Steven Helmer Publications

I got quite a bit accomplished yesterday thanks to the internet being down for roughly 15 or 16 hours and with nothing on TV last night (because we needed the internet to watch it), I made sure to get my trail cameras in the back yard. It turned out to be a busy night (maybe the animals were without internet too) with quite a few critters walking in front of the cameras. Here are some of the photos: __________________________________________________________________________ Here are some previous trail camera photos: Trail Camera Photo (5/5/2025-5/6/2025) Trail Camera Photos (9/30/2025-10/1/2025) Trail Camera Photos (9/8/2024-9/9/2024) A Couple Trail Camera Photos

I did get out for a walk today but didn't see nearly as much as I did yesterday in terms of things I could photograph. However, since there were still a pair of sandhill cranes hanging out by the pond, I decided to get some more photos of them. Here are a couple of them: _______________________________________________________________________ Here are some other bird photos: In Flight Some Heron Photos Bird Feeder Photos 11/10/2018 Some Bird Photos from Around the Yard

I ended up cutting my walk a bit shorter today, both because I had a lot of work to do at the office and because I didn't want to scare a heron (last photo) that was fishing near one of the trails. I did still manage to get some photographs though. Here are some of them: _______________________________________________________________________ Here are some of my previous nature photos: Lunchtime Walk Photos (7/6/2026) Lunchtime Walk Photos (6/3/2026) Morning Walk Photos 7/26/2017 Some More Walk Photos

After several days of it either being too hot or too smokey to go for a walk, we finally have a reasonably decent day today. So, despite some concerns it might rain, I got out with my camera. While not my best outing photo-wise, I did manage to get some pictures. Here are a few of them: _________________________________________________________________ Here are some of my previous nature photos: Just a Couple Rabbit Photos Lunchtime Walk Photos (7/9/2026) Morning Walk Photos (7/10/2026) Morning Walk Photos 9/28/2017

We are under a heat advisory today so, even though I did decide to brave it and take a walk at lunch, I didn't walk as far or as long as I usually do. This was both to avoid any heat-related health issues and because my camera lens kept steaming up from the humidity, making my photos either darker than normal or look like they were taken on a foggy day. Here are the photos I was able to take and (reasonably) salvage: ___________________________________________________________________________ Here are some previous nature photos: Morning Walk Photos (6/22/2026) Lunchtime Walk Photos (6/23/2026) Front Yard Bird Photos Family Walk Photos 8/8/2017

I managed to get a walk in at lunch today, despite knowing the rain we had yesterday would make the trails muddy. As it turned out, they weren't as bad as expected but the parks department was out there mowing so there weren't as many photo opportunities as I would have preferred. I did, however, come across this robin hanging out in a puddle and snapped its photo. ________________________________________________________________________ Here are some of my other bird photos: Just a Random Bird Feeder Photo Front Yard Bird Photos Green Heron Photo Bird Feeder Photos 3/10/2018

I managed to get a quick walk in between rain showers today and, overall, it wound up being a bit uneventful with surprisingly few creatures stirring, including not many birds for some reason.  I did, however, spotted the green heron I saw yesterday (at least I think it is the same one) and got another photo of it. __________________________________________________________________ Here are some more bird photos: Heron With Breakfast In Flight Bird Feeder Photos 11/10/2018

Wisconsin's weather can be a bit unpredictable at times. In the course of about a month, we've gone from needing the furnace to needing the air conditioner and then some place in between while also braving multiple bad storms that caused one of our local landmarks to collapse and tons of damage in a neighboring community. I would describe today's weather as mild. It was warm enough to not need a jacket but not hot either. The sun is out but there's also a steady wind. Basically, a perfect day for a walk at lunch that turned out to be productive photograph wise. This includes photos of both a blue and green heron as well as a newborn snapping turtle. Here are some of the photos: __________________________________________________________________ Here are some of my previous photos: Lunchtime Walk Photos (5/11/2026) Lunchtime Walk Photos (10/9/2024) Lunchtime Walk Photos (9/10/2024) A Couple Pelican Photos

I had some extra time before needing to go into the office this morning, so I took my camera and went out by the lake. My morning consisted mostly of taking photos of ducks, though I did get a photo of a muskrat hauling a stick - which let me put my zoom lens to the test because he kept quite a bit of distance from me. That one isn't my best, but you can at least make out its furry body. Here are some of my photos: _________________________________________________________________________ Here are some other nature photos: Lunchtime Walk Photos (5/15/2026) Lunchtime Walk Photos (5/8/2026) Lunchtime Walk Photos (10/9/2024) Lunchtime Walk Photos (9/10/2024)

I managed to get a walk in yesterday morning, before the bad weather hit. It was humid enough outside though to both make it hazy and to cause my camera lens to fog up multiple times, making it very difficult for me to get much in terms of photos. However, I did manage to get a couple decent photos of a pair of rabbits I came across on my walk, one older and one that looks like it was born not that long ago. Here they are. ______________________________________________________________________ Here are some other nature photos: Lunchtime Walk Photos (5/13/2026) Lunchtime Walk Photos (6/1/2026) Front Yard Bird Photos Lunchtime Walk Photos (4/30/2025)

There's a chance of thunderstorms tomorrow so, since that means I may not be able to get out for a walk, I made sure to get one in today. Surprisingly, despite the warm, sunny weather, there wasn't much in terms of signs of life. I didn't even see a turtle, and they normally are out sunning themselves on every available log or rock. I did manage to get some photos though. Here are some of them. _______________________________________________________________ Here are some other nature photos:  Some Random Nature Photos Lunchtime Walk Photos 9/18/2020 Lunchtime Walk Photos (6/1/2026) Lunchtime Walk Photos (5/8/2026)

I've been trying to get back in the habit of taking a walk in the morning, just so I can get some exercise in before sitting behind a desk most of the day. So, for the second day in a row, I went out with my camera not long after the sun started rising. As it turns out, most of the activity that early in the morning was from mosquitos. However, I was still able to get a few photos in between swatting. ____________________________________________________________________ Here are other photos taken on previous morning walks: Morning Walk Photos (6/3/2026) Morning Walk Photos 8/25/2017 Morning Walk Photos 7/19/2017 Morning Walk Photos 7/3/2018

So far, so good with the new camera. I am still figuring some things out, but there is a clear difference when using it, including being able to get most subjects in focus a whole lot easier plus I noticed a significant difference in the color. Clearly, I was right about my long-time camera starting to show wear from use. I did get out at lunch today and was surprised the warm, sunny weather wasn't bringing a whole lot of life out. I didn't even see a single turtle and I would think they'd be sunning themselves by the dozen. I did, however, manage to get a few. Here they are: _______________________________________________________________________ Here are some previous nature photos: Lunchtime Walk Photos (4/30/2025) Family Walk Photos 8/8/2017 Lunchtime Walk Photos 6/14/2018 Morning Walk Photos 9/12/2017

I hadn't expected my new camera to arrive until this weekend but was pleasantly surprised when I got home yesterday and learned it had already been delivered. After spending what seemed like an eternity trying to get the camera strap attached (and I'm certain I didn't tie it correctly, though it still works) and then charging the battery I didn't have a whole lot of time to play around with it. So, I decided to go out by the lake on my way into the office and give my new Kodak AZ653 a try. There are a lot of functions on this camera I'm still learning and like most cameras, there are things I love about it (like the ability to adjust the exposure using a dial as I'm taking the photo) and things I don't (the macro mode works but not in the way I'm used to). However, I did get my first photos with it this morning and thought worked pretty well overall, especially since the early morning light made some of the photos tricky to take. Here are some of them: _...