"Behind The Door" a photographer's perspectives on the unique cultural, historic, and natural diversity of Wisconsin's Door Peninsula.
I make my home on the perpetually breezy shores of the Door County peninsula in Northeast Wisconsin - a sliver of rock cleaved from the rest of the state during the last ice age and jutting out like a broken thumb 80 miles into Lake Michigan, the 4th largest body of fresh water on Earth. There are many fantastic photo opportunities here, year-round with more State Parks, more lighthouses, and more miles of shoreline than any other county in the US. The uplands are dotted with tidy orchards and family dairy farms - some going back 6 generations. Below, the coastal villages teem with sport fish, old-world traditions and more than a century and a half of continuous shipbuilding. Once, timber was king. Now there are over 31,000 acres of protected habitat. Come with me as we discover and photograph “tip to tail” - Behind the Door!
That's so Crazy, "The Eagle Has Landed". You had me cracking up because as I watched you doing the countdown I was saying it myself; Paralleling the actual landing by Neil Armstrong on Tranquility Base, flying it down on fumes. The production values, content, narration, video; soundscore, geez all of it...there has to be an award out there for you. PBS would be well advised to create a series for you; "Behind the Door" with Kevin O'Donnell. Seriously. Your talent , dedication, and love for the Door, its inland seas and the great giants that roam them is beyond parallel. It's A lot of time and work to put together such a beautiful short film as I like to think yours are; so thank you. God bless.
What an awesome video! Love your story telling. Growing up on a farm and being from this area makes it so great. And it’s extra special because Ken is my neighbor and such a great guy! Thanks for sharing.
I have been watching for years kevin, id love to chat one day and pick your brain a bit. I find myself always looking forward to your uploads. The quality is alwasys exceptional.
I need to know where I can get one of those: "Disappointment Awaits" hats before October 1st when it's time to put this back into the daily rotation again for 31 days.
Hi Kevin. What a nicely done video! I enjoyed watching it. I'm a serious amateur astronomer and deal with the effects of light pollution every time out. The light pollution you are seeing to the west is also sourced from the surrounding area of Traverse City.....the outskirts of that light pollution starting 64 miles away from you. Yes, Frankfort adds to the pollution as well. None of it is good. In urban areas, clouds and moisture can greatly increase the effects of light pollution by reflecting artificial lights from the ground. Clouds can act like a screen in the sky, catching and bouncing light around, making it spread out and travel further. This can make city lights more visible from far away on cloudy or misty nights. Unfortunately this night wasn't nearly as transparent as it was in 2020. A person can easily be fooled trying to compare light pollution levels from year-to-year. For the reasons in my previous paragraph. Comparing very local light pollution levels is much easier. For example, a new shopping center goes in....or a new nearby car dealer decides to light up the county! No matter how you cut it, lights and astronomy never go together. When you factor in the increased number of man-made satellites overhead....well you get the idea. Again, nice video. You sure have a nice area to live.
I have to say Kevin, that although your video is well done…. as always, it is heartbreaking. The light pollution images strike right at the heart strings! Thank god you are recording what used to be. Not sure we would call this progress. 🫣
I have to say Kevin, that although your video is well done…. as always, it is heartbreaking. The light pollution images strike right at the heart strings! Thank god you are recording what used to be. Not sure we would call this progress. 🫣
I’m glad to see you back at it again. I always enjoy watching your videos. I feel your pain on the light pollution. Between urban development and multiple coal mines being built our night sky is nothing like it use to be.
You are resilient Kevin. Like many others who have commented I too am relieved and happy to see you back creating video content. Hopefully this video will help in the fight to “illuminate” this serious problem. It is easy to become despondent over the state of our poor planet. We must recognize and act on these serious issues before it is too late. Dark skies are our collective heritage and it should not be squandered. Thankyou for your good work Kevin. I find you inspirational.
So glad you are doing better and hopefully this cancer can be pushed "Out of the door" I personally have never seen freighter arrive or depart a winters lay-up due to where I live. No one lays-up in Sault Ste Marie.
Your gallery photo's are wonderful, but not quite the view I want. The 2020?2024 picture you showed is the view I'm looking for.Thank You. Let me know if one of those are available.
He Karen. I made the 2020 edition of that photo available on my website in the "Lighthouses" Gallery. Many sizes available. I try not to offer too many photos as it can become overwhelming for viewers. But I will always entertain special requests like yours. Thanks!
So glad to hear your voice again. Good to hear you're recovering from surgeries. I was so excited that you were snapping pictures of my favorite lighthouse. Would love to purchase one of them. Where do I need to go? Be there in person six more weeks!!
Hi Karen. Thank you for your kind comments. That lighthouse is a favorite of mine as well. She never takes a bad photo. She shows up in a few of my photographs available on my website hrre: www.kevinodonnell.photography/image-galleries. either in the "Lighthouses Gallery" and/or "Ore Boats & Tugs" Gallery. Safe travels!
Missed your insights and vision; glad to hear you recovered and hope you remain so. Your night sky analysis is startling for those of us in North Door…
We so often travel through life in a kind tunnel vision - missing the beauty that is out there. I have often watched your videos as a way to balance out the cruelty of the world with your amazing videos of the simple pleasures all around us! So glad to hear your mellow voice again! Hope your health permits you to produce many more videos - we need them so dearly🌞
I'm glad to see you're back posting new videos! Sorry to hear of your health struggles. Hopefully they are behind you now. I figured there was something important that kept you from chasing the ships this spring. Personally, I never get worked up about catching the spring departures. Like you said, you often get very little warning and then they are gone. One of my other hobbies is astronomy and I can relate to what you're saying about light pollution. There are too many poorly-designed light fixtures that send their light up into the air where it does no good... instead of focusing it onto structures and roadways where it is needed. Some cities like Tucson, Arizona have passed ordinances to prevent excessive and careless lighting that leads to light pollution in an effort to preserve the skies for Kitt Peak Observatory to the west (and astronomy enthusiasts in general). I wish more cities would take that approach, especially now that bright LEDs are are so energy efficient (and cheap) that people are overusing them.
