2015-The Favorites.

New years day, 2016. My annual look back at the year through images almost slipped my mind.  As a photographer, I think reflecting on work that has been produced by my cameras, my eye and more importantly my vision, is important.  So how did I almost miss it?  Not to make excuses (which means what follows will be an excuse of some form), but this has been a very different year for me.  After having the same yearly schedule for 50 years, 2015 saw a change.  No longer would a classroom be the center of calendar- as a student when I was younger or as a teacher.  The September to June annual itinerary would now change forever.  Retirement from education would open a new chapter.  What's this have to do with photographs?

They say after retirement you get busier-yeah, right, except it's true.  I had 7 days of "retirement" after the end of school, then quickly jumped into a new job as a wildlife technician for the Ho-Chunk Nation DNR.   I love the job.  For the first time in many years, I was working in the summer and yes, it did cut into photography time, yet also offered some opportunities as well.  It seemed that working now pushed me to use days off to their fullest and sadly (for now) making pictures took a back seat. I think that will change as I get more used to this new role and set some priorities.  There never is enough time.

I always call this post "Favorites" rather than "best of."  'Best' can conjure up some abstract judging criteria and I just don't want to go there-it has a place, but not for these.  A good friend said photographs come down to what you like-what speaks to you.  What follows is my year in images, more or less chronological, and mostly something from each month.  Some are what I'd consider good photographs, others less so, but are here because they speak to me or are important.

This is always one of my favorite posts-maybe because I enjoy just sharing my pictures with the hope someone else will also like them.  Some have commentary-others not as much.  They are shot with my DSLR (Canon 50D) some with an iphone or Canon point and shoot-whatever was handy.  Enjoy.

Wedges Creek Ice Flows

A strange image to start with? Perhaps.  This was takes on Wedges Creek in Clark County during one of several snowshoe treks on the frozen water.  There are high banks and rock outcroppings along this remote location in the county forest and discovering these little gems was a treat.  The tannin in the rock and soil colored the ice and reminded me of  a cathedral Antoni Goudi would have designed.

Homage to Mark-Burr Oak, Agusta Wisconsin

Of course my interests lie with the outdoors and wildlife and I happened upon this burr oak tree while traveling to and from a wolf ecology class near Fall Creek.  My photographer (and biker) friend Mark Hirsch set on a journey a couple years ago photographing a burr oak tree near Plattville Wisconsin every day for a year-with an iphone.  It's an amazing beautiful project.  This tree jumped off the corn field every day I saw it and I could not-not make a picture of it, for Mark.

Sweaty Yeti

The Sweaty Yeti is a fatbike race our club has put on for the last several years-a fun day on awesome trails and it brings much needed money in for the trail system.  Once the gun goes off, I have 3 hours to relax before the finish, and I love getting out with camera in hand to shoot some pictures.

Arndt Road Crane

It's nice to live in the country and have animals so close-if not wandering through the yard or woods, then just down the road. I'm spoiled.  Pairs of Sandhill Cranes show up each year as soon as the last snow fades away.  This shot was a bit later after green-up.  The pair of cranes this guy was a partner in successfully raised a colt to maturity.

Lake Michigan-The Corkscrew

I'd never grown up with great lakes fishing, but I'm learning to love it-something about those big deep blue waters and the fish they contain.  It's not fishing as much as hunting, and my captain, Kris, is skilled at it.  Kris is a cycling friend from way back and now owns a charter boat out of Kenosha-Northfork Sport Fishing.  He really turned me on to spring coho fishing and I jump at any chance to get down there.  My good Friend John, who knows fishing as well, would rather be on a boat than anywhere else and this morning ride out from the harbor was full of anticipation.

Fisher Ave Drainage

I've driven by this little county forest drainage, now flooded by beavers, a thousand times.  In order to get to Black River Falls for work, I'd drive past this early morning each day.  I enjoyed how this exact place changed though the year and my truck would pull over numerous times to record it. A simple quiet place.

