lukejc1

[lukejc1]

Behind The Image: Coast Guard Station

This Behind the Image post is also a quick tip that I learned early in my photography journey that stuck with me in all of my travels and shoots.  When you are at a great location taking pictures of a a great scene, surrounded by other photographers, don't forget to turn around and get the shot no one else is taking.  You might get a shot that's even better than the shot you came for.

    Popular Photo Spots

Take a look at this typical scene found at National Parks where photographers tripods are all intermingled with each others.  While you are one of many people all with your cameras pointed in the same direction.  Even though you are undoubtedly getting great images (our National Parks are beautiful), your images are likely very similar to what everyone else is getting.  

It's a absolutely stunning location to be sure, but it's one that has been phtoographed to death.  Everyone in this picture is getting very similar images as each other which are also very similar to the thousands and thousands of other images made at this location.

    My Recent Example

I was in a similar situation last Friday evening (June 9, 2017).  I wanted to go out to the Sturgeon Bay Shipping Canal to get a shot of the full moon rising with the red lighthouse also in the image.  It's an image I've taken before but I wanted to see if I could get something different.

I was not the only one who had this idea.  When I arrived there was already a tripod set up on the pier.  I wen't along the shore and set up my gear.  It wasn't long until I was joined by a handful of fellow photographers all with the same idea as me (great minds think alike!).  

Before I go on I must point out that I do not know these fellow photographers.  I have not seen their images and I'm not trying to allude that the images they captured were not fantastic.  

The images I left with were nice enough.  I am happy with what I came home with.  Here is an example of one of my favorites of the moonrise.

It's a nice enough image.  I'm happy with it.  However, it's not all that different from my image Blue Moon which has been a popular image for me.

    Remembering The Tip

The image of the day though, came when I looked at the gathering group of photographers around me and remembered the tip.  Turn around.  I casually glanced behind me and saw the shot of the day.  

  This is easily my shot of the day.  It's even my favorite shot I've taken of the Coast Guard Station.  The point of view and the lighting worked out perfectly for me.  Because I remembered to turn around, I got the shot no one else was taking.

Click here to view full size image

Image Settings: Nikon D810 | Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 VRII lens | 70mm | 1/100 sec | f/8 | ISO 64 | 4 Image Panorama

#door county #sturgeon bay #lighthouse #photography #photography tip #luke colins photography #moonrise #full moon #lake michigan #wisconsin

[lukejc1]

Behind the Image: High Tide

This image was taken in September 2016 on the coast of Northumberland located in Northeast England.  When I knew I would be visiting this part of England I did what every photographer does when they plan a trip.  I immediately went to Google Images to see what kind of landmarks and cool photography locations I would be able to find.  There were many very cool places I could put on my list.  Some of them were even known to me, though I didn’t know exactly where they were.  One of these locations is the iconic Dunstanburgh Castle.  I’ve seen many beautiful images from this beach so I knew I had to put this location on my list to photograph.

I was staying in a nearby town called Alnwick located about a half hour away so to arrive by sunrise I think I had to leave at around 5am.  Which is sleeping in for landscape photography! To get to this beach with large round stones known as “death rocks” I had to hike approximately a half a mile across a golf course.  Once I reached the beach I was immediately struck by how cool this place was!  The waves were loudly crashing towards shore as first light reached the eastern horizon.  It is quite an amazing feeling to be standing in a place with so much history (Vikings first came to England at Northumberland) and look up towards the cliffs to see a silhouette of a ruined 1,000 year old castle.  That’s a sight you just can get in the United States. 

Once I got the awe out of my system (at least enough to work) I set up my gear and began looking for compositions.  While looking around the beach I noticed that there were these round, smooth rocks that would be awesome foreground subjects.  I also noticed that the wet rocks looked way cooler than the dry ones. 

Ideally, the tide would be low or receding when photographing this beach because that would reveal plenty of these rocks.  Unfortunately for me, during my time in England high tide occurred precisely at sunrise.  This wasn’t perfect but I looked around and decided I had enough room to work as long as I got really close to the water where the rocks had waves crashing on them. 

