Winning Quilts: Wisconsin Public Television Quilt Expo 2018

On the eve of 2018 Wisconsin Public Television Quilt Expo, I photographed the winning quilts at the Alliant Energy Center among the colorful maze of contest entries.  The quilts were still being judged as I was setting up my equipment.  The staff and volunteers were anxiously awaiting the guarded list of winners to be delivered.   It felt like we were part of an exclusive club of insiders who would know the results before everyone else.  After the list was delivered we quickly got to work.  The volunteers with their cotton gloves brought each quilt for me to photograph.  I was impressed to see the variety of design categories and humbled by the creativity and time invested in making these works of art.

Best of Show
 Taking the Unmapped Road
Margaret Solomon Gunn, Gorham, Maine
QUILTED BY Margaret Solomon Gunn

Second Place Machine
Quilted Bed Size Appliquéd
In the Garden
Kim Lapacek, Poynette, Wis.
QUILTED BY Frank Palmer

First Place
Machine Quilted Bed Size Pieced
Free Fallin’
Kathie Beltz, Greenfield, N.H.
QUILTED BY Mara Novak

First Place
Wall Quilts, Machine Quilted Pictorial
Jars of Clay
Sharon L. Schlotzhauer, Monument, Colo.
QUILTED BY Sharon L. Schlotzhauer

Floating the St. James River

Contemplating life down the St. James River as it flows through downtown Richmond, VA on a hot summer day.

Hankins Equine Farm - Platte City, MO

I met Bill Hankins two years ago while I was attending the Missouri Photo Workshop in Platte City, Missouri, so I paid him a visit during my recent trip to the Kansas City area.   A retired high school photojournalism teacher and Missouri Photojournalism Hall of Fame member, Bill was instrumental in bringing the Missouri Photo Workshop to Platte City in the fall of 2015.

Each evening of the workshop, Bill would stop by to listen in on the critiques, spend time chatting with us attendees and offer insight into his town and it's residents.   On the last night of the workshop, he and his wife Marcia hosted all of us for dinner at their beautiful farm north of the city, where they raise horses and mules.

Since Marcia was out of town this visit, it meant I had the opportunity to do some photography while Bill did the afternoon and evening feedings.  It was nice to have the time to visit, hang out with the animals, talk shop and show each other the photo projects we are working on.

Silhouette  & Roscoe wait impatiently while Bill prepares the evening grain.

Due to the overly persistent flies, Bill applies a home-made repellent to give Monique's wrapped ankles for some relief.

Bill gives Lillie a brush while eating her afternoon hay snack.   Their coats get a bit dirty from rolling around in the dirt in an attempt to ward off the pesky flies.

Ropes hang from horseshoe hooks on the storeroom exterior wall while Bill retrieves grain from bins for the evening feeding.   Some of the aging animals are given a special diet for better health.

Desert eats her afternoon hay while Monique swats flies with her tail.

Bill waits for Lillie, Roscoe, Silhouette and Monique to finish eating their evening grain in the barn.

Being a mischievous one, Desert saunters out of the door after taking a nose around the storeroom looking for something more to eat.

Lillie decides that Roscoe needs some help finishing his evening grain.

Bill shows Monique some affection after finishing her evening grain.   Bill says that mules are quite intelligent and curious animals.   They are a cross between a horse and donkey and cannot reproduce.

John Carlson: Over The Road Truck Driver

Last summer, I spent 12 days traveling with John in his truck. We went from Madison, WI to New Jersey to Central California and back. John was gracious enough to participate in my ongoing personal project documenting over the road truck drivers. He travels with his cat Kota for 5-6 weeks stretches and returns home to Minneapolis for 5-6 days before heading out again. This slideshow is my first attempt at combining an audio interview with images. It lets you here his voice and his story in his own words. I think I will do more of these.

Lonely Night at the Triangle Market

Walking around State Street with my photog friend Max doing some nighttime street photography. This was my favorite images of the evening.   A lone worker on a lonely street.

Shop attendant at the Triangle Market on a slow night on State Street, Madison, WI.

2015 Canadian Pacific Holiday Train

Had the good fortune to see the Canadian Pacific Holiday Train as it made it's stop in Columbus, WI.   The Holiday Train has 14 rail cars decorated with hundreds of thousands of LED lights and holiday designs.​  It starts in Montreal and visits 150 communities in Canada and the United States.

As they make a stop, the sides of one rail car opens up and there is a live music performance including an appearance by Santa.   Along with bringing holiday cheer, Canadian Pacific Rail encourages people to bring food and donate money to local food pantries.

The Canadian Pacific Train arrives in Columbus, WI as a large crowd of people looks on.

Viewers line the sides of the railroad tracks as the Canadian Pacific Holiday Train arrives in Columbus, WI.

Kelly Prescott performs during a stop of the Canadian Pacific Holiday Train in Columbus, WI.

Canadian Pacific Holiday Train is decorated with thousands of lights during a stop in Columbus, WI.

Jam on Johnson 2015

A Yelp sponsored event, Jam on Johnson is an open house of the small locally owned businesses huddled around the intersection of Paterson and Johnson Streets.  The winds calmed down after a blustery day making for a pleasant evening of strolling the street, visiting the shops and running into old friends along the way.