Homage to Douglas Beasley-Crow Feather

Doug Beasley is a photographer who I had the pleasure of meeting while at a class of his years ago.  I still remember a photo assignment to do a "self portrait." Recalling an image of his of a hand holding an object, this maybe subconsciously was my self portrait-on this particular day.  I don't know why, it just is.  I like crows and ravens so I couldn't pass by picking this up and making a picture.

Last Day Eve-32 Years

The final week of teaching had me scurrying to clean the room, pack up a career of art and photography stuff and realizing I would not be in front of young kids again.  Every class I had those final couple days (18 in all) I'd take a picture of my kids and their art teacher. A serious one and a fun one.  I miss the kids the most-not all of them mind you, but there are some real gems that I looked forward to each day.  The teachers reward.

Last Day

Last day of school is "field day," just try to keep the lids on-there won't be much learning involved.  A fun day and my last chance to say good bye, get hugs and for me, to record the faces of kids I'd had the privilege to teach.

Mornings-Townline Flowage

The new job required watching the sun come up a lot-I love it.  I'd go to work in the state forest even earlier than I needed (well, in a way, I "needed" to be out there for this) just to have time to shoot.  Townline Flowage in the BR State Forest was home to a pair of swans this summer and some cygnets.  I'd see them from time to time and assume they made it to fall migration.  I stopped here many mornings on my way to the elk pen, make a few pictures and then continue to "elk sit" for the day.

Dike 17 Elk Pasture

Not really a "pasture," but just some fields the WDNR planted for the elk when they were released.  We'd do 12 hour shifts during quarantine to be sure they were doing okay.  I liked the daybreak moments like this-no people, no sound except the day waking up.

BAAP-Prarie Restoration

The Ho-Chunk Nation acquired-ahem, had their land returned to them, at the site of the former Badger Army Ammunition Plant south of Devils Lake SP.  I'd drive past it quite a few times back in the day while it was still open.  Now almost all of the buildings are gone and nature is reclaiming it.  The HCN is actively managing it for prairie- a monumental task, seeing how invasives have overrun the place.  It's my favorite property to visit and work at.

Linda

I was fortunate enough to be selected as head coach for athletics (track and field) for Special Olympics USA world games in LA this past summer.  It can be a demanding job, but one I cherish.  Linda on paper way back at the training camp the previous fall, looked like a difficult athlete for such a trip.  The reports (in her application) on her behavior had my coaching staff...concerned.  As it turned out, she was one of the most loving and hardworking athletes on the team.  She was always a hoot to be around.  I couldn't have been prouder when she earned a bronze medal in the 100 meter dash.

Fisher Ave Drainage-August

Another stop on Fisher Avenue-heading toward autumn and my favorite time of year anywhere outdoors.

County K-Black River State Forest-Lone Pine

That tree, well, that ex-tree perhaps, is one my eye would catch on my drive each day.  I made maybe 20 images of this spot at different times through the summer and fall-this one had an amazing angry sunrise.

Aspen-Wildcat Road

Fall colors can explode, be obnoxiously brilliant like the creator turned up the saturation, but they can also be like this.  Softer, quieter.  This one little patch of aspen with a forest floor of green and sentinels standing straight and tall, are also part of the season-the subtle side.

The Pastel Glow-Townline Flowage

 I need a small kayak to explore this body of water, or at least that is a great excuse to add another boat to my fleet.  One of many pictures I made here.  Sometimes the placidness of of mornings in the marsh are the perfect way to begin a new day.

Sidewinder in Fall

Hardly a great photo, but it's here because so much of my life has been invested on this trail.  Every inch of it I know intimately.  This was a day to ride by myself, to soak as much in as I could, to stop, to just enjoy the ride.