I moved in to position and set up my tripod pretty much in the ocean.  I stood on other rocks and hoped my feet would stay dry.  They didn’t.  A couple rogue waves came ashore and more than once I found myself knee deep in the North Sea.  No matter.  Wet and cold, I started clicking the shutter with a remote shutter release.  I varied my shutter speed and tried to time each shot with the water in order to get that silky-smooth look. 

The final image is precisely the image I had wanted to capture.  I have the wet, black rocks, silky smooth water, a beautiful colorful predawn sky, and a wonderful silhouette of the castle on the cliff. 

Not only was I very happy with the image, I got to go shoe shopping later that morning! 

  Image Settings: Nikon D810, Nikon 16-35mm f/4 Lens, 20mm, f/22, 3 sec., ISO 64

#england #dunstanburghcastle #Dunstanburgh #castle #luke collins photography #landscape #photography #beach #ocean #rocks

[lukejc1]

Door County Photo Locations

Door County Photo Locations

  Door County is a pretty great place to visit if you are in to photography.  There are 5 state parks, 19 county parks, and countless city/village/town parks and privately held (but open to the public) land preserves.  And Don't forget about the county's 11 lighthouses!  Here is a rundown of some of my favorite photo locations along with a couple photo tips for each spot.  I wrote this all pretty much from memory so if you have any tips for these spots or any other spots in Door County let me know!

Not all locations have sample images but I'm working on it! :)

Please note that I have my lens recommendations below.  My definition of focal lengths is as follows:

Wide: 14-24mm on full frame cameras (10-17mm crop sensor cameras)

Standard: 24-70mm on full frame cameras (17-55mm on crop sensor cameras)

Telephoto: 70mm+ on full frame cameras (55mm+ on crop sensor cameras)

Downtown Sturgeon Bay (map)

My hometown.  Sturgeon Bay is a really great place to visit because of the working waterfront.  The Michigan Street "Steel Bridge" is a really awesome and unique piece of history that we are lucky to have.  Bay Shipbuilding is located right downtown where you can get relatively close to huge freighters in the winter as they get repairs.  There are tugboats docked right between the two downtown bridges that make for great photos too.  Be sure to check out Third Avenue and its historic buildings.

Sturgeon Bay Tips

- Stone Harbor is a great sunset location (map).

- The bridges each open every half hour so be sure to stick around to watch.

- The old train bridge (map) is a park that goes out in to the bay that gives great views of the bridge.

- A great photo walk is to just walk around town on both bridges.

- In the winter, usually in January, the freighters start arriving in town.  They are great to watch as they navigate through the bridges with the help of the tugs.  They are equally impressive to watch leave town in March-April.

Time of Day: Afternoon/sunset but any time is fine

Lens recommendation: Wide to standard

Sturgeon Bay Shipping Canal / Coast Guard Station (Sturgeon Bay)(map)

The Sturgeon Bay Shipping Canal is a great place to view all the good things about Lake Michigan.  The Sturgeon Bay North Pierhead Lighthouse is a great subject for pictures, there is a fully operational US Coast Guard station, you can watch boats and freighters leave and arrive at Sturgeon Bay, and it is a spectacular sight for sunrises.  As with Cave Point, when the wind is blowing the crashing waves can be quite spectacular.

Canal Tips

- You can view see everything from either side of the canal.  On the south side (map) there is a sandy beach that leads to the south pier.  The north side (map) brings you right to the Coast Guard station where you can walk down the pier and get up close and personal with the lighthouse.  

- The pier leading up to the lighthouse can be a bit tricky to find on the north side of the canal.  Park in the lot and look towards the water, you will see a narrow path about 4 feet wide that is public access leading to the pier.  The property on both sides of the path is not open to the public.

- The canal is a great sunrise location.

- BE CAREFUL ON THE PIER!  It can be quite slippery when wet.

- In January and March you can watch freighters come in and out of the canal.

Time of Day: Sunrise is the most stunning but Evenings can be beautiful as well.

Lens Recommendations: Wide, standard, telephoto focal lengths.

