Green Bay Wisconsin Commercial and Editorial Photographer

Green Bay Wisconsin Photographer • Chasing Ships Through The Frozen Waters

Wednesday, May 3, 2023

Being a Green Bay, Wisconsin-based commercial and editorial photographer with easy access to the Great Lakes, I find myself out on the water photographing not just on assignments, but also for times I need to get out there and be creative. Most people think of being out on the water shooting as a warm weather thing, but to me, one of my favorite times of year is the winter months. There’s nothing better than shooting a large ship busting through the frozen waters or a freighter coming in off the lake on a chilly day.

These past few months I’ve found some great photo opportunities to shoot anything from Coast Guard ice breakers to 1,000-plus foot freighters navigating the frozen waters. The other day I was comparing how I accomplished these types of shoots with the current technology versus the technology I first started out with on my freelance career in the mid-90s. The first photo in this gallery is a photo I took back in 2001 of the United States Coast Guard’s Mobile Bay busting through the frozen waters of the bay of Green Bay to create a path for a ship to get access to the port of Green Bay. I shot this one from a small single-engine plane as I hung out the open window with my first digital camera, a Nikon D1 with a 70-200 mm lens. I’d seen a story in the local paper that the Coast Guard would be out that day breaking up the ice so I rented a plane and pilot with the hope that I could spot the icebreaker. To this day that shot still hangs in my living room.

Fast forward to this winter and I no longer need to rent a plane. I’ve been using a DJI Mavic 3 drone. It’s also not as much of a guessing game that I will be able to find a ship out in the frozen waters. With the help of an app called Marine Traffic and a couple of very active Facebook pages, I’m able to gather plenty of intel on the whereabouts of ships in the area. The app isn’t always 100% accurate or it may be a few hours behind on a ship’s position, but it is a ton better than using a few day-old newspaper articles to figure out a ship’s position.

Photographing with a drone is a lot more comfortable, with easy access to my warm car, than the days of trying to keep my hands and face from freezing as I opened up the window of a single-engine plane going 100mph a few hundred feet above ice-covered waters. I still find myself heading out onto breakwaters or along frozen beaches to get a shot, but I’m able to send the drone out to get an angle I couldn’t on foot and it’s much safer. These are the type of shoots that keep me energized during the long and cold winter months. I’m so appreciative of how modern technology has helped me be more creative and productive on these shoots.

Below are some of my favorite photos of ships on the Green Bay and Door County, Wisconsin waters during the winter months, starting with the shot from a small, single engine plane twenty plus years ago.

Thanks for looking!

Mike

The United States Coast Guard’s 140 foot icebreaking tug the Mobile Bay breaks ice on the bay of Green Bay Thursday morning April 5, 2001 as it escorts the first ship of the season into the port of Green Bay, Wis.

The tanker the Algonova comes in to port in Green Bay, Wisconsin in January of 2023. Mike Roemer Photo

The USCG Mobile Bay breaks ice to open up the shipping channel in to the Fox River in the port of Green Bay from the bay of Green Bay into port in Green Bay, Wisconsin in December of 2022. Mike Roemer Photo

A ferry boat comes in to dock in Northport, Wisconsin at the top of the Door County, Wisconsin peninsula with a load of vehicles and passengers from Washington Island.

The United States Coast Guard’s Neah Bay breaking ice on the bay of Sturgeon Bay and Green Bay in preparation for the opening of the shipping season, Mike Roemer Photo

The United States Coast Guard’s Neah Bay waits in the ice off of Sherwood Point near Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin to assist ships leaving Sturgeon Bay after winter layup as the shipping season starts. Mike Roemer Photo

Tugs work to break ice and prepare ship to leave Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin to start the 2023 shipping season. Mike Roemer Photo

The self discharging fighter the Joseph L Block breaks through the ice near Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin to start the 2023 shipping season. Mike Roemer Photo

The United States Coast Guard’s Neah Bay waits in the ice off of Sherwood Point near Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin to assist ships leaving Sturgeon Bay as the freighter the Wilfred Sykes passes. Mike Roemer Photo

The self discharging fighter the Wilfred Sykes breaks through the ice near Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin to start the 2023 shipping season. Mike Roemer Photo

The self discharging fighter the Wilfred Sykes breaks through the ice near Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin to start the 2023 shipping season. Mike Roemer Photo

The self discharging fighter the Wilfred Sykes breaks through the ice near Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin to start the 2023 shipping season. Mike Roemer Photo

The ice breaking tug the Erika Kobasic breaks ice from Lake Michigan in to the bay of Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin in December of 2022.

The ice breaking tug the Erika Kobasic breaks ice from Lake Michigan in to the bay of Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin in December of 2022.

Wisconsin Sports Photographer • One More Win And They’re In • Packers Defeat The Vikings

Tuesday, January 3, 2023

Here are a few of my favorite photos from telling the story of the Green Bay Packers‘ win over the Minnesota Vikings at Lambeau Field on Sunday, January 1, 2023. The win kept the Packers’ hopes alive to make the NFL playoffs. If the Packers can beat the Detroit Lions at Lambeau Field next weekend they are in.

I started my day by shooting tailing gating photos and capturing Viking fans greeting the team buses as they arrived for the game. Most photographers dread shooting tailgating photos, but I actually like to and I feel like it gets me into game mode. The game had some major highlights with both a kickoff and an interception being run back for a touchdown, but unfortunately, they went to the south end zone and I’m based in the north. Even Aaron Rodgers’ run for a touchdown went to the opposite end zone from me. You would think eventually things would even out and the same amount of touchdowns would happen in each end zone, but it sure seems like the Packers like to score in the opposite end zone from me.

