Recently, I went on a dinner cruise with my wife in Chicago. It afforded me a great opportunity to take some awesome pictures of the city skyline during sunset.

I thought the color and cloud formation in this picture were different and neat.

This was the scene the other evening after some storms had passed through the area. I had taken this picture with the automatic settings on my camera and much of the color and texture had been bleached out. I reshot it with the manual setting and decreasing the aperture and it looked like this which was much closer to what I saw. I need to take a class sometime and really figure out what I'm doing.

A different perspective on the same sunrise scene.

Another sunrise picture, this time with some morning fog. This time of the year is always good for sunrise pictures.

I thought this old run down tower with a tree growing out of it would make an interesting picture. I've noticed there is some distortion around the outline of the tree in this picture and in the one of the cyprus tree. I'm not sure where it's coming from, but it isn't in the copy of these pictures I have on my computer.

These were some pretty interesting looking bird houses they had at the forest preserve.

This is a large cyprus tree (I think) at the forest preserve we went to. I used my new circular polarizing filter to enhance the blue in the sky. I like the way the blue from the sky contrasts with the green from the tree.

Frogs

I know most people looking at this picture won't be able to tell, but all the little bumps in the water are frogs. This area hasn't had much rain for a while so the lower water level leaves lots of shallow water for the frogs to sit in.

Blue Heron

My family and I went to a forest preserve this past weekend so I had the opportunity to take a few pictures. This one is obviously of a blue heron. I was hoping I could get a shot of it eating a fish, but no luck.

Parade

My daughter was in a parade recently. I thought this guy on a unicycle would make a good picture and took many pictures of him. This is the best one I got, but I'm still not completely happy with it. I don't seem to have an eye for taking pictures on non-landscape photos, but hopefully if I take enough of them, it will eventually come.

Nashville 6

A little different perspective on the same building. This will be my last picture of Nashville. I promise.

Nashville 5

I obviously thought the AT&T building was an interesting subject. I also liked the way the brick building beneath it was arranged in the picture.

Nashville 4

I liked this picture because it contrasted the older buildings that make up the entertainment district of Nashville in the foreground and the more modern buildings that make up the cityscape in the background.

Nashville 3

This is the main strip in Nashville where all the bars and music are. It's not a picture I normally would have taken, but I'm trying to expand on the types of subjects I take pictures on.

Nashville 2

This is the Sommet Center in Nashville. I think a hockey team plays there. I just thought it had an interesting look to photograph.

Nashville

I was recently at a meeting in Nashville. Of course I had to take the opportunity to take some pictures I don't normally get to take. The next several days will include these pictures. This one is of the downtown view from my hotel room.

Red-winged Blackbird

There were lots of birds sitting on the dead prairie plants just like this red-winged blackbird. This is about the best picture I could come up with though.

Prairie 2

Another picture from Springbrook Prairie. A different perspective from the wide open prairie, with some flowers growing on a sloping hillside.

Springbrook Prairie Forest Preserve

This a picture I took back in May of a prairie restoration project where I used to go to high school. I'd like to get back there before the end of the season to see what it looks like when the vegetation is much higher.

Bright Sunrise

This is a picture I took a while ago, but forgot to post. Every once in a while you get the right kind of clouds that show up at just the right time and the sunrise (or sunset) sets the sky on fire. I'm usually not up for the sunrises, but I'm glad I was in this case.

Partridge Pea

This is a type of flower that is very prevalent in the field net to our house. I finally figured out that it was partridge pea, a native flower common to prairies in Illinois.

Reflection

My attempt at taking a cool reflection picture.

Milkweed Tussock Moth Caterpillar

I was visiting the ponds where I work and noticed a bunch of these caterpillars on one of the milkweed plants. I had never seen caterpillars like it before, so of course I had to snap a picture. One of my daughters adopted one as a pet and it has now pupated and we are waiting to see what the adult looks like.

Deer

There is a lot of wildlife around our house that I wish I could take pictures of, but most don't let you get close enough. Hopefully one day I'll be able to afford a telephoto lens. For now, this is the best I can do. Still I like how the deer is framed in a break in the trees.

July storm 5

This will be the last picture from this storm. It's also the last picture I took before I decided things were getting a little too crazy and it was time to head for shelter. This picture also reminds me that there are way too many electric lines around here. It's hard to find a place where they won't show up in the picture.

July Storm 4

Ok, this one isn't quite as good as the others, but there are several bolts so I've included it.

July Storm 3

Another picture from the same storm. Like I said, very active.

July Storm (2)

Some more lightning pictures from the same storm. Before the storm got too close, it was ideal conditions for taking lightning pictures; virtually no wind, little rain and lots of lots of lightning.