George K. Pinney Park (Sturgeon Bay) (map)

There is not much to this park other than it’s use as a public boat launch.  However, this is a great spot for sunsets.  I also come here often to watch storms roll in from the east. 

Time of Day: Sunset

Lens recommendation: Standard focal lengths

Potawatomi State Park (Sturgeon Bay)(map)

Potawatomi State Park is a hidden gem of Door County.  It is a heavily forested park with plenty of hiking.  It’s perfect for forest photography.  The old ski hill is a lookout where you can see for miles towards Southern Door County and is a great place to watch sunsets.  It also has Door County's only fire tower where you can witness stunning views of the bay of Green Bay and Sturgeon Bay.  

Potawatomi Park Tips

- Don't miss the old ski hill area.  This is a good place for sunsets, especially in the fall with the fall colors.

- This whole park is great for fall colors.

  Time of Day: Afternoon

Lens Recommendation: Standard focal lengths

Sherwood Point Lighthouse (Sturgeon Bay) (map)

Sherwood Point Lighthouse is a bit tricky to visit.  The grounds are only open to the public one weekend per year during the Lighthouse Festival in mid-June.  Otherwise it is best seen fron the water so you’ll need a boat.

Time of Day: Any

Lens Recommendation: Wide to standard from the grounds.  Telephoto from a boat.

Crossroads at Big Creek (Sturgeon Bay)(map)

Crossroads at Big Creek is a nature preserve and education center with a large property that is open to the public.  Big Creek flows through the property and offers a good chance for some forest photography.  In the spring and summer months you will likely see many wildflowers blowing in the open fields.

Time of Day: Afternoon

Lens recommendation: Standard focal lengths

Cave Point County Park (Jacksonport)(map)

Cave Point County Park in Jacksonport is an absolute must see park in Door County.  It is arguably the most photogenic spot in Door County.  The park sits on top of some spectacular cliffs on the shore of Lake Michigan.  Cave Point is most impressive when the wind up strong and the waves are crashing ashore.  You can hear the thunder as soon as you step out of your car.  When it is calm it is not uncommon to see young folks jumping from the cliffs in to the refreshing lake (Don't do this yourself though!).  In the winter, the crashing waves creates an ice covered landscape that must be seen.  Cave point is stunning year round.

The cliffs of the park stretch all the way in to Whitefish Dunes State Park.  From the parking area, you go straight down to see the main cliffs area.  A trail to the left will allow you to access the rocky shoreline.  A trail to the right of the parking area will allow you to walk along the rim of the cliffs.  Be sure to explore both trails.

Cave Point Tips

- Cave Point is a great spot for night time astrophotography too.

- Come at sunrise for spectacular scenes of the rising sun over the lake.  The golden light on the rocks makes for some great shots.

- Be sure to explore the trail to the right.  There is a trail that heads south down the shore that had the best sights in the park.

- BE CAREFUL ON THE ROCKS!  The rocks get slippery when wet.  In the winter they are often covered in a layer of ice.  Stay back from the edge.

  Time of Day: Sunrise or Night Sky

Lens recommendation: Mostly wide-angle to standard focal lengths would be most common but a telephoto might allow for closeup compositions of the rocks and ice in the winter.

Cana Island (Baileys Harbor)(map)

Cana Island is a really awesome place.  The Cana Island Lighthouse is just so classic, iconic, and everything you'd expect a 19th century lighthouse to be.  There are historic building all around the island and the house itself is open to the public for tours and you can even climb the nearly 100 stairs to the top.  This lighthouse can be incorporated in to countless compositions from the surrounding grassy area or from the rocky shore.  Cana Island is a good sunrise location but can be a good spot any time of day.  During the summer season you will be required to pay an admission fee to access the island. 

Cana Island Tips

- Don't let the fact that it's an island throw you off.  It is very easy to get to.  From the parking area there is a land bridge that you walk on to get to the island.  Only on windy days when the water is high is Cana a true island.

- There is admission to get to the island.  I think it's about $6.  For access to the house it's another $4.

  Time of Day: Mornings but any time is fine.

Lens recommendations: Wide to standard focal lengths.

