La Crosse, Wisconsin "Riverfest" logo

There are a ton of images I am going to share in this post but whoever said there has to be a limit, besides, the La Crosse area and Coulee Region have a lot to offer a photographer.  This past summer, my family and I traveled back to La Crosse, Wisconsin for vacation; my Dad and younger brother were born there, most of my family still lives there and it’s a place you’ll often hear me say I am “from” although I was born in Tucson, Arizona.  There are many reasons I call this place home; my earliest memories are from here, on the lakes or rivers, at the racetrack and Holidays with the family.  It’s where I started school at Washburn Elementary in Kindergarten and most of 1st grade before moving back to Arizona.  I returned when I was 19 and stayed for 6 years before returning to Arizona and met my wife Maria and have been here ever since.  Maria and the boys have always heard me talk endlessly about the places and people but this would be the first trip for them, and Maria fell in love with the area; I knew she would.

I wanted to make sure we were there for one of my favorite times of year up there, “Riverfest” a 5 day event scheduled to end on the 4^th of July and we looked forward to the photography opportunities that were ahead of us.  First thing we did after we checked in at the Grand Stay hotel within a stones throw of the Mississippi River was head down to Riverside Park where all the food vendors were and fill up on Bratwurst; sure they sell Brats anywhere but something about tasting them at home on the Mississippi waterfront makes them taste Oh So Good.

With a full belly and lots to see, I took Maria and the boys to the base of an iconic statue in La Crosse, Hiawatha.  This 25ft. statue weighing an equal 25 tons was created by local La Crosse artist Anthony Zimmerhakl in 1962 and placed in Riverside Park where the 3 rivers, The Mississippi, Black, and the La Crosse Rivers meet.  I have had this statue in my memories since I was a kid, whenever I think of La Crosse this is one thing that stands out in my mind.  Anytime I come back home, this is the first thing I go to.

Hiawatha overlooks the MIssissippi at Riverside Park in La Crosse, Wisconsin

The dedication plaque at the base of the Hiawatha statue

These statues below are permanent structures in Riverside Park, an Eagle Statue and a depiction of children waving goodbye or welcoming incoming ships overlooking the docks.  The La Crosse Public Library Tuesday Night Knitters created the knitted scarf around them and the handrails.  As I have said before in my Blog, I am a sucker for graffiti but this was different, as it would not damage anything it was affixed to.  It’s 1500 ft. in length and took over 100 knitters to create.

Eagle Statue at the entrance of Riverside Park

Although the history of La Crosse dates back much further than it’s official incorporation as a city in 1856, it became one of the largest cities in Wisconsin being logistically situated on the river banks of the Mississippi and Black rivers as they rafted lumber through the area and saw mills built nearby; soon came the brewery industry and the utilization of the railroad hubs and Steamboats.  The La Crosse Queen is a staple tourist attraction today but the dock once hosted the great riverboat and now retired “Delta Queen”.

La Crosse Queen River Tours

The city of La Crosse take their history very seriously with strict and honorable laws that protect the history, they are very successful at preservation but still manage to make way for the new without disturbing the look and feel of this city.  A good example would be the addition of the Cameron Street Bridge built parallel to the exiting Mississippi Bridge also known as the Cass Street Bridge; it’s arched curve placed in the center of the span of the older structure and painted light blue to match.

Honoring our past..... Imagining our future

Mississippi Bridge also know as the Cass Street Bridge along with the Cameron Street Bridge that connects La Crosse, Wisconsin and La Cresent, Minnesota

As Riverfest rolled on with entertainment ranging from local area bands to lumberjack shows or people just enjoying time with friends or family on the river, this was the place to be for 5 days if you wanted to celebrate the 4^th of July.

My favorite thing to photograph, the American flag. You'll not only see several examples in this post, you'll see in other posts I capture it as often as I can.

Brenton Austin with DLW Timberwork's Lumberjack Show

DLW Timberwork's Lumberjack Show

A squirrel watches the Lumberjack Show hoping the tree he is hanging out in is not part of the show.