Abandoned in Lehr North Dakota

 We've been going to North Dakota for many years and it's a place I think I could spend a whole lot of time photographing.  It's worlds away from what visually we have in Wisconsin.  We hunt ducks and upland birds here, which always requires vast amounts of walking.  When I stumble upon some old farmstead ruins, I wonder what the history was.  What hardships it must have been a 100 years ago to survive.  Even now, it's tough living with wide expanses between towns or even other people.  The dominate tree, if there even can be such a thing, are cottonwoods-planted decades ago as windbreaks or maybe a lucky survivor seed blown across the prairie to lite and begin a tenuous life.  This little grove have all been dead for unknown years, but clinging to the shore of a pothole as guardians of the land.  (oh boy-maybe a bit mellow dramatic steve.... )

Fire Sky over "USA Pond"

North Dakota can have some brilliant sunsets, in part because they are so huge!  Over the years I probably have 100s of sunset/ sunrises and I haven't tired of them yet.  Everyone has seen the pretty  colors of them, so it's just a guilty pleasure that my camera keeps shooting and I just had to include one here.  It was a long hike across a tall grass prairie when this was made.  Decoy bag bumping and banging over my shoulder, the plastic deeks anything but quiet.  The 1187 slung heavily over the other arm.  Molly trotted alongside knowing her day was done.  The trucks waited on the horizon and I was motivated by a cold beer waiting.  It would be a long walk, but this view was worth it.

The Frozen Terrarium

It's always the little things.  Some so small we just walk by.  A quick glace at the ground and for some reason I stopped.  I was hiking out of the woods with a muzzloader on my shoulder ready for some hot coffee after a morning hunt.  I'm a sucker for shapes, forms, color contrast and natures abstract ways.  This little place was worth a pause.

Transition

Townline Flowage again.  Fall was giving way- the water surrendering it's warmth and the pedals of cone flowers long since dropped on the shore.  Small wild birds soon enough would flit from stem to stem pulling out the seed cones.

Oxbo Pond-Super Moon

There was a big deal about "the super moon" this fall.  (or maybe it was an eclipse?) Anyway, I kinda saw it and it was still high in the sky at daybreak in the western sky.  Oxbo pond is a little back water of Morrison Creek, cut off from the flow of water when the river changed direction many years ago.  The steam was leaving on this cold morning, I remember it was 23 degrees-chilly for October.  It's a tranquil little spot.  I had this printed by my friend Ras and he made maybe there best complement I've gotten on a photograph-he didn't have to do anything to this...it stood on it's own.

Mortuum Corvis

Pretty, no.  Intriguing? To me, yeah.  Crows are some of the smartest animals alive, so I wonder what the story is here in it's death.  Another bird, a predator, a disease? I dunno.  It's already returning to the earth in natures way.

A Silent Stand-Wildcat Road

The subtle color of this niche in the forest this fall is now buried beneath the ice and skim of snow.  The steadfast trunks remain standing guard again and I have no doubt I'll be back to make a stark white snowscape picture here.  It's that kind of place.

Solis Ortus

Sunrise, and I break some rules which can be broken.  Centered composition-shoot straight into the sun, squarish format.  It's a journey to look back over a year in pictures-some get better with age, some don't.  This one surprised me, another from Townline Flowage.  It aged well for me.  It seemed fitting to put this last, which makes no sense considering it's a sunrise, but without a compass, it could be a sunset.  As it's now just 10 degrees outside I feel the warmth of this image and look forward to setting a tripod up again on this shore-maybe in the spring next year as things are waking up.

As I look forward I've determined I need to feed my photography more-not in equipment or gear (although maybe a move to mirrorless down the road?) but in time and effort.  I think I need a little project, a 365, a 90 day assignment, something along those lines to sharpen the eye and fuel the creativity and vision.  I never know but look forward to what will find me.

Just Ride

This spring exploded out of the door just 2 days after snowcover welcomed snowshoes and skis in early March. Pow! It arrived. Sure, we had a few stubborn snows after that, but in truth, we knew spring was winning the good fight. As such, any open mountain bike trail in the state is going gang busters and Levis Mound, (www.levismound.com) one of the first, has had 3 weekends of packed parking lots. Not that it matters, with 25 miles of singletrack, riders spread out quickly.

It seems that early season also brings out mountain bike enthusiasts of all types, shapes and sizes. Some maybe with shiny new rides, others with solely a resolution to just ride more often and this is their start. It makes for interesting people watching post ride outside the chalet. My little gang of trail building friends are no different. Some of them like the latest greatest full suspension rig- sporting gram saving carbon and Ti doo-dads, and others just clip into last years dirt caked mongrel steel steed.