Boynton Chapel at Bjorklunden (Baileys Harbor) (map)

The Boynton Chapel is relatively unknown but still a very cool spot located at Bjorklunden, just south of Baileys Harbor.  The chapel was built in the 1920's in the style of a Norwegian church and pictures of it are often mistaken to the "church on Washington Island" (see below).    The grounds are open to the public so you can walk around it any time but the inside of the chapel is not normally open on the inside but I believe tours are sometimes held.  If you can get a tour don't turn it down because it is quite stunning. 

Time of Day: Any

Lens Recommendation: Standard

Kangaroo Lake (Center of the peninsula between Baileys Harbor and Egg harbor)(map)

Located just outside of Baileys harbor on County Road E is Kangaroo Lake.  This is a really scenic inland lake that offers great photo opportunities.

Kangaroo Lake Tips

- County Road E gies right down the middle of the lake on a land bridge.  It is your best spot to see the lake.  You can not park in the middle of the land bridge but on either side there is a place to park and walk down the road.

  Time of Day: Mornings or Evenings

Lens Recommendations: Wide, standard, and telephoto focal lengths.

The Ridges (BaileysHarbor)

The Ridges is an area that is another great place for forest photography.  There is an old range light here too that is a classic Door County photograph.

  Time of Day: Any

Lens Recommendation: Wide or standard focal lengths

Peninsula State Park (Fish Creek) (map)

  Door County's largest state park is a great photo location.  Eagle Lighthouse and the many bluff lookouts give great views of water.  It is a heavily wooded park but had a lot to offer.  Eagle Lighthouse is on the western part of the park and can be a good late afternoon/sunset location. The stunning Eagle Panorama on the eastern part of the park is a scenic overlook that is a great sunset location where you can get a bird’s eye view of much of the park and islands off the shore.  There are many hiking and biking trails where you can find many opportunities for forest photography. 

 Peninsula Park Tips

- Being on the west side of the peninsula, this park is another great sunset location.

- Eagle Bluff Lighthouse, and Eagle Bluff Panorama are two must stop locations within the park.

  Time of Day: Afternoon and Sunset

Lens recommendations: Wide to standard will likely be the most useful but there might also be opportunities for telephoto lenses.

Town Marina

The Fish Creek marina is a busy marina where you can get sunset shots of the harbor.

Anderson Dock (Ephraim) (map) 

Anderson Dock in Ephraim is a great place for sunset photography.  It is my opinion that sunsets in Ephraim are the most beautiful in all of Door County.  An old, historic barn sits on Anderson Dock that now serves as the Hardi Art Gallery.  This building is unique because of all the graffiti left by people leaving their names on the building’s walls.  This is 100% allowed and encouraged.  Every now and then they’ll paint over a side when all walls are filled up.  There are many opportunities to include all or part of the barn or dock in your sunset compositions.

  Time of Day: Afternoon, Evening, Sunset

Lens recommendation: Wide to standard focal lengths.

Eagle Harbor (Ephraim) (map) 

Right across the street from the Ephraim Town Hall building is a strip of grass that is a park.  This area, along with the entire shoreline in the village, is a great place to watch the sun set over Eagle Harbor.  During the summer months you’ll see the sun set in between Horseshoe Island and the point of Peninsula State Park.

  Time of Day: Afternoon, Evening, Sunset

Lens recommendation: Wide to standard focal lengths.

Sister Bay Marina (Sister Bay) (map)

The town marina in Sister Bay is a great place for an after dinner sunset photography session.  You can walk along the outer breakwall and watch the boats come in and out of the harbor.  This is a great place to get a sunset silhouette of people or boasts out in the bay. 

  Time of Day: Evening

Lens recommendations: Wide to standard with the occasional telephoto opportunity.

Al Johnson’s Restaurant (Sister Bay) (map)

The famous Al Johnson’s Restaurant in Sister Bay is insanely popular for two reasons.  The first is the amazing breakfast food, especially their Swedish pancakes and meatballs.  It can be busy in the summer months but it’s worth it and they are usually pretty good about getting you in and out.  The second reason this restaurant is so well-known is the roof of the building is sodded with grass and populated with goats.  This makes for a wonderful and unique photo opportunity.

