fourpointedstar

Quite honestly, you could spend several days photographing the area of Bond Falls. The falls itself is actually several falls over a few hundred feet of stream, and the internet says that it drops roughly 50 feet in elevation.

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Lost Creek Falls might have been my favorite falls from the trip. There really wasn’t much water coming over the falls, but the scene was so peaceful. I’ve walked to many waterfalls, and while they’re in the woods, you can still hear portions of civilization – a truck downshifting, someone mowing, or something else.

This area of Wisconsin is very rural, and then you have to walk about 2 miles to get to the falls through the forest, so there is simply no noise other than nature.

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I’m back to those photos from my October waterfalls trip – Copper Falls State Park is absolutely incredible; four waterfalls with so many great trails too! The main entrance to the parking lot is up that river channel, and you’re actually looking upriver in this photo. But what you can’t see is the 10ft falls at the bottom of the image, and the 35ft Brownstone Falls just a little farther onward. It was a very impressive view, and someday I’ll have to go back and take a lot more time to wander.
You can see all of my images from Copper Falls here.

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I can’t imagine being a bird and needing to put my tiny feet in the cold cold snow.

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Nature always has such a delightful way of displaying her beauty. As the steam slowly lifted off of the river water and wafted over the shoreline ice, it would condense into these wonderful abstract stars. What a subtle display of beauty on a brutally cold morning.

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I drive past these wide open fields every morning, and in the winter they are typically very boring. But on Friday morning, the fog was perfect; just dense enough to conceal the horizon, and just thin enough to show the small patches of forest in the middle of the flat fields.

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Cynthia and I share the same birth month and when she was younger, we would plan trips for our birthdays. This was a hiking trip to Matthiessen State Park; evidently I never posted all of the photos. You can see the other images here.

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This small falls was a fun little find on my way to the Perry Creek Waterfall. I always enjoy these little vignettes; there would be no way to have a better vantage point of this small spot without getting VERY wet or using a drone, and these kinds of little vantage points feel so natural and secret.

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I have often joked that no photography trip is successful unless I lose or ruin an article of clothing, and this trip was no less successful! As I was walking up the Roaring Creek to Lost Falls, I stepped into about 3 feet of gushy mud. My shoe barely made it back out as I pulled my foot back out.

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While I’m certain that at certain times of the year the Devil’s Punchbowl has a torrent of water flowing through it; it’s plainly obvious by this tiny channel that most of the time, its a small trickle.

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I had not originally planned on visiting Durward’s Glen Waterfall on my July trip, it just happened to be “along the way”. However, just the canyon was well worth the trip; it was absolutely gorgeous, and even though you’re surrounded by a Catholic campground & getaway, it feels miles away from anyone else.

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To reach the (very small) waterfall at Durward’s Glen, you have to hike along the stream, and once you get past a certain point, through the stream. What you can’t see in this photo is the “Private Property” signs on the right hand bank.

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If you know me, you likely know that I love photographing waterfalls, and recently someone asked “what counts as a waterfall?” Well, the water has to fall; it’s as simple as that. Now, I won’t drive hours to see a waterfall like this one (small, artificial), but the girls let me know about this cute location in Sun City Huntley, so one afternoon I stopped by to capture the small cascade along their artificial stream. The real question: does this count as a “nature photo” on my website?

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I’ve captured Elgin’s fireworks shows from the Chicago Street bridge a few times (link to the most recent set of photos), so last year I wanted to photograph them from a different viewpoint. We parked near the riverwalk and then walked just north of the Highway 20 bridge. I never posted the resulting images since I’d just come back from my July waterfall trip (link); however, this image definitely works to celebrate the New Year!

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It’s the end of the year; the time to consider your past year and to strive for a “new you” this coming year. I resolve to take more photos… and probably do other stuff too.

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