I was in Kenosha, WI for Christmas with the family and was treated to some very interesting weather. This first picture was taken on Christmas day. A classic view of the Kenosha Lighthouse. I would normally get out of my Jeep and walk to the water to take a shot, but the snow was deep and I didn’t have my boots, so the tree and poles got in the way. My sister and I drove around looking at all the snow (yesterday’s photo was taken on that trip).

The day after Christmas the rain came and with it some serious fog. The photo below as taken from the same place on Saturday. As it turns out, the shot from the car with the tree and poles really shows off the fog!

I did get out of the car to puddle-jump and take more photos. Just as I got to the storm wall, the sky opened up and poured hard! It’s a real challenge to puddle-jump quickly while trying to shield a DSLR from the torrent!

I went home to Kenosha, WI for Christmas. Two feet of snow had gathered there a few days before. If a white Christmas was on your wish list, Kenosha was the place for you! It was an unnerving trip to Kenosha, but the return trip to Minneapolis was a foggy mystery. Tune in tomorrow to see what I mean!

In a techincal level, this was one of my favorite compositions from the trip. The shadow of the mailbox is the main focus. Don’t forget to look at shadows as compositional elements.

Christmas 2008 has come and gone. I am writing this post from the Apple Store in West Towne (sic) Mall, Madison, WI. I stopped here on my way across Wisconsin back to Minneapolis from my parents’ home in Kenosha. The power adapter for my Mac decided to die in a shower of sparks and flame (really!) and there are no new mac power adapters in Kenosha.

I am charging up the battery here so that I if I get stuck at a truck stop in Western Wisconsin, I can at least get something done. Odd weather over here by Chicago, when I got in Christmas eve, there was two feet of snow on the ground and piles taller than me all over. Saturday it was 58F and raining. A true mess. The temperature is dropping as I head North and into the night. I don’t know if I will give in and stay at a hotel or make it all the way home tonight. I hope I don’t end up in a ditch in bear country!

Thanks for all the great comments over the holidays and let’s look forward to an exciting 2009!

P.S. I made it home.

To me Christmas just isn’t Christmas without A Charlie Brown Christmas. Charles Schultz’s hometown is St. Paul, Minnesota and a few years ago peanuts characters started popping up all around the city. Here in Rice park, under the glow of the Christmas lights, Marcy and Peppermint Patty chill out and enjoy the holidays.

Merry Christmas everyone,
- Mitch

The newspaper machines huddle together for warmth and protection. Standing under the streetlight, they try to forget the ever-present big blue spruce that looms in the background.

This 90-foot tall, 27-foot wide, 98-year-old Blue Spruce is the third annual Rice Park Holiday Tree. Decorated with 30,000 LED lights, it stands majestically over the famous Rice Park, home of the Ice Carving Sculptures during the Winter Carnival and MSNBC during the RNC convention.

I braved the cold and went out taking pictures around midnight with my friend Dave. It was -12F when I was shooting and Dave was very kind to tag along. He even offered to stay in my Jeep so I could leave it running with the heat on. He missed out on the fun, but seemed perfectly happy in the Jeep.