  Time of Day: Afternoon/Evening

Lens recommendation: Standard to telephoto focal lengths.

Pebble Beach (Sister Bay) (map)

Pebble Beach in Sister Bay is a rocky beach famous for their very smooth rocks.  It’s a good place for sunset photography.  Please do not remove any rocks from the beach.

  Time of Day: Afternoon and sunset.

Lens Recommendation: Wide to standard focal lengths.

  Door Bluff Headlands County Park (Ellison Bay)(map)

Door Bluff Headlands County Park is a relatively unknown park.  Other than a gravel road leading in to the park it is 100% undeveloped.  There are no buildings or marked trails.  You can walk down the steep bluff to get down to the water or stay on top of the bluff for some great views of the water.  Ice shoves tend to form here during the winter months too.

Door Bluff Tips

- Take it slow.  The path is steep and in the winter can be very icy and slippery.

- There are no guardrails on top of the bluff so BE CAREFUL ON THE BLUFF!

- This is a good place for sunset photography.

  Time of Day; Afternoon and sunset

Lens recommendations: Wide to standard focal lengths.

    Winding Road (Gills Rock)(map)

Door County's famous "Winding Road" is a must have photo for any Door County photo trip.  Arguably the most unique and recognizable roads in not only Wisconsin, but the entire Midwest was designed by a local artist, Jens Jenson.  The road is on the very tip of the peninsula and is about a mile away from the Washington Island Ferry dock.  This is one of the most popular photo spots in the county.  It is very rare to be the only one here taking pictures.  I have been here in the morning and afternoon and it is great to photograph any time of day. 

Winding Road Tips

- BE CAREFUL ON THE ROAD!  It is common to get shots while standing in the middle of the road but this is a pretty busy road so be careful.  There are always cars coming from both directions so always keep an eye on the road behind you or, better yet, have a watcher keep an eye out with you.

- You can park on the side of the road but please be courteous of others and park a ways back. 

- This road is shielded by the sun pretty well so there is not really a bad time to be here but the morning and evenings are still the best time to avoid shadows on the road.

Time of Day: Any

Lens recommendation: Standard to telephoto focal lengths.

Stavkirke Chapel (Washington Island)(map)

The Stavirke chapel on Washington Island is a stunning all wood chapel build in the mid-1990's.  The woodwork is very intricate and all round amazing.  The grounds as well as the inside of the chapel are open to the public so this is a must see when visiting "The Island."

Cherry Orchards (All over Door County)

Cherries are one of the industries that put Door County on the map.  The peninsula is dotted with them from south to north and back again.  These orchards are great when the fruit is ripe but my favorite time to photography the orchards is when the blossoms are peaking.  It’s difficult to predict exactly when this happens but a good rule of thumb is between mid-May and early-June and they usually last about a week.  The Door County Visitor Bureau’s website is a good resource to track the progress of the blossoms. 

Cherry Orchard Tips

- I like coming to the orchards in the morning or afternoon when the sun is low and casts a warm light on the cherries/blossoms. 

- There is wonderful opportunities for wide angle shots of entire trees to telephoto shots focusing on individual bunches.

- When driving north, take Highway 42 up the west side of the peninsula.  You can drive on this road from Sturgeon Bay all the way to Gills Rock and pass orchard after orchard.

- I've never heard of any orchard owners who complained about photographers.  But orchards are private property so please be respectful.  I've seen some orchards fenced off so please don't jump any fences.  Don't climb trees or disturb the land in any way.

  Time of Day: Morning or Afternoon.

Lens Recommendation: Wide, standard, or telephoto.

Fireworks!

In the summer there are many fireworks displays all summer long in Door County.  Fireworks make for a great photo.

#door county #door county photography #photography #wisconsin #wisconsinphotographer #doorcounty #doorcountywi

[lukejc1]

Luke’s Favorite Images Of 2016

Luke’s Favorite Images Of 2016

  Ah 2016, we hardly knew you...

This year has been an eventful one to say the least.  For me it was very memorable.  The highlight of my year was my epic September travels through the United Kingdom, France, and Germany.  Coupled with all the exciting opportunities that Door County has to offer I am very happy with some of the images I was able to capture.  When looking at some of these I see that 2016 was the year of big skies in my photography. 

