Fall Colors on Lake Creek

We just missed the peak colors up north in Rhinelander this year but here is a shot of one my favorite islands on the lake.  You can see the color in the tamaracks and the clouds cooperated nicely today as well.

Great Blue Heron

This Great Blue Heron was hanging out in the wild rice and let me get fairly close for a couple of photos. After a couple of shots we continued down the river. These are fun birds to photograph and are fairly abundant in the Wisconsin River flowage. More Heron and Eagle photos coming in the next few days.

Fish Lunch

Got pretty close to this eagle today. He was eating a good size northern on top of a muskrat house. I used my 100-400 lens and took a bunch of snaps for about five minutes before leaving him be with this lunch.

Happy Holidays

It's been awhile since I've added anything to this blog.  I've been busy and have been doing some shooting but haven't had the time to do much editing and uploading.  Hopefully with winter here I will find some time to share some of the photos.

We just had some fresh snow last night and it provided some great photo ops.  I'll share more later but this one is one of my favorites.  Happy Holidays to all.

Door County

Door County Wisconsin is one of the hidden gems of the Midwest and offers a ton of opportunities for photographers.  I spent some time there recently to photograph the cherry blossoms and some other local attractions.  If you haven't had the chance to visit Door County I would highly recommend it.  Here are just a few of my photographs from the trip.  Un-watermarked high quality versions of all are for sale on my website Keith Bell Photography

Greetings from the Northwoods

Below is a photograph that I took and added quite a bit of texture and design to it.  The goal was to create a retro looking 1940's type photo postcard.  I always liked these old postcards and wanted to try to recreate a little of that nostalgia.  I call this one "Greetings from the Northwoods".  If you would like to get a full size (non-watermarked) print of this photograph, it is available in our Fine Art America Gallery.

Fun on a Saturday

I've been working on photos all day today, kind of a nice break from my normal life. Been working on stock photos and illustrations. Also trying some new things. Here are two experiments I rather liked so thought I would post. The first is a recycling concept image and the second is a collage of last weekend's winter storm. I hope you enjoy them.

Day 32. Belted Kingfisher.

Well I've now passed a month in my Project 365. Only eleven more to go! Today I struggled with a photo. It was incredibly windy here today which took out macro outdoor shots and I wasn't sure what else to shoot. I then discovered a little red squirrel running along the bank all day collecting green pine cones that where falling from the trees. While I pursued the perfect shot of this little guy all day I kept the camera handy by the patio door. Despite lots of shots I didn't get one I was happy with.

Then I looked up and saw this Belted Kingfisher sitting on our boat canopy frame. I have been seeing this bird all week fly by with fish in his mouth and making lots of noise at anything approaching but he was always too far way. I quickly grabbed the camera and slowly opened the door and began shooting. Despite the distance I still got some nice pics that I had to crop down. Below is my favorite. Maybe I'll get lucky and get some more chances to photograph this beautiful bird this week.

Project 365. Day 15

Day fifteen and still going strong. Spent the last couple of days up north and my wife's flower gardens have lots of great photo ops. The key is to stay away from all the bees. The cone flowers have just started to come into full bloom. Below is a macro shot of a pink one.

Blackbird shouting it out!

Up river this year there are new signs telling people to slow down their boats to help protect the wild rice beds. Well these signs have quickly become part of the environment as this bird is showing. As we approached this redwing blackbird he was trying to call us off and keep our distance. As I shot away with my Canon 1D Mark IV I got some cool pictures of the bird and sign. At first I was just shooting a picture of the sign to show someone but upon further inspection I really like this photo. It shows the bird with his beak fully open yelling at us as if to be reading the sign to us. I hope you like the picture too.

Whitetail Fawn

Whitetail deer are one of my favorite animals in nature and to photograph. As abundant as they seem at times they can be quite elusive when you have a camera in your hands. A couple of days ago I got an opportunity to photograph a fawn laying in some grass in a field while her mother was laying a little ways away. With the power of my 100-400 zoom lens I was able to get some decent pics although it was tricky trying to get the deer and not blowing grass in front of the deer in focus. My favorite one is below.

More Eagles

Went out on the river looking for eagles and herons today. Got some decent pics. Saw about 3 eagles and only got real close to one. Saw a bunch of herons and have to look over all those pictures yet. Here's a quick one of an eagle that I like.

Eye of the Eagle

Today we were floating down the river through wild rice beds and doing some fishing and sightseeing. After several hours of this we had seen countless ducks, herons, eagles and more. As the weather started to turn we needed to get back before a storm rolled in.

As I came around a corner I got a glimse of this majestic bird perched on an old duck blind on the side of the channel. I backed off the motor and grabbed my camera gear. While my wife slowly idled the boat and the kids were amazingly quite I snapped away with my Canon Mark IV. I took about 100 total pics of this bald eagle before we floated by him. The pic below is my favorite. If you want to see the full large version of it go to our main page. If you view the larger version you can see the eagle has a band on his leg.

Fun with Otters

Well it's been quite awhile since I have posted. This past weekend I had the priviledge to witness a staredown between a Bald Eagle and a River Otter. After the staredown, which the otter won I got a chance to watch three otters swim and play on the edge of the ice on the shores of the Wisconsin River. I followed them the best I could and layed on my stomach with my Canon Mark IV and focused through the trees to get the best pics I could. While most didn't turn out (as they were just out of great range), some did. I am in the process of finishing up some of these but just had to post this first one. Let me know what you think.

Fun with Snow

I spent the day up north and while there wasn't much snow on the ground it started to snow during the day. I took this as an opportunity to head outside and try to catch some wildlife in the snow. Earlier in the day there were deer playing on the frozen river and birds everywhere. Well once I headed out with the camera there was nothing for wildlife. I took the time to have some fun and try some different shots. Most of course did not turn out great but I found a couple that I like. The first one is of a wreath on the side of our house with snowflakes flying around it. The second is just simple shot of a pine branch in focus with the background and snowflakes out of focus. Just some fun with the camera and practice, practice, practice. While I didn't get any masterpieces it was time spent behind the lens and I need to do more of that. A good day. I hope you enjoy the pics.

Snowy Sunday (Stock vs. Snow)

Well the snow arrived a little late and mostly during the night.  As a result by the time morning arrived the snow was already here along with the bitter cold and horrible roads.  As a result I didn't venture out far and only took a few shots.  I'm not happy with most of them so I am only posting one below.  Instead I will spend the rest of the days indoors and focus on Stock vs. Snow.  Stay warm.

It's a white Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to all.  I know this is a new blog so I am not sure how many of you are looking at this.  If you are, comment on a post and let me know you are out there.  I am up north this weekend for the holiday and we got some new snow last night.  I had to get outside this morning and take some pictures of the snow and ice on the river.  I hope you enjoy.