Grand Opera House

The Place We Call Home

“Shenanigans”

Posted on Mar. 1, 2023 by Grace Olson

Ryan Lanning was moonlighting as one of the New Dublin Leprechauns when he chose to capture this moment in 2021. “It was a staged shot of a Leprechaun sitting on the top of the city limits sign (he eventually fell off) trying to catch a hammer thrown by another Leprechaun for a live television shot,” READ MORE

“On Frozen Pond”

After a socially distanced celebration with her sister during the first Christmas of the pandemic, Lori Gelbke used one of her new gifts, a camera, during a visit to Neenah and Lake Winnebago. “When I got there, I discovered people taking walks and some young men finishing a game of hockey,” she says. “I took READ MORE

“Final Rays of the Day”

Jim Ruzicka was driving back home to Neenah after an afternoon looking for owls and other wildlife to photograph when, all of a sudden, a normal sunset turned into a spectacular light show. “As the clouds split the rays into individual light beams crossing the sky, I pulled over to capture the moment,” he says. READ MORE

“Sunset at High Cliff”

Due to the pandemic, Catherine McKenzie says she and her husband explored many parks and natural areas around the Fox Cities, even in the dead of winter, just to get out of the house. On February 12, 2021, “we went to look at the ice roads on Lake Winnebago and decided to visit High Cliff READ MORE

“Berry Bandits”

Heather Landers often drives around her hometown of Kaukauna looking for birds, owls and wildlife with the goal of catching them in action. So much so that she recalls a funny incident while capturing these “berry bandit” cedar waxwings in a residential area. “I was sitting in my car (when) an elderly woman drove by READ MORE

“Autumn Glow”

It was a warm and sunny day when Kimberly Henrickson arrived at Riverside Park in Neenah to capture the scenery. “The sunshine was shining so beautifully through the leaves causing them to glow,” she says. “In this photo, I was looking up through the tree and it was the striking radiating glow of the leaves READ MORE

“Crackling of the Fire”

On a clear evening in Gresham with a calm lake in the background, Patrick Rothe simply heard crickets and the crackling of the fire that spurred him to capture an image to remember such serenity. “There is just a lot going on in the world right now and sometimes something as simple as a clear READ MORE

“Where the Corn Grows”

Lesley Vroman and her family were enjoying a walleye fish fry at the Jackson Family Farm in Winneconne last August when her kids began playing with child size John Deere tractors. “I remember the night being so beautiful with the cloudy sunset and the colors of the farm,” she says. “I quickly grabbed my daughter, READ MORE

The Place We Call Home

Posted on Jun. 1, 2022 by Grace Olson

Catherine McKenzie took this photo at the 2021 Flag Day Parade in Appleton. “I was at the end of the parade route when the marvelous 2d Marine Division Band marched by—they were so impressive,” she says. “As a former band kid, I appreciated their impeccable marching and playing. I photographed the band as a whole READ MORE

The Place We Call Home

Dave Hall of Appleton took this photo of the Algoma lighthouse last March. “I was taking pictures of the Milky Way earlier that morning at Cave Point and the Sturgeon Bay light. I was excited to catch the sun peeking around the lighthouse as it rose,” he says. “A single picture never does a scene READ MORE