Next week’s regular season finally will be a big game with both the Lions and Packers battling for a playoff spot. I’ll be there again, in the north end zone.

Thanks for looking!

Mike

Wisconsin Sports Photographer • Thursday Night Football At Lambeau Field

Friday, November 18, 2022

Here are my favorite photos from covering the Green Bay Packers vs Tennessee Titans NFL football game at Lambeau Field on Thursday night November 17, 2022. The titans won 27-17. I started my day photographing fans in the Titletown District huddled around a fire pit in the below-freezing temps and in the parking lots of the stadium enjoying some tailgating before I headed into the stadium. The game also had a ceremony at halftime for former Packers safety Leroy Butler who was a member of the Packers 96 season Super Bowl team and who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame this past summer. Both of the Packers’ touchdowns happened in the opposite end zone from me, but I still managed to capture some action of the touchdowns and the celebrations. Two of the Titans’ touchdowns happened in my endzone and I got some decent celebration of those. Being that I cover both of the teams, not just the Packers, I captured the Titans coming off the field in celebration instead of the Packers. The Packers have won the majority of the games I’ve covered at Lambeau in the past 25-plus years.

Thanks for looking!

Mike

Green Bay Photographer• Photos Of The Packers Defeating The Cowboys in Overtime

Tuesday, November 15, 2022

Here are some of my favorite photos from telling the story of the Green Bay Packers vs Dallas Cowboys NFL football game at Lambeau Field in Green Bay Wisconsin on Sunday, November 13, 2022, as an editorial photographer. The Packers ended their five-game losing streak by beating the Dallas Cowboys with a Mason Crosby field goal in overtime. One of the main news angles to this story was the return of Mike McCarthy to Lambeau Field as the Cowboys’ head coach. McCarthy was fired by the Packers in 2018 after 13 seasons, including one Super Bowl win.

I like to start by telling the story of a game day by spending some time out in the parking lots shooting photos of fans tailgating and Sunday had a lot of great photo opportunities. I like to end the story of the day by capturing photos of players coming off the field in jubilation or dejection.

The Packers won the game when Mason Crosby kicked a game-ending field goal and I was in a nice position to capture him kicking the ball, celebrating and team members coming off the team in celebration.

Thanks for looking!

Mike

The Perfect Assignment For Me To Mark The One Year Anniversary Of An Accident That Paused My Career

Thursday, October 27, 2022

This past weekend, I had the perfect assignment to help me mark the one-year anniversary of a work-related injury I suffered. A year ago, I took a fall in a cave while shooting a tourism assignment and broke both my pelvis and my back. After two months in a wheelchair and a ton of physical therapy sessions, I’m back to almost a 100%. The one-year anniversary of the accident was definitely on my mind in the days leading up to the weekend. On Saturday, I shot a 50-mile running race, the Fall 50, from the tip of the Door County peninsula to Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. Documenting this race is a long hard day with the first images being the solo runners hitting the incredibly scenic 50-mile trek before sunrise and ending with a huge party 50 epic miles later as the sun goes down. I’m obviously not running or walking those 50 miles as I shoot the race, but I did put in about 16,000 steps in the process as I jumped in and out of the car with my three cameras weighing me down.

My wife Judy was with me for this shoot as my driver, so I could quickly jump out of the car for a shot as she tried to find a place to stash the car. Judy was also with me in those days after the fall, being my rock as she slept in a recliner in the corner of my hospital room. Judy also kept the house running as I pushed myself around the main floor in my wheelchair and slept in a hospital bed in our den since I couldn’t get to our upstairs bedroom. We also had a lot of help from family and friends during that recovery period; we will always be so thankful for the love and support we received during that time.

The fall and the resulting injury do give me a little PTSD at times and has made me more cautious, but has also made me slow down a tad and appreciate things more.

Enough about the injury and recovery, let me tell you about the race. The race is a 50-mile running race from Gills Rock, Wisconsin at the tip of the Door County peninsula to Sturgeon Bay. The 50-mile scenic run takes the participants through a fall color-filled course that winds through tourist-filled quaint small towns, a state park, and along the shores of the bay of Green Bay. The race starts before sunrise with about a hundred solo runners and then four waves of teams of 4 to 5 runners and some teams of two. Most of the solo runners don headlamps to light their way those first few miles as they await daylight. Many of the teams dress up in costumes in an attempt to win the all-important prize for the best costume at the end-of-race party.

As runners make their way across the finish line at Sunset Park in Sturgeon Bay, they usually get together with the rest of their team to revel in the day’s accomplishments. Once across that finish line, they celebrate with a few slices of the 600 pizzas served as music cranks and people hydrate with a few adult beverages.

The day was full of scenic opportunities for photographers like myself. I’d like to think I did a good job of capturing the epic fun of this scenic run. The phone call I got from race director, Sean Ryan, a few days after saying he had looked through the gallery of photos I sent him and that he really liked them meant a lot because of the significance of the assignment to me. When I was laying in that hospital bed in those days after the accident I wasn’t sure what the future was going to look like, but a year out I’m incredibly happy that it looks like this.

Thanks for looking!

Mike