Best Photos
The Lussier Footbridge at Olbrich Botanical Gardens in Madison, Wisconsin. This photo is one of my all time favorites. The reason being it reminds me of the iconic Japanese wooden footbridge that was prominent in many of Claude Monet’s “Water Lilies” paintings, which he did at his historic home and gardens in Giverny, France. In the above photo, I love the crystal clear reflection of the bridge in the still waters, which is how I imagine Monet would have painted it, only in his impressionistic style. The only thing missing are the water Lillies.
At left is a Monet painting of his famous bridge. It is now adorned by lush foliage, as seen in a picture above from a 2025 visit. In 1893, Monet purchased a piece of marshy land next to his property in Giverny, intending to build something "for the pleasure of the eye and also for motifs to paint." He expanded a small stream into a water garden, and then constructed an arched, Japanese-style wooden footbridge over the narrowest part of the pond. He designed the bridge as a living canvas to merge his love for Japanese art with his passion for horticulture. Eventually Monet lined the banks with weeping willows, bamboo, and his famous water lilies. In 1899, he began a series of 18 views of the footbridge, completing 12 paintings that summer. The picture on the left is one of those paintings.These paintings are part of his famous Water Lilies series spanning 250 works.
This colorful heirloom rose, with brilliant red and yellow colors, is accented by droplets of water from a very recent rain shower. The rose is open to the rays of the sun, while a rosebud in the foreground appears to be ready to burst into full bloom. The image evokes the idiom "in the full bloom of life," describing someone at the peak of their youth and vitality. Such is the rose in full bloom, while the young rosebud is on the cusp.
Located in the 1st arrondissement of Paris is the area of Les Halles. It is a bustling area with shopping, dining and parks. On the particular day of my visit there was a bubble artist entertaining children with extraordinarily large bubbles, as seen in the photo above. Looking through the bubble is like seeing an impressionist painting of the tree.
My favorite color is blue, which might explain why the vivid and colorful Blue Jay is my favorite backyard bird. I love my picture of a Blue Jay just taking off from its perch with wings spread and displaying an intricate pattern of blue. I was so disappointed to learn that the glorious feathers are not actually blue. The main pigment in the Blue Jay’s feathers is melanin, which mainly creates brown, black, or gray coloring. The feathers appear blue because of microscopic structures and air pockets on the surface that scatter blue light while absorbing all other colors (sounds complicated). Blue Jays are year-round residents in woodlands, parks, and residential areas anywhere east of the Rockies. There is no difference in the male and female Blue Jay other than the male being slightly larger. Blue Jays are highly intelligent. They can recognize and remember human faces. A favorite food for Blue Jays is acorns. They store them for the winter. A single Blue Jay can hide up to 5,000 acorns by burying them in the ground at different locations. However, they only remember where 1 out of 4 of those were buried, effectively planting thousands of oak trees each year. In fact, the birds were considered essential in spreading oak, beech, and chestnut trees in North America after the last period of glacial freeze.
This photo really “pops,” as they say. Ancient Chinese style lanterns line both sides of the pathway as well as forming a canopy above. The entrance is marked at the top by two prominent and elaborate fish lanterns. The lanterns are a rainbow vivid colors. Several lanterns are adorned with distinct floral patterns and the Chinese character "福" (Fú), which signifies good fortune and blessing. I took a creative liberty and edited the photo to remove the metal frame supporting the lanterns. It gives the appearance that the lanterns are floating. This art installation was on display at Bellingrath Gardens in Theodore, Alabama, just outside of Mobile on the Gulf Coast.
I lived in suburban Dallas for many years in a large complex of condos and apartments (over 3,600 units). The above photo is at one of the many swimming pools, obviously at night. While I love the hues of purple and blue in the illuminated water, it was the reflection of an art deco tower that was reflecting in the pool which really stood out to me. Sometimes you go in search of a good photo, other times you stumble upon one.
Senior Running Back Jaziel Hart of North Cross High School (Roanoke VA) eludes a would be tackler who lays out with 100% effort. This photo is from the 2025 season. Jaziel Hart will be playing football for the University of North Carolina in 2026.
The quintessential astro-photograph is the full moon. I find it both dull and amazing at the same time. Even though it is a color picture, it looks like a black & white photo of a rather plain and drab subject. What is amazing is how close the camera lens brings the moon to you. So close, but it takes three days for NASA astronauts to travel to the moon. While the lunar landscape is not very picturesque, it is fascinating to see up close. I made the first picture a little less bright in order to bring out more of the moon’s details. The darker areas on the moon are large, flat plains of ancient volcanic rock. They were formed by flowing lava billions of years ago. These areas have fewer craters than the rest of the moon because lava filled the holes. The bright parts of the moon are called the highlands which are older and full of impact craters from space rocks. The second image on the right is what I saw through the camera lens.
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