DLW Timberwork's Lumberjack Show

DLW Timberwork's Lumberjack Show

A cool sand sculpture done up for people to enjoy.

The sun shining through the 13 red and white stripes in our flag representing the British Colonies that rebelled against British Monarchy.

I got several shots of this guy having fun with his dog on the Mississippi in his canoe, this was my favorite one.

I saw this bright reflection coming off the water and waited for a boat pass by, using a ISO of 50 I closed down my aperture to f/stop 22 to only show shadows and highlights.

Folks getting their spot on the Black River for tonights Fireworks Show that the city puts on over the Mississippi.

On the shore, people are doing the same as they lay blankets and tarps down marking their spot for the Fireworks Show.

We had marked our spot early in the day right against the river shoreline. The La Crosse Queen photo bombs my long exposure test shot to make sure I had the general area of where they launch centered right.

The shows begins. This was a 60 second exposure using my 15mm Fisheye lens

60 second exposures was working well so I stuck with it.

For all intensive purposes this is a blown shot of the finale using the 60 second sweet spot I was using. I ended up blowing out the details and colors but liked the moving smoke and light bouncing off the water. Blown shot or happy mistake?

With the first week behind us, my brother and nephew joined us in a day trip out to Cashton, Wisconsin to visit Amish country.  Maria has always loved country décor so taking her and the boys out to old farming country was something we had talked about for a long time.  Being July and all, the corn crops were about chest high and it was close to the first cut for alfalfa so it was a neat time to see the landscape.

When I shot this old red Ford pick up sitting just off the highway heading over to Cashton, I had HDR Tone Mapping in mind so in post processing I used the technique to give it a edge but not too heavy.

Cashton, Wisconsin farmland

A farm house and silo just below the hilltop, this was actually a good distance away but I used my Canon 300mm to pull it in closer.

An Amish Church serves as a backdrop for a moss covered grave marker

Maria got so excited when she saw her first Amish carriage road sign, we don't have anything like that in Arizona.

An Amish family navigate their horse drawn carriage off the highway

A boy and his sister

Amish men working on their equipment getting it ready for the first cut of alfalfa

This is one tough tree, after being blown down from a storm and it's still alive!

An old grain structure

A cat photo bombs me in this one

Amish Buggy parking only

An Amish Buggy sharing a modern road.

Sure we were on vacation but Maria and I had the pleasure of 2 impromptu couple sessions with great couples like Josie & Troy, his sister Jackie with her fiancé Steve followed by 2 karting events and the big show at La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway.  We can’t call it a working vacation by any means; we had a great time and can’t wait to come back and spend more time taking images.  See the links below including Maria’s Blog POst on her vacation shots.

• 1 July 2011 Coulee Kart Raceway, West Salem, Wisconsin
• 2 July 2011 La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway, West Salem, Wisconsin
• Josie and Troy’s Engagement shoot
• Jackie and Steve’s Engagement shoot 
• Maria’s Vacation Blog Post 

If you’ve made it down this far, thanks for stopping by; I know it was a long one so thanks for hanging in there.  We can’t wait to return to La Crosse again, we had a great time and there is so much more to capture.

Until next time,

Robert Butterfield – Sierra Vista, Arizona – Butterfield Photography

Bisbee, Arizona

One of the cool things about living in Sierra Vista, Arizona is the historic area we live in.  Just north of us we have Benson with Tombstone and the historic mining town of Bisbee to the east.

Bisbee, Arizona was founded in 1880 with the explosion of mineral mining such as copper, silver and gold in this area.   The town was named after Judge DeWitt Bisbee who was one that provided financial backing to the Copper Queen Mine.  Bisbee has been the county seat for Cochise County since it was moved from Tombstone in 1929.  In the mid 70’s, the Phelps Dodge Corporation shut down mining operations but part of the Copper Queen Mine has remained open for tours.  Recently in 2007, Freeport-McMoRan Copper and Gold bought Phelps Dodge and has resumed “some” work in the area.  Gold prices are motivating these days.