Relaxing in old camp chairs, we sip our beverages and conversation moves back and forth between the next new wheel size (“28.2” wheels-they'll be awesome and I'll be killin it!”) and lamenting the poor souls lifting old school 26” bikes from their racks. “Those look so tiny” -commenting on the bikes that were perfectly fine for all of us a few short years ago. Yeah, they still do work you know.

My friend Dan is on the old school-steel-is-real end of the spectrum. He's built up a rare “69er” which you'd be hard pressed to see at any trail head, rides a single speed 29+ Krampus and a fatbike. He loves to give people grief anytime the weight weeny conversation gets too serious. I like that. He'll tirelessly needle folks anytime the chatter is more about the bike than the ride. Sure-we all like the hardware, but it shouldn't come at the cost of why we're out there in the first place. Sometimes we need reminders of that.

I like riding with Dan- he's fit and can hammer with the fast dudes who power up and down the Levis trails, but he keeps it all in perspective and I'll join him for a no-drop-just-ride-along as well. I'm not in the jet set racer mode mentality any longer, so I appreciate going my own pace and riding within my ability-fitness or skill wise. I can use the excuse that I want to enjoy the time outdoors “just riding” (and that is true) but to be honest, I wish I still had the horsepower to keep up. It is what it is. “Next month I'll be in better shape.” Dan's favorite prevailing philosophy may be “Just ride and shut up.” That, and don't take yourself too seriously- “pass the flask dude.”

The conglomeration of bikes continued to stream past us in the parking lot. An old Klein Mantra, a brown 26” Schwinn High Sierra, four bar linkage suspension bikes, a 750B and enough single speeders to keep my quads quivering. Strutting riders in their flashy new 2015 kits walk by all serious, others in tattered shorts and t-shirts with shin guards not so much. Some pay their trail fee others sadly “forget.” The no helmet people are the most worrisome-they, if anyone, need the protection the most. They all continue to parade by, click in and head out the trailhead entrance. It's all good.

It's dirt on your legs that is more important than the latest greatest gizmo and what bike you're on seems to disappear once the pedals are spinning. While Dan loves his steel, I'm not a frame material zealot-I've had them all and am on a bamboo bike at the moment for gods sake! They all worked and got me out the door pedaling. Earlier in the day, my little group sported a fatbike, a couple single speeds, a pair of 29+, a full zoot FS and a lightweight 29er hardtail. Quite an array. We stopped every once and a while, waited, chatted it up, viewed the scenery and kept the Strava feeds mostly at bay. That's riding in my book.

“The best bikes aren’t at the extreme ends of the functionality spectrum, so specialized that they’re a bike-length away from dysfunctionality. The best ones are boring jacks-of-many-trades, and you stretch them to their limits with skill and experience.” ― Grant Petersen

I'll admit-back in the race days there was a new bike in the garage every year and any new shiny thing had to be hung on it. I followed the sport and it's iterations constantly. Cost was almost no object and I figured I needed all of that to make me a better cyclist. Those folks, like my old self, will always be there, and I was knee deep in it. Nothing wrong with all that per se, but in hind sight, it didn't make the ride any better.

It seems, as really has always been the case, the best rides are ones with no agenda, no attitude and they unfold with no regard to the clock or a distance travelled. Legs can burn or not, wheels can roll solo or with others, and training logs are forgotten or not even considered. Maybe it's my age, my wisdom (ha) or maybe it's just an appreciation of how lucky I am to be doing this at all. Just ride.

Opening Day

It's known as the winter that wasn't, but was. Cold temps, lack of snow, but also no melting the whole season. For winter fat bike riders it was great. That said, there is a longing this time of year to get knobbie tires on dirt-real dirt on real trails.

Opening day at the trailhead is like giddy kids in toyland. Every rider and bike of every size and shape squeezes into any remaining parking slot. Such was the case at Levis Mound Trail this past weekend-Opening day in southern Clark County. Levis is blessed and cursed to have very light sandy soils, and just 2 weeks ago we were on packed snow-what a difference a week or two of warm weather makes.

