Milwaukee's City Gulls

Beautiful to watch flying over the Lake Michigan shoreline.... sometimes creating a mess when they establish a community in a downtown parking lot or public buildings. During the past few years, the gull community at the McKinley Street bridge over the Milwaukee River has been a sight to behold. While noisy and not without an odor, one can view the community, as if on display. Baby gulls can be seen right now.






Edited June 29. 2009
Growing up!

Inner voice and other rambling...

I was recently asked if I had found my inner voice - this was of course, within the context of photography. I suppose I was being asked this in an effort for me to find the direction my photography was taking me, and possibly narrow my photographic vision towards a specific course. This seems to be what many fine art photographers do, and those who are most successful enjoy gallery representation because of their specific vision.

On a spiritual level, I found this on spirithome.com "Where there's a swinging pendulum, there's a 'paradoxical tension', where the different approaches correct each other. On one hand, you find yourself through the inner voice - that is, through exploring yourself. On the other hand, you find yourself through order, place, work, authority - in short, through other people. "

This probably explains where I am at because I photograph what I am drawn to - be it portraiture, documentary, figure, street photography, city and landscapes and whatever else moves me. Each offers their own particular challenges for me to address.

With this in mind, I am taking the opportunity to partner with other photographers on photo walk-abouts to share in photographic camaraderie. These images were taken on a recent hike with Eddee Daniel in the Riverside Park area adjacent to the Urban Ecology Center.

While I have photographed early spring landscapes in the past, I did not enjoy the results due to the lack of color and interest - Eddee is quite happy with it however, which is why I welcomed the opportunity to shoot with him. I am particularly drawn to the bare tree limbs against the sky, and converting to black and white infrared completed these images for me.

I am quite focused on such excursions, and reminded of the Bob Dylan lyrics "Ain't talkin', just walkin'" and let my mind wander with what I experience - what this scene was and what it might become - and portray it for it's aesthetic and spiritual value. [/ramble]