Shooting for fun - The Itallian Ponies(Ferrari's)

308 GTB/GTS Quattrovalvole

As a Photographer, I spend a lot of time prepping for a photo session, executing said photo session, editing and then delivering said session. Every now and again it becomes about getting out for yourself.
On Sunday I had that opportunity, no plan, just a phone call from a friend saying “hey there are about 20 Ferrari’s down here on the square.” If there is two things I love in this world it is photography and cars mainly classic cars, American Muscle but also a special place in my heart for something that was created by Enzo Ferrari. The lines on those cars are simply amazing its like a work of art or it like watching a surfer carve his way down a massive wave or a snowboarder slice down a freshly snow covered mountain. .
You maybe asking yourself okay Wisconsin Boy why the Ferrari? I born in the mid 80’s and remember in the late 80’s and early 90’s watching Magnum PI with my dad and I always thought the 308 GTB/GTS was a neatest looking car, how can you not fall in love with something like that. Also hey they happened to have one there yesterday with the correct license plate.

Dino 246 GT

There was, at least to me a lesser known Ferrari there the Dino 246 GT I had never seen one but that was a neat find. The one thing the owner told me was until recently you could pick them up fairly cheap becasue they weren’t a highly sought after car.
Fun little fact about this car is even though it was made by Ferrari it was sold under the name Dino. It came into existance in the late 50’s because of the creation of a smaller V6 engine. The name Dino was used on these cars from 67 to 78 when it was dropped for the full Ferrari name. Also the Dino was semi created by Ferrari to offer a low cost sports car that normal person could afford.
While most of Ferrari’s there were newer ones and some that just rolled off the tine this year but it was cool just to look at them. The owners most of them out of Illinois were some of the nicest car enthusiasts I have ever met. Thanks for passing through town and stopping to have lunch at The East Troy Brewery it gave a lot of small town people a chance to look at some really nice car.s

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

Chasing and Capturing Dreams

     Last week I had the opportunity to capture what most likely will be a once in a life time event. This event was to photograph the Union Pacific’s 4014 Big Boy steam engine passing through Wisconsin. On Thursday the 25th Big Boy traveled from Adams Wi to Butler Wi with making a stop in Friesland for public viewing. The Big Boy is traveling though the Midwest to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the joining of the Transcontinental Railroad.

4014 crossing over Lakeview Drive in Packwaukee WI.

     As a child I loved to watch trains pass though my home town (GB&W, CNW, Wisconsin Central, Canadian National). Many of mornings while eating at a The Little Pink Restaurant I could watch to my hearts before heading off the school. Also having gone to the National Railroad Museum in Green Bay and seeing the 4017 Big Boy made the child hood me love them even more. So, having the ability see one riding down the rails was something I could not pass up.

     There is a lot that goes into getting a shots like these, because in a way it’s like wedding photography, you only have a moment to get that one perfect shot. For a shoot like this it starts out with looking at maps (google earth) and figuring out where along the line is a good place to set up. Second, is to actually scout the location (ahead of time if possible) to see if what you see on the map is actionable in real life. Then third put your plan into action on the day of and hope it all works out. But always have a back up plan in play.

4014 crossing over Lakeview Drive, Packwaukee WI.

     I chose the bridge crossing at Buffalo Lake in Packwaukee Wisconsin. The for this location is there trestle bridge there along with a big enough body of water that it would keep crowds away and it would easier to edit out the possible one or two boats. I originally wanted to be able to photograph from the waters edge with my camera while flying above with my drone so I could have two view point.  Unfortunately, the owner of the property wasn’t willing at the time(day before) to let people be on her property because she didn’t want to be held liable if they were to get hurt (side note: day of she was letting people on her property, but there were too many that I stayed in the second area). So, I was left with the option of flying my drone from the road and forgoing the ground shot from where I had intended to shoot from. For the ground shot I was left with a small 30 ft opening where it was going to be passing on the small bridge going over the road I had parked on. This place turned out to have a cool photo in the end.

     With events like this there is always the unexpected or multiple unexpected things. First unexpected event was there was another professional drone pilot there and one amateur. After talking with Tom(professional pilot) who runs Dairyland Drone Solutions we were both able to formulate out a plan so we could both fly and get the shots we were looking for. Both of us never did find the amateur pilot connected with the drone flying when we first got there but he/she was far enough away from us not to cause a problem. The second unexpected thing to happened to us was a circling T6 Texan manned plane most likely in route to EAA Airventure. FAA says we have to make way for manned aircraft, problem is when you and your new drone pilot friend are nestled between some pine trees it is almost impossible to land or move to a safe distance away from a circling plane. Thankfully the T6 vacated the area right before the train arrived and we were able to get out shots.

     It was a great time getting to see an old girl ride the rails in an area that was not its normal stomping grounds back in her time and being able to work with another operator to both come away with stellar photographs is something I’ll remember for a long time.

Big Boy 4014 crossing over Buffalo Lake Bridge in Packwaukee Wi. July 25th 2019

Places we used to farm

     I am happy to announce that for part of the summer some of my artwork will be shown at The Hive Taproom in East Troy, Wisconsin.  The series is called “Places we used to farm.” The project consists of farms and farming equipment that until recently were still in use. It was one of those things you didn’t notice it until they were gone.

Resting Peacefully

    I first move to the area full time in 2002 to attend college and never really left. When I moved down from central Wisconsin, there were a few more operational farms than there are today. While in college I had several photography classes and with them came projects. Because of these projects I quickly became acquainted with the backroads of Walworth and surrounding counties.  

     This spring I was out driving around the county doing a few bids for the aerial part of Vagabond Photography and started to notice some of the buildings I photographed in college were gone and with the looming reality of what is coming in the future on the family’s(uncle & cousins) farm in Central Wisconsin I decided I wanted to capture some of these farms before they are lost to the ages or swallowed up by bigger farms or turned into a dreaded subdivision.

Forgotten Barn

     In Wisconsin alone we lost some 300 farms from January of 2019 through May and 700 farms in the 2018 according to the Journal Sentinel in a recent story “Struggling to tread water: ...” published on May 18th. Much of this is because of the lower demand for milk and dairy related products and some of the trade war related matters. Its sad, but my hope is that even though those stanchions are no longer filled with dairy cattle, the farmers can transition to crop farming or beef. With the way the weather has been out west in the plane states this spring and early summer they may be needed.

   This is a project that I intend to keep after because it has meaning and I think it bears remembering where we came from. What is currently on display at The Hive Taproom is just farms from Walworth Co. Wisconsin as I have more time to travel an explore, I intend to capture more and more of these farms before they are lost.

     I want to thank Tim and Ayla owners of The Hive Taproom and M-Jai (manager) for giving me a place to showcase the more artistic side of my business which I feel I don’t get to show enough. The Hive Taproom is a great place to hang out at, meet new people and enjoy a cool alcoholic beverage made with honey(mead). They are open Thursday through Sundays and the art on the wall changes regularly with other local artists showcasing their work.