During the renovation taking place at the Stock Exchange Saloon in Old Bisbee, the bar owner, Patricia Steward was working a water damaged wall and uncovered colors that caught her eye.  Soon she discovered an old fresco painting that may be dated back to when the building had first been constructed in 1905 but had been painted over years ago.  I first heard about this while I was working overseas and read about it in this article from the Sierra Vista Herald and I had to go see it for myself in hopes to get some pictures of it.  Remodeling is still underway but I was lucky enough to get some images of this cool find.

1905 Fresco painting in the Stock Exchange Saloon.

Modern Bisbee as it is called nowadays, was named runner-up by the AARP publication “Modern Maturity” as one of the quirkiest cities in America as it is filled with color whether it be local artisans displaying their artwork or colors chosen for some of the buildings.  The town has a mixture of Historic Buildings occupied with some of the most creative Artists around, from pottery to painting, crafts to repurposed creations.  Several antique and consignment shops for the collector can be found.

The street signs and little details around town could lend to the quirky reputation but you have to respect the creative sense of humor in some of this.

A cool looking street sign for Simanis Gallery

A Bicycle Brothel.... ???

Maria and I spent a couple hours here today, she was on an assignment shoot capturing Brandon and Tricia’s engagement shoot that you can see here.  Originally I planned on capturing some images concentrating on the Historic side of Bisbee, which is easy enough to do…..

Explosives mining cart sitting outside the Bisbee Museum

Storefront window decorated with painted bottles

a 4 panel door in the Stock Exchange

Vintage Delco sign in Lowell, townsite of Bisbee

…… but today I was pulled in by the colors around me.  I am a huge sucker for Graffiti Art, not to be confused with “tagging”, I am talking about thoughtful creations where some carry a message.  The graffiti below is not plastered on Main Street taking away from a historic look but walking around on side streets, alcoves or alleyways and you can’t miss it, no really… YOU CAN’T MISS IT.  Some of the graffiti street art resembles “Banksy”, an anonymous UK based street artist with a twisted and funny satirical message in all of his work; you can see his web site here .  It’s been documented that he has been to the United States and shared his street art in California, New York and other places in the world so it’s not impossible that he could have stenciled his way through Arizona.

I stared at this one for quite a while trying to figure out what the message was but clowns with guns scare the hell out of me. Could this be a genuine Banksy or a wannabe?

Occupy Bisbee Protest?

This skeleton with a chili pepper necklace was cool

I took this one for Maria, Michael Jordan is her favorite athlete (Ha, snort) but I doubt his number ever took on this look.

Anywhere I go, I am always looking for things that you would normally overlook just walking around.  Sometimes it’s just a crazy looking texture at eye level, something ornate or right above your head, something subtle that few people would notice but they are there.  Here are 3 examples of what I am talking about.

spent staples and disintegrated flyers on a telephone pole made for an interesting texture

pick axes for door pulls on this metal gate caught my eye, I liked the shadows and highlights

Looking up, this Freemasonry Symbol, the square and compass on a keystone over an archway caught my eye. Next time you are out and about, take a close look at things and see how many times you see this iconic symbol pop up.

When I was taking the shot of the over stapled telephone pole, there was a sign for a local artist that read…. “Vixens Metal Art…. 40 steps this way”.  What’s 40 steps, especially when you forget to count.  Brenna Curry is a local artist with a killer collection of metal art using vibrant acrylic colors, I was hooked at the window and took a few more steps inside to meet the artist and hopefully take some pictures of her work.  As it turns out Brenna is a photographer as well and has incorporated her photography work in with her art.  I really loved the colors and textures she pulls off with some woven metal and colors that really pop.  If you are in the area, stop in and visit or stop by her Facebook page and give it a like.

