Door County Coastal Byway Kiosk project

My photo in the upcoming Door County Coastal Byway Kiosk.

Last June I wrote in this blog about taking a plane tour in Door County Wi. and some people from the Door County Coastal byway contacted me about one of my photos to be used for their upcoming kiosk project for the tourist info area.

It is a great honor for one of my photos to be used in things like this. I cannot wait to go there and see how the photo was used.

Visiting Door County Wisconsin in the winter

The Reindeer poop raffle

We were once again at beautiful Door County Wisconsin last November. We were curious to what was going on there during winter and we went after thanksgiving.

The signs at Egg Harbor marina

Thanksgiving I guess was one of the last holidays that you'll be able to see a lot of shops open there. After that, a lot of them close for the season. That didn't discourage us from going around to see what was going on.

Pink Bakery. One of Egg harbors famous stores.

One fun event we saw was a game where you'd place a bet on a numbered square and they'd walk a reindeer around. It wasn't really a real reindeer but rather a baby cow. Wherever the baby cow poops, that corresponding square where the poop lands wins a price. Unfortunately the reindeer didn't so the people just did a raffle instead.

The Egg harbor marina in winter.

Then we wandered around Egg Harbor and it looked like it snowed there the past couple of days and the Egg Harbor Marina was white with snow. I took that opportunity to take some winter shots of the marina which came out pretty nice.

The Alexander Noble house.

Fish Creek shops were open when we were there and it was nice just to walk around there at night. The town was decorated with lights for the holidays and it was a joy to walk around and take shots. I had brought my Canon 17-40mm f/4 and my Canon 15mm f/2.8 fisheye together with my 6D and 5D MK2 bodies. It's always a joy to take landscape photos with that equipment around.

Another view of the Alexander Noble house.

The holiday decors around fish creek was a joy to photograph. We found a couple of trees that were decorated around town. It was nice to photograph the Noble house during winter. It looked very peaceful with snow around it.

The Confectionery in Fish Creek.

One of the displays in Fish Creek.

A dock in Ephraim.

The frozen docks in Sister Bay.

There was really nothing going on in Sister bay that week. there was a craft show that we missed that weekend and that was it. Although Going around their marina is pretty awesome during winter. You can photograph the water covered in ice. Pretty neat with my fisheye lens on.

Sister Bay shoreline.

Sister Bay shoreline.

The shoreline in Ephraim.

Then we went to one of our favorite places in Door county, Ephraim Village. It was a joy to walk around the shoreline and take photos of the docks and the empty establishments. It was really kinda odd to see Ephraim Village empty during the winter as it was one of the most busy towns during summer.

Benches in Ephraim.

Door County Maritime Museum in Sturgeon bay WI.

Ship models everywhere

As we were going around Sturgeon bay in Door County Wisconsin, we saw the maritime museum near downtown Sturgeon bay and decided to check it out. This is one pretty neat museum. A lot of interesting things to see and watch.

The museum is big. 

The museum has 2 floors. The bottom floor houses a lot of naval history, models, and much more. The second floor has a pirate exhibit as well as a pirate painting gallery. A lot of stuff to see.

The dioramas are very fun to look at.

The bottom floor has never ending displays of model boats. From tugboats to warships...this museum has everything. The dioramas as so entertaining to look at. I was so glued looking at a diorama of an old building with excellent detail on it. Even the water was detailed.  I probably spent around 30 minutes just looking at it.

Those are tools that are attached to the wall.

There was a display of old ship building tools and there was a story on the wall telling how those tools aren't used anymore because of the way modern ships are built that those tolls weren't used anymore. It was kinda sad but it is what it is.

A real working periscope.

One of the most awesome display is an actual working periscope. You take a peek at it and you can see around downtown Sturgeon Bay. Being photographer, I was surprised how sharp the periscope was. The range of it was pretty good too. It was awesome to see one in real life.

This room displays engines used in boats.

A captains office.

A real decompression chamber for divers.

One of the most unique displays in the museum was an actual decompression chamber for divers. It was kinda freaky looking inside but it's nice to see a real one in front of you. Inside it was a mannequin of a diver being decompressed.

One of the fancier boats in the museum.

Being in a museum, I know my 15mm/f2.8 fisheye is a good lens choice to use. it is so wide that it gives you a very weird point of view. I love it...especially when I can shoot wide open at f/2.8 when there is very low light.

Another fancier boat.

Gauges in the engine section of the museum.

