East Bluff Panorama

East Bluff Panorama, originally uploaded by jw_creations.

Light on the Horizon

Light on the Horizon, originally uploaded by jw_creations.

Fallen Weave

Fallen Weave, originally uploaded by jw_creations.

Naturally Bounded

Naturally Bounded, originally uploaded by jw_creations.

Native dune grasses protecting the shifting sands of Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore.

Purple Skies

Purple Skies, originally uploaded by jw_creations.

Lake Mendota Tributary

Lake Mendota Tributary, originally uploaded by jw_creations.

River Bluffs

River Bluffs, originally uploaded by jw_creations.

Sprawling Advance

Sprawling Advance, originally uploaded by jw_creations.

Hitching a Ride

Hitching a Ride, originally uploaded by jw_creations.

Three as One

Three as One, originally uploaded by jw_creations.

Olson Oak Woods, State Natural Area

Liquid Glass

Liquid Glass, originally uploaded by jw_creations.

Branching Oak

Branching Oak, originally uploaded by jw_creations.

Pleasant Valley State Natural Area

Evergreen Forest

Evergreen Forest, originally uploaded by jw_creations.

Arboretum of the University of Wisconsin, Madison

Pine Hollow State Natural Area

Pine Hollow State Natural Area, originally uploaded by jw_creations.

One.

One., originally uploaded by jw_creations.

Governor Dodge State Park, Wisconsin

Fresh Snowfall

Fresh Snowfall, originally uploaded by jw_creations.

Birch Stand

Birch Stand, originally uploaded by jw_creations.

Governor Dodge State Park

Yellowstone To Scale

Yellowstone Steam, originally uploaded by jw_creations.

A Good Sign

A Good Sign, originally uploaded by jw_creations.

Pheasant Branch Encampment, Wisconsin

Elevated

Elevated, originally uploaded by jw_creations.

Grand Canyon Miniature

Grand Canyon Miniature , originally uploaded by jw_creations.

Oak Encampment

Oak Encampment, originally uploaded by jw_creations.

Open grown oaks standing tall atop the Pheasant Branch Encampment.

Gibraltar Rock Panorama

Gibraltar Rock Panorama, originally uploaded by jw_creations.

A roughly 180-degree panoramic, with myself on the far-right cliff for scale!

Bokeh Variations

Bokeh Variations, originally uploaded by jw_creations.

Grand Teton: Cascade Canyon

Grand Teton: Cascade Canyon, originally uploaded by jw_creations.

Livelihood

Livelihood, originally uploaded by jw_creations.

Gibraltar Rock SNA, Columbia County, WI

Character

Character, originally uploaded by jw_creations.

Sunset Clearing

Sunset Clearing, originally uploaded by jw_creations.

Shot within the Olson Oak Woods State Natural Area, Southern Wisconsin.

South Bluff State Natural Area Pano

South Bluff Panorama 2, originally uploaded by jw_creations.

Natural Oscillations

Natural Oscillations, originally uploaded by jw_creations.

Natural Highlights

Natural Highlights, originally uploaded by jw_creations.

Pewits Nest State Natural Area

Pewits Nest State Natural Area, originally uploaded by jw_creations.

"The dominant feature at Pewits Nest is a 30- to 40-foot deep gorge formed during the retreat of the last glacier. Associated with it are Skillet Creek, shaded cliffs, and a northern dry-mesic forest. When Glacial Lake Baraboo drained, Skillet Creek cut a narrow canyon through the Cambrian sandstone, forming a series of potholes and waterfalls. The layers of Cambrian sandstone show that a finer-grained sediment was laid down by the Cambrian seas "inside" the syncline, a process different from that at Parfrey's Glen where coarser Cambrian conglomerates and sandstones are found in layers. Skillet Creek has a gradient of 38 feet/mile and an average flow of 0.8 cfs. Forest cover includes red cedar, white pine, hemlock, and yellow birch." -Wisc. DNR

Autumnal Sunset

Autumnal Sunset, originally uploaded by jw_creations.

360-degree Forest Panorama

360-degree Forest Panorama, originally uploaded by jw_creations.

This one turned out really cool. It's a series of eight or ten HDR shots in the Gotham pine forest. When viewed full-size (about 60 megapixles) this is especially cool, or in an interactive Quicktime VR file. Shoot me a message or email if you want to check this out, and I'll send over the 2MB Quicktime file.

Gotham Jack Pine Barrens State Natural Area; Gotham, WI

Saggy Orchard

Saggy Orchard, originally uploaded by jw_creations.

The Ski-Hi apple orchard and distant Wisconsin topography of Sauk County, Wisconsin.

Pleasant Valley Sunset

Sundown Atop The Bluff, originally uploaded by jw_creations.