Typically, the trail shuts down in March or April to allow spring thaw to allow a drying period. There are no hard opening and closing dates-Mother Nature dictates that. This year, with minimal snow cover, the singletrack was ridable much quicker than expected. With social media and web sites announcing trail conditions, it's possible to inform the riding public on a short timeline. They were ready.

The Levis Mound Facebook page had constant inquiries about as soon as the last snowflake disappeared. Patience...difficult for some-especially the non-fatbike crowd who haven't turned a pedal all winter. Our scouts and volunteer trail builders started in almost immediately checking the status of the quickly drying trail and digging dirt for re-routes. Not that there really was pressure to have maintenance and re-routes done by the opener, but when you have help-one wants to take advantage of it. Grub hoes were slinging in ernest.

Once the call was made to open her up-word spread like wildfire. Riders from all over the midwest posted on the websites-Levis was possibly the first trail open to riding for the 2015 season. A small hiccup of snow showed up a few days before, but melted and still allowed for good riding. Some north facing trails clung to snowcover a bit longer and riders on fatbikes held an advantage, giving the illusion of multi-season riding in one day. The recent trail work was welcomed and riders who made the trip to West Central Wisconsin, got their money's worth-long rides and frequent stops at scenic vistas-no shortage of them here.

As a trail builder here for 30 odd years, and head instigator of a sorts, it was a blast to be out riding by myself-stopping to chat with others and snapping as many photos as I could. A friendlier crowd of bikers you won't find. Luckily Levis has an extensive 25 mile network of singletrack, so even though there were a lot of riders-they tend to spread out and you're left feeling you have the place to yourself.

Post ride was time for a beverage or two and chatting with visitors-some who have been here before- others, like a pilot/rider from Appleton, set a small bush plane in a farm field down the road, changed into riding gear and had a wonderful day on the trail. Departing late in the day-he did a fly over and wing wag to the trailhead crew below.

Just like in baseball-opening day is a highly anticipated event and getting dirt under the tires signals the start of a new season. Weather is fickle, and within 24 hours, the trail was covered in freezing rain and sleet, but she'll bounce back quickly and mountain bike riders will return. “You always get a special kick on opening day, no matter how many you go through. You look forward to it like a birthday party when you're a kid. You think something wonderful is going to happen. - Joe DiMaggio.

I totally agree.

Fall Rides

Lyle on Sidewinder

“I was drinking in the surroundings: air so crisp you could snap it with your fingers and greens in every lush shade imaginable offset by autumnal flashes of red and yellow.” Wendy Delsol

Fall is without a doubt the best time of year to ride. Spring is buggy, muddy and has a chill that I can never warm up to. Summer sticks with the bugs but replaces the cold with sweltering air you can barely breathe. Winter? Well, there is nothing really wrong with pedaling in snow, but it still doesn't quite hold up to Autumn.

In my racing days, fall signaled the end of the riding year, rolling in the final races of the season, concluding with the Chequamegon 40-the Christmas and New Years of the fat tire world. The workout season is over and it's time to “just ride.” That philosophy of non-training now carries me throughout the year and I can pedal to no strict regiment or because I have to. Okay, not quite true, I do “have to” ride in the fall. As Delsol writes, I so look forward to “drinking in the surroundings,” many times frantically not knowing what to do or where to go first. There are so many things pulling me in different directions, if only October were twelve weeks long. The black lab prances after work, convinced we'll be toting a shotgun chasing birds, the backpack waits to be slung on a shoulder and a tree stand impatiently expects my return. There are leaves to shuffle under foot as well and wildlife to photograph. But the mountain bike leaning in the corner is most anxious because I am. Those knobbie tires need to run over the carpet of yellow, orange and red in the woods, not always quite sure were the trail lies hidden beneath.