The pirate section of the museum.

The pirate section of the museum is actually pretty neat too. They have a miniature town with lots to see. There is actually a fake prison where you can go in and have your pictures taken. It also has a pirate dressing room where you can dress up as a pirate and have your picture taken.

Another part of the pirate section of the museum.

The front of a pirate ship.

The pirate ship display has a video game in it where you try to fire canons at a pirate ship to try to sink it. The controls are in the canons itself. I probably had about 6 tries until I destroyed the pirate ship.

The pirate ship equipped with a video game.

More boat models.

When visiting Door County Wisconsin, the maritime museum is one place you shouldn't miss. There is plenty of displays here which makes the museum really interesting.

Baileys Harbor Door County Wi.

Baileys Harbor Marina.

Baileys harbor is another nice place to visit when you're in Door County Wi. It's a quiet town located on the east side of the Door County Peninsula. It is around 20 minutes away from Sturgeon bay 

One of the coolest paintings on the side of a building.

We went to the Baileys Harbor Marina and walked around. As usual it was overcast so I had to deal with whatever lighting I have for photos. The Marina has docks all over and that didn't stop me from taking a lot of photos of them.

I love taking pictures of docks.

My usual setup for photographing landscape is a full frame body with my 17-40mm f/4 lens.  I usually set it up in aperture priority, set up my aperture and shoot. No need to fumble with my shutter speed.

Another dock shot.

The shoreline.

Another town to go to when visiting Door County Wisconsin. 

Village of Ephraim, Door County Wisconsin

Village of Ephraim in Door County Wisconsin.

While in Door County Wisconsin we passed by this village called Ephraim one day while driving around and we decided to check the place out. We went to Door County when vacation season was just starting so the place wasn't crowded yet.

By the lake in Ephraim, Door County Wi.

The Ephraim public library.

The place had plenty of parking so we just parked on the side of the road and just walked around and took some shots. As usual, on situations like this The 17-40mm f/4L is always my choice, mounted on a full frame body, this combination shines for landscape shots. Set it on aperture priority and all you have to do is walk and shoot.

The famous Wilsons Sundaes.

We went by the famous Wilsons Sundaes near the lake to grab something to eat. They serve burgers, hotdogs, shakes, etc. A very nice place to just eat and hang out after walking through Ephraim Village. They were actually featured on a National Geographic show called brain games and we were so happy that we had a chance to visit the place.

One of the docks in the village.

A view of the lake.

When in Ephraim, you will have a ton of time photographing the lake. From what I've heard there are beautiful sunsets you can photograph by the lake...too bad I didn't have the chance to do that. The atmosphere there is so relaxing, basically just take some shots, sit down and eat. No feeling of being rushed.

Some chairs on the side of the road facing the lake

Another very good place to visit when you go to Door County Wi. Ephraim Village is a place full of nice places to photograph, and very good history and of course, the food.

Egg Harbor Wisconsin

One of the best towns in Door County WI.

Egg Harbor in Door County WI. is one of the best places to go to if you are in the area. The area is rich with restaurants, parks, and a lot of places to see. It was a good thing to stay in there while we were in Door County.

Mojo Rosas, one of the most famous restaurants in the area.

Egg Harbor is located on the west side of the peninsula. It is about 20-30 minutes away from Sturgeon bay which is at the base of the peninsula. It is a town where there so much to see but really is not that crowded.

Double Delites. Popcorn, Gelato and other good stuff shop.

For instances like this, mainly sight seeing I always bring with me my landscape favorite 17-40mm f/4L. Mounted on a full frame body like the 5D MK2, the 17-40mm shines when used for landscape shots. I have never left this lens at home when on vacations.

Main Street Shops. One stop place for shopping here.

I usually just shoot aperture priority when shooting landscapes. The thing about not worrying about a particular setting when shooting outdoors is priceless. Basically all I had to do is set the aperture to the setting I want and shoot. For landscapes a narrower aperture is usually the best way to go.

One of the cool cars parked in the street.

The Marina is one of the best places to capture a sunset. Make sure you bring bug spray when doing this especially during the summer. I brought one of my video cameras to capture a time lapse of the sunset, sitting there during the sunset with bugs all over you isn't a good thing.

Egg Harbor Marina

The Marina at sunset.  

This dog was anxiously waiting for its owner at Double Delites.

When visiting Door County WI., make sure you stop by at Egg Harbor. It is one great place to visit when you are in the area.