A convoy of tugboat and 15 barged going upstream
I’m following a famous photographer on social media who always claims, if my gear can do it, I can do it. I totaly agree and I’m not afraid of weather, and when a heavy rain started to come down last Saturday, I thought of it and just finished everything while the equipment got soaking wet. I guess it pays back to invest in cameras and lenses that have weather seals included in their design…
While eating lunch with friends in Clayton, Iowa, just a few feet away from the big river, I saw the barges being pushed upstream, the clouds changing dramatically within seconds, and just felt a picture opportunity is right around the corner.
It’s just amazing how the the tugboats manage to navigate a set of fifteen barges within the small channel that can be used for deep sitting loads in the Mississippi River. This convoy had nothing but coal onboard, probably heading to one of the last coal power plants upstream. I had the pleasure to see a coal powered plant disappear from the landscape not far from home in recent years and I’m pretty sure I will see this again. Coal has no future.
I have been able to remove any kind of digital noise from this image (an article about this topic will follow soon). What’s left is the texture a heavy rain can produce, and that’s what really makes for story telling in this photo. I really love how the light, coming from the back, sets the tugboat and the barges apart from the clouds and the rest of the Mississippi Valley.