Door County Photos/Photography Workshops

Fall in Door County

Posted on by Cameron

While scouting locations for the Door County workshop and a few times during the workshop I did get some chances to make some photos. More photos than I though. Here are a few of the images. Door County is a wonderful place to experience fall so sign up for my email list to stay in touch for next year’s workshop dates.

The Eagle Trail in Peninsula State Park is in my opinion the prettiest place in Wisconsin. We spent several hours roaming the trail during the workshop.

With a lot of recent rain the trees all had very vibrantly colored lichens.

Cave Point is a uniquely beautiful location to photograph the sunrise.

While driving back from Cave Point we took advantage of the spotty fog on Sunday morning.

"Insta-CAMeron" photos/Door County Photos/Photography Workshops

Door County “Insta-CAMeron” Photos

Posted on by Cameron

During the 2012 Door County workshop I took some new “Insta-CAMeron” photos.  The wonderful fall colors made for some nice opportunities. Here’s a few of the best ones…

“Insta-CAMeron” photos (painful pun intended) are random cell phone photos taken by Cameron Gillie on his travels.

The trail at Ellison Bluff State Natural Area was a great opportunity for everyone to slowly take in the colorful surroundings.

The waterfront in Ephraim makes lots of great photo opportunities.

People are encouraged to paint their message on the siding of the art gallery on Anderson Dock with sanctioned graffiti.

Close To Home/Madison Photos

And now time for something completely different.

Posted on by Cameron

Throughout my art show career I’ve always been pretty much entirely a nature photographer, but this fall I’ve been playing with photographing urban scenes around my hometown of Madison.

The new subject matter is an opportunity to try new things as well as an excuse to get out photographing a lot more often. With nature photography it usually involves traveling a good distance, which isn’t always practical. If I lived next to a National Park I could photograph nature every day, but I live in a city so it makes sense to photograph the city. It’s been really nice to be able to get out shooting on any given day I have some free time. Nature photography is still my first love so this new direction will ad to it, not replace it.

Here are some early images in the new direction. I’m hoping to have some photos printed and ready for the local fall shows coming up in a few weeks.

One evening while driving downtown I saw the nearly full moon rising and made note that I should try and use it in a photo. The Madison Museum of Contemporary Art on State Street lined up perfectly.

A foggy morning helped me out a bit to photograph the “Forward” statue in front of the state capitol.

The state capitol with some muted fall colors showing through the fog.

Monona Terrace in downtown Madison was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright who’s architectural philosophy was to have his buildings fit into nature. I think he succeeded here. It blends right in with the clouds above. (I also have one of my favorite art shows of the year in the building in November!)

Inside the capitol I’ve played with combining details together into one composition. I like how these three play off each other.

This photograph of the North Gallery in the capit0l is 10 photographs taken with a 14mm lens stitched together into one very wide panoramic. In fact the two doors on the left and right are actually facing each other so this photograph is over 180 degrees wide. The camera is seeing behind itself. It’s been fun playing with this, it took 5 trips to the capit0l to perfect this. I felt a little bit like I did back in the darkroom days, I had no idea how it would look till I got home and “processed” it.

Mississippi River/The Midwest

Wild Pelican Chase on the Mississippi

Posted on by Cameron

This week I spent a few days in the Upper Mississippi River Wildlife Refuge after hearing from a friend that there is a colony of white pelicans who have made Sabula, Iowa their summer home. So with a little extra time on my hands this week I loaded up the camping gear and took off. I did find them and a lot of other birds. The pelicans weren’t as cooperative as I would have liked but I did get a few brief opportunities to get them within camera range. The refuge was full of birds, I’m sure I will return again soon. It’s a great place to watch and photograph wildlife!

The american white pelican is a fairly recent addition to this area. Several years ago they started showing up to spend the summer and nest.

Watching the pelicans fish is fascinating. They swim together in large groups all scooping fish out of the water. It sounds like a mountain stream running with all the bills sifting through the water.

And of course there is a lot of other wildlife. I can never pass up an egret photograph!

This is one of those “almost was” photographs. After feeding in one place for a while they all take off together to find a new spot. If they had taken off toward me this would have been an amazing photograph. Unfortunately it’s a photograph of a bunch of pelican rear-ends.

An image inspired by my “Snowy Egret” photo. Not sure it stacks up though.

I’ve been playing with a lot of long crops this year, here’s another egret version.

Tree swallows are a social bunch, they always sit closely spaced on the power lines.

The great egrets like to follow the feeding pelicans around, they take advantage of all the fish being stirred up and catch some of their own fish in the process.

Everglades/News

“Strutting Snowy” Selected for PhotoMidwest 2012 Seven State Exhibit

Posted on by Cameron

I haven’t entered a photography contest in years, but when I saw the PhotoMidwest 2012 Seven States Exhibit was being judged by Sam Abell, a legendary National Geographic photographer I thought I’d give this one a try. My “Strutting Snowy” was chosen for the exhibit!

I’ve been given a lot of awards over the years and of course it’s always a good feeling, but this photo and the person who selected it really made my day.

One of the frustrations of the art show world has been when I get excited about a photograph I feel is unique and creative, It usually winds up being a big disappointment in the sales department. It’s something I’ve wrestled with since my first show, deciding how creative I want to get, and how poor I want to be? Agonizing over that balance has literally kept me up at night on more than just a few occasions.

“Strutting Snowy” hasn’t been a best seller (I sold the first print a few weeks ago) but photos like this fulfills my need to push the envelope a bit. Having Sam Abell’s approval on this image has certainly encourage to keep pushing in a creative direction. That has made my year!

An opening reception with juror Sam Abell will take place on Friday, September 14, 2012, from 7-9 PM in the Main Lounge of the UW Memorial Union in Madison.

The Wisconsin River Valley

Parfrey’s Glen and Natural Bridge State Park

Posted on by Cameron

It’s been a while since I did any black and white landscapes so today’s visit to Parfrey’s Glen and Natural Bridge State Park was a good opportunity to play around with monochrome again. Both areas are in the “driftless zone” in Wisconsin, an area in the southwest portion of Wisconsin that was not covered by glaciers in the last ice age, so the ancient rocks and hills were not bull dozed by glaciation. It makes for some great photography.

This small canyon very near the terminus of the glaciers from the last ice age was originally carved out by the melting glaciers. In 2008 a freak heavy rain storm again rushed water down the canyon ripping out a boardwalk and stairs built years ago to make it easier for visitors to walk up the glen. In my opinion the new washed out glen returned it to it’s more natural state is an improvement!

I think the most amazing thing about this 35 foot limstone arch at Natural Arch State Park is the fact that archeologists have found evidence of fires built under the rock overhang dating back to 12,000 years ago, making this one of the earliest known sites inhabited by humans in the Eastern United States. It’s possible that the people that first called this place home hunted wooly mammoths. That’s something to ponder as you enjoy the serenity of this off the beaten path State Park. As humans, I guess we’ve always had a thing for a home with a “view”.