptureSun Voyager stainless steel sculpture in Reykjavik, Iceland on February 18, 2018

This photograph was captured in February during my trip to Iceland. This was a memorable photo shoot. Before going to the beach, our photograph guide instructed us to be sure to always have an escape path from the ocean in case of a big wave. You don't want to have to retreat only to step against or onto a big chunk of ice. Fortunately, I heeded his advice.

After spending a fair amount of time composing this photograph, I was looking through the viewfinder when I suddenly felt an ice cold wave hit my shins. To my surprise, the water also rushed under the sand that I was standing on. I nearly fell as I quickly retreated from the water. I was also surprised to see the large piece of ice starting to slide toward the ocean. This is a dangerous beach and I was relieved to make it safely away from the water.

My waterproof boots were filled to the brim with freezing saltwater. Unfortunately, all of my other socks were back at the hotel and more than an hour away. Our photography guide generously offered to let me borrow a pair of his wool socks. Otherwise, I would have to spend the rest of the day with freezing, wet feet. It took me quite some time to get all of the dirt and sand off my wet feet before putting the dry wool socks on. Once we were back in the vehicle, I told the guide that I would return the socks that night, but that the best I could do was dry them with the hair dryer in the room since there weren't any laundry facilities there. He said that "proper" wool socks don't require washing--and that those socks had not been washed in a couple of years. Beggars can't be choosy, but I wish he wouldn't have told me that!

This is the third photograph from my Iceland trip to win a "Photo of the Day".

This marks the 52nd time that one of my photographs was recognized by Imaging Resource as its "Photo of the Day". A photographer is limited to one winning entry per month, so this series of winning images stretches back more than four years. Click here to view all of the winning entries over the past few years.

Diamond BeachImaging Resource's Photo of the Day for July 20, 2018

I arrived at the church just before the doors opened at 9 am. When the church opened, I entered with about 25 other people. I saw it was going to be difficult to capture photographs of the interior of the church without having to contend with a lot of people in the frame. So, I decided to take the elevator up to the bell tower for the aerial view of downtown Reykjavik.

Downtown ReykjavikDowntown Reykjavik from the Hallgrímskirkja church tower at Hallgrímstorg 1 in Reykjavik, Iceland on February 16, 2018

I enjoyed taking a number of pictures from the tower. It's a good thing that I visited the church first thing in the morning, because it wasn't long before it became very crowded. When I first entered the church, I thought that 25 visitors was a lot and that I could patiently wait for the scene to clear. But, that was not to be. The church became more crowded with every passing minute. Before long, at least 100 people were in the church at any given time.

The only way to get up to the bell tower is by elevator. Despite the $9 charge to use the elevator, by 9:30am there were at least 75 people waiting in line to take the elevator up to the bell tower. The elevator only holds 5 or 6 people, so people were waiting 30 to 45 minutes to go up to the tower.

I came back to the church later in the morning and it was even more crowded. I returned in the middle of the afternoon and it was worse.

So, I decided to talk with someone who worked at the church. I explained that I photograph a lot of churches--and that I was finding it impossible to take pictures inside the church with all the tourists. I asked if it would be possible for me to meet someone after the church closed--so that I could get a few pictures of the interior without anyone in the frame. To my surprise, my request was granted!

I came back to the church at closing (5 pm) and was permitted to shoot for 10 or 15 minutes with private access. That was sufficient time for me to get the bigger views of the interior of the building. I was able to capture pictures of the ceiling, sanctuary and pipe organ during the day--even with the crowd.

Hallgrímskirkja churchHallgrímskirkja church at Hallgrímstorg 1 in Reykjavik, Iceland on February 16, 2018

Later that night, I went back to the church for pictures of the exterior during the blue hour. The crowd was far worse than it was inside the church. Just when it looked like it was going to be impossible to get any pictures (people kept standing directly in front of my lens), I captured this image:

Hallgrimskirkja churchHallgrimskirkja church at Hallgrímstorg 1 in Reykjavik, Iceland on February 16, 2018. The church of Hallgrimur is a Lutheran church that stands 244 feet high--making it the second tallest building in the country. It took 41 years to build the church and it was completed in 1986.

These pictures were taken on a cold weekday in February. I would hate to see how crowded this location is in the summer.

Elagha twinsAli (left) and Mo (right) Elagha of the 11U Orland Park Warriors baseball team in Orland Park, Illinois on June 20, 2018 Connor O'ReillyConnor O'Reilly of the 11U Orland Park Warriors baseball team in Orland Park, Illinois on June 20, 2018 Brian McBrideBrian McBride of the 11U Orland Park Warriors baseball team in Orland Park, Illinois on June 20, 2018 Rafe SlagerRafe Slager of the 11U Orland Park Warriors baseball team in Orland Park, Illinois on June 20, 2018 Conner StackConner Stack of the 11U Orland Park Warriors baseball team in Orland Park, Illinois on June 20, 2018 Brian McBrideBrian McBride of the 11U Orland Park Warriors baseball team in Orland Park, Illinois on June 20, 2018