Landscapes & Nature

Fire in the Sky from 35000 Feet

This huge thunderstorm was shot out of the window of a plane at 35000 feet somewhere over the desert southwest as the sun set in the west. Awesome and beautiful as long as you don't have to fly through it.

Road to Cave Point

On a cool September autumn morning, a blacktop road winds through the woods along the Lake Michigan shore to Cave Point County Park near Whitefish Dunes State Park in Door County, Wisconsin.

The Narrow Path

"Pursue some path, however narrow and crooked, in which you can walk with love and reverence." -- Henry David Thoreau

The Silent Woods

"Use what talents you possess; the woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best." --Henry Van Dyke This digital peice started as an 8-frame panorama photograph of the woods around Parnell Tower in the Northern Unit of the Kettle Moraine State Forest in southeast Wisconsin. I wanted to make something surreal and somewhat abstract out the autumn forest scene.

Forest Stairs

"The world's a forest, in which all lose their way; though by a different path each goes astray." --George Villiers A staircase rising out of a small ravine along the Seven Bridges Trail in Grant Park, South Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

That Lonesome Road

"If I had stopped to listen Once or twice If I had closed my mouth And opened my eyes If I had cooled my head And warmed my heart I'd not be on this road tonight Carry on Never mind feeling sorry for yourself It doesn't save you from your troubled mind Walk down that lonesome road All by yourself" -from That Lonesome Road" by James Taylor

Ethereal Flow

"In rivers, the water that you touch is the last of what has passed and the first of that which comes; so with present time." --Leonardo da Vinci A small waterfall in Lake Park on the East Side of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Waterfall

I discovered this little waterfall in a park just steps away from my home. I'll be going back here quite often.

The Century Oak

The Century Oak, located in the heart of Texas A&M University campus, is a place that holds a special place in the heart of many Aggies. Well over 100 years old, the tree, a live oak, was one of the first trees planted on the massive 5,200-acre campus. The tree has been the site of numerous marriage proposals, weddings and tourist snapshots because of its immense size and its unique drooping branches, many of which rest on the ground.

Ice Age Trail Near Lapham Peak

I am blessed to live so close to such a wonderful hiking trail known as the Ice Age Trail. This part of the path is in the Kettle Moraine State Forest Lapham Peak Unit in southeast Wisconsin near Delafield. Day 227 of my 365 photo a day project.

Frozen Stillness

"The near stillness recalls what is forgotten, extinct angels." --Georg Trakl An old abandoned and forgetten home sits in the frozen stillness of a mid-winter Wisconsin morning.

Soft Grass

When you take the time to really look at something, even a single blade of grass, it becomes something mysterious and awesome. Day 267 of my 365 photo a day project.

Whisper

Nature speaks. We are simply not quiet enough or patient enough to hear it. All Rights Reserved. No use without permission.

Blossom in the Darkness

"In order for the light to shine so brightly, the darkness must be present." --Francis Bacon A close-up shot of a daisy blossom with a single light above, illuminating the darkness.

Spring Blossom

Another early Spring blossom, this one brought inside to isolate it on a bright white background.

A Single Yellow Maple Leaf

A single yellow Maple leaf. There are hundreds, if not thousands of them outside my window. It seems like almost all of them are on the ground. There is still gorgeous Autumn color around, you just have to look a little lower for it. But that's ok. Whether in the air or on the ground, the beauty of nature is, and always will be, there.

Limitless

For the artist, the world is limitless. But to truly see this world, we must first learn to believe in ourselves and our abilities, lead with the heart, and let the voices of doubt, both internal and external, fall on deaf ears.

Sand and Water

With the state of current affairs in our world today, the need to unplug, get outside, forget about everything, and just be in nature is paramount. This shot was me doing just that. I wanted to create something that was peaceful and calm, yet also had a dark moody undertone that reflected the nature of the human race. We are all so different, yet we are also all created equal. Of all the unknowns in our world, I do know this: we are born, we live, and we die. You have a choice on how you live. Choose wisely. The title of this photograph comes from a song by Beth Nielson Chapman in which she deals with the death of a spouse and acknowledges her own mortality. "All alone, I came into the world All alone, I will someday die Solid stone is just sand and water, baby Sand and water, and a million years gone by" --Beth Nielson Chapman, Sand and Water http://amzn.to/1WRRnrl Day 45 of 365

Two Trees

These two trees seem to be embracing or at least leaning on each other - like two old friends enjoying each other's company. Shot in Lake Park, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Day 94 of my 365 Photo-a-day Project

Forsaken Road

"Oh look out world, take a good look What comes down here You must learn this lesson fast and learn it well This ain't no upwardly mobile freeway Oh no, This is the road to hell" -- Chris Rea, The Road to Hell (Part II) Winding down a ravine from on top of the bluffs in Milwaukee's Lake Park down to Lincoln Memorial Drive along the shore of Lake Michigan, Ravine Road was once a busy street. However, an aging concrete footbridge over the road began to fail and the road was closed indefinitely. Not great for drivers, but it makes for some great photographs.

A Tree in the Fog 3

"Trees are the earth's endless effort to speak to the listening heaven." -- Rabindranath Tagore This single tree was shot on a foggy day in late October 2013 on the Lake Park golf course in Milwaukee, WI. This creation is the third in a series. In this one, I've added the lake in the foreground with the reflection of the tree.

The Giving Tree

My wife says this reminds her of the tree in Shel Silverstein's book, "The Giving Tree", hence the name. It lives along the Seven Bridges trail in Grant Park in South Milwaukee along Lake Michigan.

Ladder to the Treehouse

"We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." --George Bernard Shaw I found this treehouse ladder on a side trail along the Milwaukee River just south of Shorewood, Wisconsin.

Single Yellow Birch Leaf

I captured this single yellow birch leaf on an old weathered log in Riverside Park, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Seven Bridges Trail Head

I love this place - it is so magical. This is the first bridge and trail head for the Seven Bridges Trail in Grant Park in South Milwaukee.

Paradise Springs Dam and Turbine House Ruins

Water flows through the concrete dam past the ruins of the turbine house at Paradise Springs. Located near Eagle, Wisconsin in the Kettle Moraine State Forest, Southern Unit, the dam and ruins are part of the Paradise Springs Nature Trail. The area once had a resort hotel with a tennis/shuffleboard court, a small horse track, a spring water bottling plant, and a copper domed fieldstone spring house. Once stocked with brook trout, the pond drained due to a structural failure beneath the dam in 2015. The dam was repaired and, at 500 gallons per minute, the spring has refilled the pond and it is close to capacity once more.

A Walk Through the Woods

I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. -- Henry David Thoreau This shot was taken in the White Pines State Forest near Oregon, Illinois March 25th, 2012.

Path To The Wild Wood

Enter this wild wood and view the haunts of nature" is the inscription above the entrance to the Seven Bridges Trail in Grant Park, South Milwaukee. As one leaves, the inscription reads "May the God given peace of this leafy solitude rest upon and abide with thee."

Golden Woods

The forests and wooded areas in the Kettle Moraine State Forest in southeast Wisconsin are so beautiful in the autumn season. The fall colors just explode! This is an 8 frame panorama taken near Parnell Tower in the northern unit of the Kettle Moraine.

Dandelion

"If you find yourself worrying, go outside, take three breaths, address a tree and quietly say, 'Thank you.' If you can't find a tree, a dandelion will do... Nature is magic." --Robert Bateman A macro photograph of a spring dandelion in my neighbor's yard. Milwaukee, 2021. Copyright 2021 Scott Norris Photography scottnorrisphotography.com