Vixen Metal Art

Vixen Metal Artist, Brenna Curry in her Bisbee, Arizona studio

Vixen Metal Art by Brenna Curry

Vixen Metal Art by Brenna Curry

Vixen Metal Art by Brenna Curry

This one was my favorite by Brenna... I like the little clues or messages hidden inside the brushstrokes

You can’t visit Bisbee without checking out the townsite district of Lowell and it’s Main Street that winds back the clock a bit.  If it weren’t for a couple modern cars parked here and there, you’d swear you fell into a time machine.  All I could think about as I studied which angle I wanted to shoot from was getting some shots and using High Dynamic Range (HDR) Tone Mapping as a post processing treatment.  HDR basically takes the light and dark areas of an image and gives you an unrealistic and exaggerated effect of the original, which is what you see below.  You can tone it back a bit let’s say on a city or land scape and not be so drastic with the nuclear fallout kinda feel.  There has been a lot of debating back and forth between digital photographers over the years, some like, it some don’t while some make a living from it and don’t’ even realize it or maybe they do but the bottom line is; HDR has been used since 1850 and was pioneered by Gustave Le Gray, so it’s not something new, if you are a photographer today and have used “dodge and burn” in digital post processing … then you know what it was like to HDR in the mid century.

Too much or too little is really up to the photographer and viewer, personally I won’t use it but on certain images such as these involving old cars and buildings.  Anyone using this on technique on people or animals should have their computers taken away and forced to stand in the corner.

HDR Image from the townsite of Lowell in Bisbee.

Star Chevrolet in Lowell

That wraps it up for this post and if you are in the area, you should stop in and see Bisbee;  it truly has something for everyone and you might end up experiencing something you didn’t expect!

Robert Butterfield – Butterfield Photography – Sierra Vista, Arizona

A view of the Huachuca mountains in December from Miller Canyon Rd.

Sierra Vista, Arizona woke up the morning of 14 December 2011 to see that the Huachuca Mountains received a pretty good dusting of snow down to approx. 5000ft.   We headed up to the 3 main areas, Ramsey Canyon, Carr Canyon and Miller Canyon to see what we could get.  Coronado Park officials had Ramsey and Carr closed off due to road conditions but we had fun getting out and getting what we could.

Huachuca Mountains a.k.a "The Thunder Mountains"

One of the many things I love about Arizona is the scenic views, the clouds, rich blue skies, lightning storms, sunsets and the infinite visibility.  I plan on spending more time taking images of scenic, nature and landscapes in the near future of our immediate area; it’s been too long since I have done that and it’s time that changes.

A view of the seemingly infinite visibility taken from the "Our Lady of the Mountain" property

Using my 15mm Fisheye lens, a super wide lens that bends the view a bit, I captured the crazy crazy clouds against the blue sky

Using my 300mm Canon with a 2x adapter, I was able to pull down on this waterfall in Carr canyon from almost 1 mile away.

As if mountain lions, bobcats and bears weren't enough to worry about.... living 20 miles from the border has potential dangers of another kind.

An old boot nailed to a property fence line in Miller Canyon

This past summer, the Mountains suffered a major fire dubbed “The Monument Fire” was the largest to ever hit our area consuming over 30,500 acres of land, 40 homes and 10 buildings.  It was nice to see nature healing itself but you could still see reminders of the fire.

The burnt sign that used to welcome you to Carr Canyon, a reminder of the Monument Fire that wreaked havoc this past summer

Miller Canyon damage from the Monument Fire

One of my favorite places to shoot or shoot from is “Our Lady of the Mountains”, a catholic Church and sanctuary built on the side of the mountains south of Sierra Vista.  The property suffered major damage and the church building was a destroyed and if not for the rock wall structures would have burnt to the ground.

A of the burnt out Chapel at Our Lady of the Mountain, it's encouraging to see the reconstruction taking place here and the surrounding area

The Angel of Revelation is one of many statues and figures on the property, she overlooks the valley below

Weather for this weekend calls for more snow which is not uncommon for this area.  Sierra Vista, Arizona is registered with an elevation of 4623ft and both Miller and Carr peaks near 9500ft. so we hope for more photos this weekend if we get a good bit of snow and maybe catch some wildlife in the process.

A Coues White Tailed Deer, a common Arizona deer species which has a light tan or gray coat and typically smaller than the larger dark tan White Tail.

Robert Butterfield - Butterfield Photography - Sierra Vista, Arizona