Now that we all look forward to 2017, I am taking one more chance to look back on my favorite images of 2016.

Here are my 25 favorite images.  I must be honest, it was very difficult to get this down to 25.  I could have included so many more!  The images are listed in no particular order. 

    Alnwick Nights

This image was taken during my last night in Alnwick, Northumberland.  I was taking a walk down by the river and thought I would try to capture the castle all lit up under the stars.   

    Angry Sky

This image shows a very distinct line of storms rolling in to Sturgeon Bay.  The clouds were moving very quickly in to town but I was able to capture a couple of images.  Believe it or not, there was not much post processing done to the RAW file here.  The clouds and sky really were that dramatic. 

    Sturgeon Bay Panorama

This image is one that is quintessential Sturgeon Bay.  Sunset, bridges, working waterfront, and shipping life is everything we know and love about this town.

    Autumn Forest

Potawatomi State Park in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin is a very good park for viewing fall colors.  This image was taken at the old ski hill.  What struck me the most is how the backlit trees shone brightly as the sun struck their golden leaves.

    Autumn in Ephraim

This image isn’t unique.  This is an image of the quintessential Door County scene that is included in just about every local photographer’s portfolio.  I  love this scene and wanted an image of my own.

    Walk The Line

This image was taken during a workshop led by Jim Harmer at the Out of Chicago photo conference.  This all-day conference was so much fun as it gave me a chance to work with a model.  Something very different for this landscape photographer. 

    Autumn Stream

This County Park is one I just found out about.  It is cleverly hidden in Southern Door County and includes a lovely stream that offers many compositional possibilities.  I cannot wait to explore this park more.

    Black Forest Wasserfall

This is Burgbach Wasserfall located in Germany’s Black Forest.  This forest was one of the most beautiful places I have ever been.  Rolling hills of very green, moss covered trees made for a stunning visit. 

    Castle Garden

Lindisfarne Castle is located on Holy Island in Northumberland, England.  It is known as the cradle of Christianity in England.  It is also one of the first places in England that experienced raids from the Vikings in the 8th century. 

    Autumn Evening

This image was taken down at Potawatomi State Park’s boat launch in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin.  I love how the leaves were sprinkled all over and the general calmness of the scene.

    Cave Point Shore

Cave Point in the morning is a wonderful experience.  Crowded in the summertime at all times of the day.  The mornings are for photographers and the afternoon are for families who all come to see this beautiful place.  Winter is my favorite time at Cave Point because it is not uncommon to be the only soul in the park.  This particular morning was one of those times.  Perhaps the fact that it was -5 degrees had something to do with it…

    Forest

An “artsy” image of fall colors in the forest.  I really like the painterly effect that was the result of a slow shutter speed and intentional camera movement.

    High Tide

This classic shot was on top of my wish list when I arrived to Northeast England.  The rocks and the waves with the castle in the background is a scene that you just cannot get in America.

    Crash

Cave Point on a very rough February morning.

    Sycamore Gap

Sycamore Gap is famous for the “Robin Hood Tree” that became popular in the movie Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.  This tree sits right in a little mini-valley and grows right next to the ancient wall built by Hadrian and the Romans in the 2nd century.

    Waves

The lighthouse in Frankfurt, Michigan was bombarded with waves during a summer windstorm.

    Fireworks Over Ephraim

Ephraim, Wisconsin’s annual Fyr Ball festival is a June celebration where fires are burned around the harbor to mark the passing of the “winter witch.”  This year we were treated with fireworks AND a great sunset!

    Past The Light

2016 was the year the tall ships returned to the Great Lakes.  They all came through Sturgeon Bay’s shipping canal and stayed overnight on their way to Green Bay.  This is the Draken Harald Hårfagre modeled after a Viking long ship.

    Riquewihr

Riquewihr, France in the Alsace region is a beautiful medieval town that still has its walls.  The beautiful town sits in a valley among the vineyards known to grow some of the best grapes in the world for Riesling wine.  This image was taken from a nearby hillside during the blue hour.