Yellow Carpet Ride

Eventually, each fall pursuit will get it's share of my time, but never enough and I feel the same way. Luckily for me, others concur and my bike is more than willing to share some singletrack with company. Biker friends from Madison arrived at their favorite trail (and mine) on what could only be described as a perfect autumn weekend. Trees in full color, that “crisp” air surrounding us and the scent in the breeze that only waifs by when leaves tumble to the earth.

Like myself, Lyle, Kelsey and Kat had no interest in a discipled ride of heart rates and average miles per hour. We were turning pedals and rolling tires to just soak this season in at whatever pace necessary not to miss it. Favorite routes like Sidewinder and Wolf Run (at Levis Mound) were revisited, this time with so much more color and snap. Riding some in reverse of usual added a new dimension, nearly like discovering a brand new trail. Other mountain bikers had similar ideas and it was nice to meet here and there along the trail. “Remember this,” I thought to myself, as the bike carved corners and scattered popple and oak leaves behind. This season would soon be gone and homage must be paid by stopping frequently, taking a few pictures and breathing it all in.

Kelsey & Kat & Yellowjacket

Days like these pass quickly and too soon the bikes roll to a stop at the trailhead leaving me to wonder how much I missed out there. There is always more to take in. While my friends refueled and readied for another ride, the other fall interests tugged me away from taking another spin...reluctantly. More hours in a day? More days in this month? I can only dream, dream of just one more ride in this perfect time of year.

Sidewinder in Fall

Wild Ride

The 'Yeti

Bear Den Downhill

The Sweaty Yeti

ca·ma·ra·de·rie-noun comradeship; good-fellowship.

Origin: 1830–40;  < French,  equivalent to camarade comrade

Synonyms :conviviality, bonhomie, brotherhood.

Sounds legit. And that's the feeling I walk away with after spending a couple days with some of the best people in the world. This past weekend brought the third addition of the Sweaty Yeti fatbike race back to the Levis Mound Trail in south western Clark County. As race director, there is no end to the fretting about having everything ready for a race. This year was no different. Another blast of the polar vortex dropped temps and unappreciated snow on the event the evening before, which just added to the scramble. But, as it all turned out, the worry was for naught. Everyone was happy with the race, the course and the turnout.

The explosion of fatbikes this year was evident just in looking at the starting line. The inaugural event saw just two brands of bikes toeing the line-this year, pushing a dozen, with even the big boys Trek and Specialized in attendance (they finally got the memo that fatbikes are not a fad). The race calendar is full every weekend and the Wisconsin Fatbike Race Series steadily growing with the 'Yeti a participating member.

What was born out of borrowed bikes and last minute rider drafts for teams (and a whole lotta fun), has matured some, with solo riders joining the teams out on course and nearly everyone arriving with their own steed. There is something to be said for keeping a race simple and fun and hopefully the Sweaty Yeti represents that. Times are less important that lap counts (keeps scoring easy) and it's not unheard of for racers to enjoy a beverage between laps. Hydration is important.

For the locals who build and maintain these trails and developed specialized grooming equipment for the snow course, the race is a chance to show off their work. Each lap incorporates some ski trail to maneuver and plenty of singletrack to climb and descend on. The new snow did soften things up some, but the one section of hike-a-bike was well rewarded with a long swoopy downhill. Hopefully riders will come back and explore the much longer loops within the trail system.

The race attracts riders from across the midwest and is a reunion of sorts (for me anyway). Biker friends I may see just at the 'Yeti or fun festivals like Gnomefest seem to gather and pick up those friendship right where they left off. I appreciate that. It is a brotherhood (and sisterhood) of sorts-like minded people who aren't afraid to get dirty, frosty, go fast or slow, and who enjoy the ride- not taking life too seriously. Fatbiking is the ultimate bike ride and as some say, you come back with that “fatbike grin” after every ride. There were a lot of those grins at the Sweaty Yeti-the ultimate payback for hosting our event and why we keep love what we do. See y'all next year!

#1!

Hells Yeah!

Covergirl Tenley

Upper Glen

Jackrabbit Draw

Bear Den

BRRRAP!

SnowBench

Swoopy

Yeti?

Yeti Carnage

Scotty Too Hotty