Winter Lighthouse Photography in Lake Michigan

St. Joseph Lighthouse

I recently visited the lower eastern side of Lake Michigan to photograph the lighthouses. During the winter, the lighthouses build up large amounts of ice and look like creatures from outer space! These lights are mostly guides for ships traveling to an inland lake with calmer waters and they usully have two piers running out from the canal. The best way to photograh is from one pier oppisite the light.

This pier has two lights and the ice covered one has two lights. This is the front light totally covered with ice.

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Winter Bird Watching at Clarksville Dam

Pelican Migration

Here are Pelicans enjoying the ice on the Mississippi River in Clarksville, Missouri. At this time of year the Clarksville Lock and Dam is a great place to view Pelicans, Eagles, and Seagulls. The dam creates some open water that attracts multiple species of waterfowl. January and February are good times to visit the Mississippi river in the Midwest to view these birds.

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Road America 1995

Aston Martin

Going through old photos of my father’s I came across photos from 1995 taken at Road America racetrack, Elkhart Lake, WI. I am not sure which Aston Martin this is, but it appears to be a DB4GT Zagato.
One thing I like about Road America is that the track has multiple grades and not only has unobstructed views in some areas but has wooded areas that offer a shaded place to watch and a challenge to drivers. Also, it is not too far from St. Louis.

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Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 MM Zagato Spider

Alfa Romeo at the St. Louis European Auto Show. You always find something unique here.

Eagle Watching

Clarksville Lock and Dam

January and February are the best times for eagle watching at the confluence of the Mississippi river and the Missouri River. Normally I will go up to Grafton or along the Great River Road along the Mississippi. However this photo was taken at the Clarksville Lock and Dam near Hannibal. 

This was taken with a new Nikon Z f with a 100-400mm lens (f5.6 at 1/2000 sec). Probably using bird tracking.

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Soaring Pelican

Pelican Migration

Now is a good time visit the Mississippi River to view migratory birds. Pelicans, eagles, ducks and geese are all active in the Midwest migratory routs. Good places to view are Riverlands, the River Road through Grafton and the lock and dam in Clarksville.

This was taken in Clarksville last February near the lock and dam. The area was full of Pelicans and Eagles.

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Wainwright Tomb

Wainwright Tomb

Early in the New Year, means a trip to the family plot in Bellefontaine Cemetery in the northern section of the City of St. Louis. Founded in 1849 as St. Louis’s first rural cemetery, Bellefontaine Cemetery and Arboretum (the first west of the Mississippi) became a unique garden landscape for prominent figures like William Clark and Adolphus Busch, featuring significant architecture, and remains an active, historically vital resting place and arboretum today, listed on the National Register of Historic Places for its beauty and history. 

Shown here is the Wainwright Tomb, located near my family and is one of the many historic structures I like to visitt while there. In 1892, soon after Louis Sullivan completed the Wainwright building in downtown St. Louis, he was commissioned to design a tomb for Charlotte Dickson Wainwright, the wife of Ellis Wainwright. The tomb is located in Bellefontaine Cemetery at 4947 West Florissant Ave.

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Exploring Forest Park’s Mallards and Waterfowl

Forest Park

A pair of Mallards hanging out in Forest Park. The park is filled with waterfowel, particularly geese and Mallards. Not far from the lagoon, these birds flock together making it a good area to observe them.

Mallard Hen in Forest Park

Forest Park

Forest Park in St. Louis has a series of lakes hosting an array of waterfowl. Today I was looking for Wood Ducks but mostly found Mallards and Geese.

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Father Christmas

St. Charles, Missouri, is an old 18th Century river town and trading post. Main Street, which runs along the Missouri River has been nicely restored, and is the sight of many Christmas activities. Diane and I drove over there from St. Louis for dinner in one of their many unique restaurants. While walking down the street we ran into Father Christmas. The jolly man was giving directions, answering question and posing for photos.

If you are in the area, this is a great place to visit during the holidays.

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