    Moody Coast

Bamburgh Castle is known as the “King of Castles” and I can see why.  It dominates the coast for miles.  This image was created in the middle of the day using a 10 stop ND filter to help create the silky water and sky. 

    Cave Point Morning

A sunrise at Cave Point County Park is one of the best Door County experiences.  It’s nice to get there before the crowds and the park has enough room and compositional possibilities to accommodate all the photographers.

    Shining City On The Hill

Walking next to the River Aln one morning was a spectacular experience.  Everything around me took that nice blue color that is quite common before sunrise. Then all of the sudden I happened to look up towards the castle to see that it was glowing bright gold and stood out over everything else around me. It was absolutely a stunning show of light and color.

    Sunset Park

This image was taken at Little Lake in Sturgeon Bay.  The lake is known for excellent reflections of spectacular sunsets.

    Morning in Alnwick

This beautiful castle was home for us in England.  My wife and I were fortunate enough to be able to stay in a room for 4 days.  This allowed me to get to know it a little bit and I fell in love.  I love the morning light in this scene.

    The Fountain

This image was taken in June at Buckingham Fountain in Chicago, Illinois.  I was in town for the Out of Chicago photo conference and had a blast exploring downtown Chicago with my camera.

    Wedding

I was asked to photograph a wedding this year too!  It is not something I do a lot of but I had a lot of fun that day.  This is one of my favorite images from the day.

#doorcounty #2016 #happy new year #luke collins photography #wisconsin #door county #chicago #united kingdom #dunstanburgh #england #france #riquewihr #black forest #germany #alsace #michigan #northumberland #door county photographer #door county photography

[lukejc1]

Holiday Sale For Wilderness Protection!

ANNOUNCEMENT! Holiday Sale for Wilderness Protection! I have continued the discount on all matted prints currently in stock and they are now available on my online store. 5x7 Matted Prints - $10 8x10 Matted Prints -$15 Flat shipping cost of $4.99. In addition to getting a great deal on prints, you will also be helping out a great cause. 100% of the proceeds from my online store will be donated to the Grand Teton National Park Foundation specifically for their effort to save the Antelope Flats Kelly parcel from future development. This parcel is located in the middle of the park but is owned by the state of Wyoming. The state is constitutionally obligated to sell it and would like to sell it to the park. Funding must be secured by December and they are now about $1 million away from their $46 million dollar goal. In addition to the donation from Luke Collins Photography, I will also be personally matching the donations from this sale. Grand Teton Foundation Antelope Flats Information: http://www.gtnpf.org/initiatives/state-lands/ Message from NPS Director: https://vimeo.com/184878504/ Store Link: http://store.lukecollinsphotography.com

#lukecollinsphotography #antelopeflats #grandteton #grand teton national park #grand teton #grand teton np #grandtetonnationalpark #grandtetonfoundation #nationalpark #nationalparks #kellyparcel #kelly parcel #shopsmall #small business saturday #smallbusinesssaturday #blackfriday #black friday #holidaysale #christmassale #luke collins photography #conservation

[lukejc1]

Out of Chicago 2016

Last weekend I had an incredible experience at the Out of Chicago Summer Conference in Chicago, IL. When I first learned of this event though some random googling, I was amazed at how many really great photographers would be there speaking and teaching.  I had to sign up!  I immediately purchased my registration and booked a room for the weekend.

I was really fortunate to have learned directly from the following photographers:

    Bryan Peterson

Bryan's full day workshop taught me to always be looking for new and unique compositions. He showed the benedits of using a telephoto lens to get close to small subjects. He showed me how to look for textures to photograph such as torn book pages.

      Jim Harmer

Jim's full day workshop was a lot of fun too!  We were joined by a professional model, Selena Roque, who was amazing!  We created our images with natural light and with a speedlight/softbox combo.  Having limited experience shooting people, it was really fun to try it out.  I think I really liked it and might persue more portrait photography in the very near future.  

I also took two classes that Jim taught where he shared valuable information about how to get our images noticed on the web and also the importance of differentiating our work from everything else that is out there because let's face it, a lot of people kind of have the same style.  That goes for my own landscapes too!  I see now that I need to start looking for something different.

