Lake Owen Boat House, originally uploaded by tomkellyphoto.

One of my most enjoyable memories of 2011 were the days spent aboard the pontoon on Lake Owen with Bill and Ralph, my guides as I photographed for a pictorial book on the Northern Wisconsin Lake. This particular photograph became my favorite from the moment we turned into this bay one August morning.

Lake Owen has an amazing history, originally settled during the logging boom of the late 19th century. Top to bottom it measures nearly 12 miles with over 1,300 acres.

While I have much background in the Cable Lakes region, I had not spent much time on Lake Owen (other than living in a non-winterized cabin the winter of 1977-78). So as we cruised the bays and channels, I was in constant awe of the scenery.

We were blessed with perfect shooting conditions each day. Making images from a pontoon boat isn’t the most stable, but a tripod, calm waters and good boatsmanship from Captain Bill made it all worthwhile.

Most of the boathouses on the lake date back 50 more years. And with present regulations, you can’t build, remodel or substantively repair the existing structures. At some point in the foreseeable future, they will go away. That will be a sad day.

This particular boathouse struck me for its vivid red with green trim, reflected in the calm sunrise mornings.

The image was made with a Nikon D300 fitted with a Nikkor 70-300 zoom on a Manfrotto tripod.