Big July Storm

The next several posts will be getting back to my favorite photographic subject. These pictures were all from a very active storm in late July. It was so active, I eventually had to pack things up and head for safety. It was making me a little too nervous.

Flying Bee

Another picture from my visit to the flower patch. This time a flying bee. No flower picture collection is complete without one.

UPDATE: It took me awhile, but I think I finally figured out that this plant is not an invasive, but rather it is called Prairie Blazingstar (Liatris pycnostachya).

Butterflies

Two pictures this time, because I took a ton of this butterfly and couldn't decide on one. Every year this flowering plant blooms in large numbers in late summer. Someone told me it was an invasive species, but the insects sure love it, whatever it is.

Summer Flowers

Continuing on a theme away from lightning pictures, here are some macro shots of some flowers taken on the same day as the dragonfly picture.

Dragonfly

I'm not sure what kind of dragonfly this is, but there are lots of them around here. I used them as an opportunity to try some macro shots with my new camera. This one turned out pretty good, but most did not. I think this is a good excuse to by a macro lens.

The Arch

Something a little different than what I have been posting. This is obviously a picture of the Arch in St. Louis. We were getting some food at the 4th of July festival there and I liked this perspective of the arch.

Fireworks

We went to St. Louis this 4th of July and we set out our spot for fireworks watching early so that I could take pictures of fireworks through the Arch. I think it would have turned out great had the wind not been blowing towards us, pushing smoke in front of our view.

Separate June Storm

This is another June storm that developed just to the east of my house. Better yet, no mosquitoes eating me alive this time..

More Lightning

This is the last picture from this particular storm. I really like the shadows and texture on the top part of this cloud that is illuminated by the lightning.

June Lightning

This is another picture from the same storm. Great stuff.

Lightning Pictures

Yep, more lightning pictures. What can I say, they are my favorite thing to photograph and this has been one hell of a good start to the season. These next few are from a storm that gave off one of the most impressive lightning displays I've ever seen. I think the pictures would have been better too, but I didn't bring my tripod (because I hadn't intended to shoot lightning originally) and I was being eaten alive by mosquitoes while trying to hold the camera steady.

Another Sunset Picture

Yeah, it's another sunset picture, but there's nothing else around here to take a picture of. Plus I really like how this one turned out with the new camera. Not sure if you can see it in this version (I think you can), but I really like the detail in the trees in the distance. They would never have been that sharp with my old camera. I also really like the colors in this picture.

New Camera

Haven't posted in a while, but have many reasons, the most important being that I left my camera at my in-laws in November. However, I recently bought a camera that I've been saving 2 years for. It's the Nikon D90 and so far I in love with it. Here is a picture I took of the sunset the other day. I love the rich colors and crisp images this camera produces and I have yet to figure out how to use it to it's full potential. I can't wait to learn..

Final Storm Picture

Ok, this is the final picture from the latest storm and my personal favorite. Like I said before, this has been a good year for photographing lightning and I have learned a lot. The most important thing I've learned is how critical aperture is when photographing lightning and the need to adjust it as the distance to the storm changes. A small aperture for a storm too far away produces a bolt that can barely be seen. Too large an aperture for a storm that is close produces a bright white spot with no discernible bolt. Interestingly, my favorite shots are from my first attempts when I didn't know what the hell I was doing. So I guess luck plays a large role as well.

More from the latest storm

This is another picture from the storm last night. I liked that there were multiple bolts in this picture, though I was upset at myself for not framing it correctly.

Last Storm of the Season?

Last night we had some pretty good lightning displays and I managed to catch a few that I'll be posting over the next few days. This may have been the last good storm of the season and I'm glad I decided to go out and get some pictures.

Rising Moon

Nothing too special about this picture, I just like taking pictures of the moon just after the sun goes down and some type of landscape can still be seen. I have a really cool one from when I was camping in Zion National Park, but that's on actual film, so I don't have it to post online.

More Lightning in the Sky

We've had a lot of night-time thunderstorms around here lately, unfortunately I haven't had much luck getting good pictures...until last night. Last night was especially good since the lightning lasted well after the main part of the storm had past.

Soft-Shelled Turtle

Another one of the cool creatures that lives around here and which I've never seen before is this soft-shelled turtle. I often see them sunning themselves on the gates to the ponds where I work and have always wanted to get a picture. However, they are extremely fast and dive into the water before I can get anywhere near them. This one came through the drain when we drained one of the ponds, so I took the opportunity to capture it and release it far enough away from water so that I could take this picture.

Bird-Voiced Treefrog

It's been a while, but I'm back for a few pictures. I have been trying my hand at photographing small reptiles and amphibians that I think are cool. This particular species of frog are neat in that they can be this color, but can also turn a bright lime-green too. They also make an interesting call as the name suggests.