Steven Helmer Publications

I had hoped to get out with my camera a bit over the weekend, even if it was just in my backyard. However, I had other things to do and by the time I was done doing those, just never got around to it. I did manage to get out at lunch today though. Here are a few of the photos: I skipped the monarch butterflies and dragonflies today and instead got some photos of some other insects for a change. It was kind of difficult getting a photo of these turtles with the way the sun was reflecting off both the water and the rock, but they were patient and I ended up with this one. I walked along the outside of the park on my way back to the car and spotted the hint of yellow fluttering around. I was able to get the photo before it flew off. I didn't realize there was a small bee buzzing the flowers until I edited the photo and just took it because I liked how they were popping out of the water. _________________________________________________________________________ Here are some of my previ...

The weather has been a bit too inconvenient for me to put my trail cameras out but since we finally had a night with no rain or fog, I figured I'd set them up. There wasn't a ton of activity, but I still managed to get photos of rabbits and squirrels. Here are some of them: _______________________________________________________________________ Here are some previous trail camera photos and videos: Trail Camera Photos (7/23/2026-7/24/2026) Trail Camera Photos (7/30/2026-7/31/2026) Trail Camera Videos (1/3/2026-1/4/2026) Trail Camera Photos (11/10/2024-11/12/2024)

It was a halfway decent day today, sunny without being super warm or humid, so my walk was a bit more pleasant than it has been. Plus, I had some company today. My wife was in her sewing studio (in the basement of the same building my office is in) so she joined me. Since she was wearing sandals, I avoided some of the trails I normally would check out. However, I still managed to get a few photos. Here are some of them: This wasn't the most cooperative butterfly, but I did manage to snap this photo when it took a short break from flying around. I almost didn't spot this blue heron from a distance against the backdrop but spotted it just in time to get a photo while it was hunting. This is the rock I normally see turtles on. They weren't there today, for obvious reasons. I haven't seen a lot of frogs this year but today, we had to avoid stepping on a couple of them. I grabbed this shot when one was hiding. _________________________________________________________________...

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)