Upshift Clothing

Santa spotting outside Wilke Chiropractic

Gene Delcourt playing fiddle at Wilke Chiropractic.

Drunk Lunch

Wisconsink Tattoo

Good Style Shop

Cork & Bottle Liquor Store

U-Frame It

Johnson Public House

Studio 924 Hair Designs

Studio 924 Hair Designs

Salvatore's Tomato Pies

Our Lives Magazine - Dave Eick

Dave Eick is the owner of Five Nightclub, a long running LGBT bar in Madison, WI. Due to a changing community and culture, the bar was slated to close in 2014. After the announcement, a outpouring of community support brought it back from the brink. Our Lives Magazine asked me to photograph Dave for an article in their September/October 2015 issue about Dave and Five Nightclub.  To read article download a PDF of the Our Lives issue.

Istanbul Scenes

A selection of images from in and around Istanbul during my visit there this past February.  A sprawling city spanning two continents,  it is a interesting mix of historic and modern.   The cafe life is a big part of the culture and the many pedestrian only streets are a nice respite from the traffic clogged city.

Fish stand in the Beşiktaş district.

Patrons eating outside a lokanta in Beşiktaş district.   A lokanta is a popular type of eatery where customers select prepared food at the counter cafeteria style.

Cooks in the window of a lokanta preparing food for the lunch crowd.

Many street cafes and coffee shops have short stools and seating with the popular backgammon games.  As with everywhere socializing has become a silent affair with a smart phone. 

A fish stall in a pedestrian district of Kadıköy across the Bosporus on the Asian side of Istanbul.

A spice and traditional medicinal vendor on the street in the Kadıköy district.

A fruit seller in the pedestrian district of Kadıköy on the Asian side of the Bosporus.

Bread shop in Kadıköy.

A young man on a pedestrian street and friend of the Turkish coffee brewer at cafe in Kadıköy.  He wanted is picture taken so I couldn't say no.   

A typical bustling pedestrian street lined with shops and cafes as night falls in Kadıköy .

Street scene as night falls in Kadıköy.   This is my favorite time of day to make outdoor photographs when the sky turns cobalt blue just after the sun sets.

Historic street car that runs the length of İstiklal Cadesi, one of the most visited pedestrian streets on Istanbul. It connects Taksim Square with the Karaköy district on the European side of Istanbul.

Turkish Delight window display on İstiklal Cadesi pedestrian street.

The Galata Bridge crossing the Golden Horn is lined with fishermen dropping their multi-hooked lines into the water below, hoping to catch small silver fish. 

Small silver fish caught from the Galata Bridge sit in small plastic cups waiting for a buyer.

Vendor selling roasted chestnuts to the after work crowd as dusk falls over Eminönü on the Golden Horn.

I can't come up with anything to say about this scene and almost didn't included it.  It was a bit disappointing to see the amount of litter here.   I did find it visually interesting with all the people just hanging out in the midst of it.  A main transit hub in Eminönü with the new Mosque (Yeni Cami) in the background.

Morning tea time in Sanyer on the Bosphorus.

Tea is ubiquitous in Turkey.  It is quite strong and served piping hot in an hour-shaped glass.

Playing backgammon in Rumeli Kavağı district on the Bosporus near the Black Sea.

A man sitting on the Bosphorus with prayer beads.

Stray dogs wait outside a butcher shop door hoping for some scraps in Rumeli Kavağı district on the Bosporus near the Black Sea.  Stray dogs roam around Istanbul and are tolerated as such. 

The burial site of the great Ottoman architect Mimar Sinan.  He died in 1588 and was a prolific architect designing many mosques and public structures around the Ottoman empire.   This cemetery is across the street from one of his great achievements in Istanbul, the Süleymaniye Mosque.

A shirt seller just outside the Grand Bazaar blends in with his display.

Crossing the Bosphorus on a ferry to Kadıköy on the Asian side of Istanbul.

View from a ferry crossing the Bosporus. The historic Galata Tower is on the left edge of the image.

A passenger watches as the ferry approached the dock in Kadıköy on the Asian side of Istanbul.

A crewman throws a rope to a ferry dockworker to secure the vessel for disembarking in Kadıköy.

Fishermen socialize on a boat in a small marina on the Bosporus.

A young boy feeds the pigeons at a park on the Bosporus while a stray dog takes in the sun.

Two men sit on the Bosporus enjoying one of the few sunny and days during this time of year.   Physical closeness between men is part of the culture in this region of the world.   Friends walking arm in arm or with a hand on a shoulder is not uncommon to see.

On one of the many ferries that criss-cross the waters of Istanbul.

Women reading their tablet devices sit on the ledge of an overlook with sweeping views of Istanbul and Bosporus.

Istanbul reflection.

Shadows of three women walking on a street near the Zeyrek Mosque.

The New Mosque (Yeni Cami) at dusk across the Golden Horn with the Hagia Sophia Mosque behind in the distance.

Sun setting on over a rising Istanbul across the Bosporus from the Asian side.