Located in the Driftless Area of southwest Wisconsin, Pleasant Valley Conservancy sits on a long narrow ridge that runs almost due east/west, with steep hillsides facing both north and south. The site contains a nearly complete range of southern Wisconsin natural community types including oak woodland, oak savanna, dry and wet prairie, sedge meadow, shrub-carr, open marsh, and spring complex. The steep south-facing ridge supports several prairie remnants, which are now thriving after intensive management began in 1995. The oak savannas, primarily on the ridge top, contain numerous large, open-grown bur and white oaks with many being over 150 years old. The savanna supports numerous grass, sedge, and forb species including the state-endangered purple milkweed, which re-appeared after restoration and prescribed burning began. The cooler north-facing slope is predominantly oak woodland with red oak, basswood, hackberry, butternut, yellowbud hickory, and red maple. The savanna and oak woodland support a diversity of bird species which include the red-headed woodpecker, a declining bird species of conservation concern. Other birds include blue-gray gnatcatcher, eastern wood pewee, tufted titmouse, eastern bluebird, yellow-throated vireo, scarlet tanager, black-billed cuckoo, and yellow-billed cuckoo. Also present is the spring-fed Pleasant Valley Creek, which flows through the wetland and into East Blue Mounds Creek. Pleasant Valley Conservancy is owned in part by The Prairie Enthusiasts and by Tom and Kathie Brock with management support from the Savanna Oak Foundation, Inc.. It was designated a State Natural Area in 2007.

Derived from dnr.wi.gov/org/land/er/sna/sna551.htm

Spurt!

Spurt!, originally uploaded by jw_creations.

On The Edge

On The Edge, originally uploaded by jw_creations.

Ready for Launch

Ready for Launch, originally uploaded by jw_creations.

Devil's Doorway Spectrum

Devil's Doorway Spectrum, originally uploaded by jw_creations.

Devil's Doorway, Devil's Lake State Park.

The colors of autumn.

Shoreline Islands

Shoreline Islands, originally uploaded by jw_creations.

A dynamic sky looms above a shoreline island of Lake Superior.

The North Woods

Bass Lake - Cable, WI, originally uploaded by jw_creations.

Superior Shore Grass

Shore Grass, originally uploaded by jw_creations.

A lone boulder sits on the edge of this billion year-old basalt cliff - deposited here by glaciers during the last ice-age. Robust grasses grow alone so close to the waters edge, as this particular area lacks soil and nutrients to support larger plants. Any soil which does accumulate is lost to the effects of water and ice during harsh periods of storm and wave action along the shore.

Superior Shoreline

Purple Skies, originally uploaded by jw_creations.

One-billion year old lava flows from the expansion of the Superior basin still reside in their basaltic form along the northern shore of Lake Superior.

Taken at Gooseberry Fall's State Park in Minnesota over Labor Day 2008.

Split Rock Lighthouse State Park

Split Rock Lighthouse State Park, originally uploaded by jw_creations.

"Split Rock Lighthouse State Park is a Minnesota state park on the north shore of Lake Superior. It is best known for the picturesque Split Rock Lighthouse, which was built by the United States Lighthouse Service in 1910. The lighthouse and some adjacent buildings have been restored and the Minnesota Historical Society operates them as a museum. The park also offers scenic hiking, cross-country skiing, and bike trails. There is also a small campground with 22 cart-in tent sites (no vehicle access)." - Wikipedia

Golden Pines

Golden Pines, originally uploaded by jw_creations.

The August sun breaks through a thick stand of pine tree's along the shoreline of this dried up post-glacial lake - Steinke Basin.

Devils Tower National Monument

Devils Tower National Monument, originally uploaded by jw_creations.

"Geologists agree that the igneous material intruded and then cooled as phonolite porphyry, a light to dark-gray or greenish-gray igneous trachyte rock with conspicuous crystals of white feldspar. As the lava cooled, hexagonal (and sometimes 4-, 5-, and 7-sided) columns formed. As the rock continued to cool, the vertical columns shrank horizontally in volume and cracks began to occur at 120 degree angles, generally forming compact 6-sided columns. Superficially similar, but with typically 2 feet (0.61 m) diameter columns, Devils Postpile National Monument and Giant's Causeway are columnar basalt." -Wikipedia

Death Canyon: Teton National Park

Death Canyon: Teton National Park, originally uploaded by jw_creations.

Following the trail into Death Canyon on a cold and sleeting afternoon. Massive U-shaped valleys such as this one (and most others in the Tetons) were carved by glaciers during past ice-ages.

Moss Covered Canyon Walls

Moss Covered Canyon Walls, originally uploaded by jw_creations.

Taken at the flood damaged canyon of Parfrey's Glen.
Full set: http://flickr.com/photos/crisp_air/sets/72157606728548586/