Robert Zilch Photography

01/02/2025

Website updated with some of the recents (Michigan and Wisconsin):

Landscape Photography Around the Great Lakes States

01/01/2025

01/01/2025

2024 Year of Photos...

These are my favorites from the year, in no particular order...

Between planning, driving, shooting, and editing, there were many hours spent in pursuit of my passion.

While I did meet my goal of shooting in a new location at least once per month, not every location is included.

Please enjoy and Happy New Year (again)!

01/01/2025

Happy New Year!!

While I shot this the other day, still in 2024 - this is my first posted image of 2025.

Went for the fine art look and feel edit on this one and thought the 16x9 crop was perfect!

Live video coming later today to talk about the 2024 photography year and what is potentially coming up in 2025!

12/31/2024

Last image that I'm posting in 2024...

This is an exposure blend of 2 images.

The first image was a 2 minute exposure to get the movement in the clouds.

The second image, taken immediately following the first was a 1 second exposure to capture the motion of the waves.

Hope that everyone has a fun and safe New Year's Eve!!

12/30/2024

One more for today... a 4 shot panoramic, stitched together in Lightroom Classic. Basic edits and a slight Orton Effect. I'm happy with this edit, but I might edit a copy to get a more "painterly" feel to it.

Love the pastel colors on the clouds from the filtered sun behind me.

12/30/2024

A quick stop at St. Joseph Lighthouse on the way back to Illinois this morning.

Got there right about 10 minutes after sunrise, but with the bluff and the clouds, it was perfect timing...

Lake Michigan was definitely temperamental this morning and showed her pretty self for the shots I got!

More shots coming later this week, but definitely a successful last shoot of the year!

12/28/2024

Different composition and I definitely like this one better than the one I posted yesterday...

12/27/2024

A chilly, misty day on Lake Michigan...

12/22/2024

Lone Tree

The last time I shot this tree was in dense fog, which gave it a way different feel.

I saw the shot earlier in the day, but I wanted to wait for some clouds to form the help with the minimalist feel I wanted for this shot.

While I wish there was a few more inches of snow on the ground, I love this photo.

I printed it already on a metallic pearl paper which really captures the minimalism.

12/18/2024

Saw this scene driving back from my Glacial Park shoot and couldn't resist stopping to take a couple of shots of this.

Fog was lifting, but still enough around to help give some depth.

Would it work on a bright, sunny, cloudless day? Probably not, but with the fog having around... it definitely did work!

12/15/2024

I don't shoot panoramic often, but this scene just screamed it to me.

With this location, I've achieved my goal of shooting in at least one new location every month... There were a few months where I was scrambling, but always managed to find somewhere new. Thanks to Mark Denney Photography for the idea!

This particular location is just a canoe launch, but with the foggy morning, it just worked. Had I shot this with clear conditions I don't think it would've turned out.

More to come and an album of my favorite shots from the year will be posted in the coming weeks.

Glacial Park & Lost Valley Visitor Center at Pioneer Landing

11/27/2024

These "cordwalks" at this state park just fascinate me... They make fantastic leading lines and elements!

11/26/2024

A little chaotic, but I think I captured the mood of the blustery, rainy, chilly late fall day...

I definitely want to go back to this location under different conditions... fog would be amazing as would a heavy snow storm.

This would also be a great sunset location with the setting sun just to the right of the path behind the tree.

More photos from this trek in the coming days (hint - this is not my favorite or the best of the day)