We too have missed you, hopefully your health issues are behind you, interesting video, understandably disappointing, I guess that's called progress unfortunately, glad your back with better health ahead of you.
Sadly cancer is not a fair decease at all, no matter how good you look after your body or how old you are, you can still get it. Best of health to you Kevin, your lovely wife and everyone else watching that might be battling any health issues you may have. Monday is my 8th and final chemotherapy this time around for me. Then it's waiting game for it to return or some other kind of illness, or not before my time is up.
I figured something might be going on to keep you from opening season for the boats. I was praying that things were alright. Welcome back and thank you for the lovely video! I do understand the increase in light pollution. I am in the middle of nowhere Nebraska and we used to be able to see sky anomalies just driving down the road a few miles. But with the new legislation to replace all lights with LED, the farm yard lights now seem to take up more dark space in the air, and not so much of the ground space. Farms are being lit up more than they used to be. I think I like the old "Pyramids" of light from way back. I am awaiting my copy of Behind The Door, I know I will be very happy with it and adding to my collection. Thank you for sharing your settings and how you describe setting up the shots, very helpful and educational. Please continue to take care and I will be looking forward to the next one!
Great video sir,...my wife and daughter just finished a wonderful vacation up in the Upper Peninsula of MI. I'm from IN. and we started from the Grand Island, up to the Soo Locks, finish in Munising MI. then back home....You can't beat MI.
Thank you for this. We have a couple dark parks in Michigan. The lakes are lower i believe because we had such a mild winter in Michigan with little snow all the way to the UP. Looking forward to your next video.
So I’m curious if the May 2020 shot had less light pollution due to all the shut downs related to Covid? Or was this a fairly typical amount of light pollution back in those days?
Interesting view. I hadn't thought about that. But it was fairly consistent from 2017 to 2020, then steadily increasing, at least by my house at night. But not having photographed across the lake in a few years, the comparison was dramatic.
Kevin, you know how I reacted when you presented me with my presentation copy, and read the note. I gotta say, I feel the same watching this video. Your passion for not just your book, but the Door Peninsula, is readily apparent. I laughed out loud at your comment on the back of the jacket photo..."Well, can't improve on that, that's as good as you're gonna get there Kev". LOL...yep. 😁 It's an absolute honor and privilege to know you and Colleen...and drink beer with you both! Cheers buddy!
Talented dude. I was always surprised about the “lack of” great lakes ship models that are available, even the more famous ones like the Fitzgerald or Bradley or Morrell, youd think there would be kits out there in abundance. Revell or AMT round 2 should do a lake boat series, I think people would love it!
I normally don't talk about this, but after 33 years and still a Captain at Delta Air Lines I really enjoyed your conversation with the "Old Man". Class act all the way around.
I know I'm late to the party, only been a fan for the last two years or so but thought I would just drop a comment about how your multi-part videos are just mesmerizing. It will take me a while to click through all your old videos but as they say one step at a time. Timeless treasurers, thanks for sharing.
I hope you appreciate it all more as experiencing the place than just picture material. I see you had the chance to meet these good people and experience a part of their everyday life. Damn good people...
Thank you, Kevin, for sharing your talent and love of the Door Peninsula with the world. And, of course, congratulations on surviving the seven-year gestation period to birth this baby!
I love my book it’s awesome.It shows how caring and professionally you complied this book. You’re a wonderful storyteller and photographer. Thank you for showing us around Door County. We can’t wait till September to arrive.
Congratulations Kevin, I just purchased the presentation edition. I am really looking forward to seeing it especially since I have watched all the videos in which you took the photos.
Kevin, I am so impressed with your beautiful book. The photographs are stunning and the writing is very absorbing. I am keeping a list of new words, and half way through, I am up to six words that needed google to define for me. I scan the QR codes and watch the videos. Very impressive work. My only suggestion is that archival gloves should be included. I hold my breath anytime someone picks up my copy of the book! Having just spent a week in DC with my family, I totally get the desire to capture the beauty and uniqueness of that beautiful slice of heaven. While I can't wait to go back, I can pick up your book whenever I need a fix. Well done!
@@KODOPhoto Gaussian blur; petrichor; dolostone; talus; metonic cycle; and astro-landscape photography are the ones I have come across so far and I am almost 1/2 the way through. Looking forward to reading more and discovering more interesting words. There is a lot to take in. It is much more than a photography book!
@@nancydaluga5766 Hi Nancy. I'm glad to hear that you can appreciate that it is more than a photography book! You are making a good list of uncommon words! But I am a bit surprised "cuesta" is not on your list (p.3, 1st pp.) Most of what you had to look up are geological terms (I was a geology major in college before switching to biology).
Congratulations on a long time dream realized Kevin. Your work and the passion that you have for your work and Dorr is noteworthy. I will be adding one of these for sure. Hats off!!!
Your talent and artistry are amazing and are on full display in this book. I am the very proud owner of edition #25 and could not be more pleased with it. Absolutely stunning piece of art in itself, well done!