      Steve Brokaw

I attended a class with Steve that I found very fascinating.  Steve is a very talented fashion photographer and he gave us an insight in to that world.  He went over the members of his team for photoshoots and his basic workflow from finding clients to delivering final images.  I really hope to take an instructional workshop from Steve in the future.

    Ken Koskela

I attended a class and 2 hour photowalk with Ken Koskela.  Ken is a travel photographer who's style inccludes taking environmental portraits with a wide angle lens.  The trick is to go really wide angle and get close to the subject.  Surprisingly I didn't really see any distortion of the subject even though I was at 16mm (APS-C).  It is a really unique style that I actually like very much.  Ken brought two of his friends, Gia and Mike, to the photowalk to be models for us and they were really great!  I definttely hope to explore this style of portraiture in the future.

      Ralph Velasco

Ralph taught a session showing us how we can get better shots from trips/vacations by working with a shot list.  The trick is to come up with some applicable categories and come home with 5 quality images from each of them.  This is really helpful for me since I usually go on trips pretty blind as to what I want to photograph.  I will definitely take this advice to heart.

    Jimmy McIntryre

Jimmy is a photographer I've been following for a while on YouTube.  He creates so many great instruction tutorals on exposure blending using luminosity masks.  I used to be really in to HDR photography and, like most newbies, I tended to go really far with my images until they looked unreal and almsot radioactive.  With luminostiy masks you can bring back highlights without affecting color at all which leaves you with a much more realistic image.  During Jimmy's talk he spoke about his experiences when he first decided to do travel photography as a professional.  He gave us insights in to his first couple of years and shared with us things he wished he had known before he made the leap to pro.

    James Maher

James is a street photographer from New York City and I decided to really branch out from my comfort zone and attend one of his photowalks.  I had a lot of fun on this walk and James was great and was a great tacher of the style, but it wasn't for me.  Taking unsolicited pictures of random people was very uncomfortable.  I did find a cat on the street, which seemed unusual to me, who didn't mind getting his picture taken.  :)

      Matt Kloskowski

Back to landscapes!  Matt is a very talented landscape photographer who taught a lesson on his post processing workflow for his images.  He took a photo from RAW to final image and gave a step by step tutorial on his workflow.  He also taled about different light qualities to look for when out on location or planning for a location.  It was really helpful!

    Steve Nielson

Steve Nielson's photowalk was awesome!  This walk was less of a photowalk and more of a standard photoshoot and I was fine with that!  He had a model come in and showed us how he would set us a photoshoot using just a couple of speedlights.

      Friday Night Photo Crawl

Ever hear of a pub crawl?  Sure you have!  How about a photo crawl?  Same idea but they replaced pubs with photo locations around Chicago.  Downtown Chicago has a lot of great photographic opportunities in a relatively small area.  All the speakers were positioned at these locations and we were all free to bounce from location to location and get tips and tricks from the pros.  This was a lot of fun and really good excersice!

    Rick Sammon's Keynote Address

This year's keynote speaker was Rick Sammon.  His presentation was about how to get inspired and stay motivated.  

    Scott Bourne's Closing Presentation

Scott's closing presentation was nothing short of amazing!  He spoke about how we should all use our photography to make our imact on the world.  This imact doesn't have to affect the whole world, but our photography can affect one person in a positive way and that would mean the world to them.

    This entire conference was such an eye opening experience for me.  It was so amazing to learn from professional photographers that I really admire.  It was fun to try new photgraphic styles and learn new ways to go about my own style.  I am now more motivated than ever about my photography and I can't wait to go to an Out of Chicago event in the future!

  I have an album on my Facebook page where I will be posting more images from this event.

#ooc2016 #outofchicago #outofchicagoconference #photography #photoworkshop #Chicago #Illinois #lukecollins

[lukejc1]

Welcome To My New Blog!

This blog is a work in progress but here is where I'll share some of my photography experiences with you all. I'll share some photography tips, Door County photography locations, and kind of whatever random topic I find interesting.

#lukecollinsphotography