BEAVER MOON

Moonrise over the Mississippi River, Mud Lake, Iowa

Today the full moon was at its closest point to the earth this year in its orbit, making it look up to 14% larger and also brighter than a typical full moon. In November it’s called the Beaver Supermoon.

The interesting part for the photographer was the fact that moonrise and sunset were pretty close together. At the location where I made this photo moonrise was at 4:38PM and sunset was at 4:50PM. It takes about 12-13 minutes before the moon appears over the bluffs on the Wisconsin side of the Mississippi River, with other words it was almost identical with sunset time. Why was that important to me? It leaves some light on the landscape, at least a little glow. I exposed for the moon in order to keep the details alive and not to blow out the highlights. The woods on the other side of the river appear at first darker, but there is enough dynamic range in the RAW file to bring back the light in the trees as the human eye sees it. In this situation there is no need to make a composite out of two shots, one for the moon and another one for the rest, it all is the result of one click.

Nikon Z6II, Nikon FTZ adapter, Nikon Nikkor AF-S 70-200mm, Induro GIT 404XL tripod, RRS BH-55 ball head,    @ 200mm, 1/20s, f/8, ISO100

AUTUMN LIGHT IN B&W, MORE IMPACT

Autumn light at the Popple River, Forest County, Wisconsin

I shot at this location for the first time in January 2014 and since I have done it several times over the years. It is in the middle of nowhere, deep in the woods of northern Wisconsin, where a small bridge crosses the Popple River. I have paddled it this summer for the first time and wrote about here in the blog, and it was an incredible experience. In 2014 the ice on the river was covered with a real thick layer of snow and any time I have been there a different photo was made from the bridge.

Last weekend the sun shined some warm late afternoon light into the bend of the river, but with most leaves already gone, and a bald and boring blue sky, the color version of the picture didn’t really speak to me. With the reflections of illuminated trees on the water I knew a black and white version would be a possibility and that’s what in my opinion made for a fall photo with more impact at the end.

Nikon Z6II, Nikkor Z 24-70, f/4 S,   @ 70 mm, 1/400 s, f/8, ISO 400, image slightly cropped

EARLY MORNING MOMENT

A short view through the window this morning made me run for the camera. The settings for this shot are simple, f/22 for the sunburst and 7000 Kelvin for the white balance. There wasn’t enough time to set the tripod up for a long exposure of 0.4 seconds and so I just put the camera body on the railing of the balcony. A little breeze made the leaves moving slightly but I don’t think it hurts the mood of this moment during the early morning.

Nikon Z6II, Nikkor Z 24-70, f/4 S,   @ 37 mm, 0.4 s, f/22, ISO 640

BIRDING IN THE NORTHWOODS OF WISCONSIN

Bastile Lake, Forest County, Wisconsin

I spent an extended weekend at a friend’s cabin up in the Northwoods of Wisconsin. Much of the area belongs to the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest or is private land and is the home of White-tailed Deer, Black Bears, wolves, and other critters. Although I saw a young bear in August this year, my aim was to find a small bird again, some Snow Buntings migrating south. However, luck was not on my side, a flock of these fast moving birds came in sight a couple times, but never close enough for a photo. The picture below was shot already in 2023.

Snow Buntings, near Newald, Wisconsin, October 28, 2023

A few American Tree Sparrows were more cooperative and posed nicely while foraging for seeds in the vegetation beside a gravel road.

American Tree Sparrow,

Nikon Z6 III, Nikon NIKKOR Z 600 f/6.3 VR S, Benro MSDPL46C SupaDupa Monopod, Monopod Gimbal Head

TWO WAYS

Fall colors in Backbone State Park, eastern Iowa

Although it was at the same location, in Iowa’s Backbone State Park, and the shots were made only a few minutes apart, each scene required a different way to tell a story. The road through the woods crosses Fenchel Creek several times, a tributary to the Maquoketa River and very popular for trout fishing. With the jam of leaves in the foreground and the beautiful colors of the maple in the back, I had to stop and capture the arrangements of nature.

Nikon Z6II, Nikkor Z 24-70, f/4 S,   @ 70 mm, 1/4s, f/16, ISO 200, Polarized filter, GITZO tripod GT2931 Basalt, KIRK BH-3 ball head,

Former trout hatchery, Backbone State Park

Ten minutes earlier I stopped at a former trout hatchery that was operated until 1987. It was constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in the 1920s. The most visible remains of the hatchery are the circular ponds and this geometrical pattern triggered my desire to present the photo in black and white. No, I didn’t kill much of the fall colors, green dominates the scene, not just by the grass around the ponds, but the pines in the background hide most of the maples in the back. Well, the sky was just gray and I know a better picture can be made. A good reason to go back to the state park sometime soon…

Nikon Z6II, Nikkor Z 24-70, f/4 S,   @ 27 mm, 1/8s, f/16, ISO 200, Polarized filter, GITZO tripod GT2931 Basalt, KIRK BH-3 ball head,

TAKE IT NOW

Sunset over the Little Maquoketa Valley, eastern Iowa

This photo was made three days ago here in our woods and I’m pretty sure today it wouldn’t have turned out the same way. We had two very windy days and a lot of leaves came down and opened up the canopy quite a bit more. There is a lesson I learned some time ago and it was confirmed again with this shot, take the image now, when the light seems to be right, don’t wait for another chance with maybe even better light, it wouldn’t be the same, no matter what you do.

Nikon Z6II, Nikkor Z 24-70, f/4 S, GITZO tripod GT2931 Basalt, KIRK BH-3 ball head,

    @ 44 mm, 1/20 s, f/22, ISO 2000

IN RUGGED TERRAIN

Upper part of the Pine Creek Unit in the Driftless Area National Wildlife Refuge.

It was a perfect fall day with sunshine and warm temperatures yesterday and as mentioned in my last blog post the leaves suddenly got the colors of autumn. I went out west to revisit a couple areas with unique features that make the Driftless Area standing out from most parts of the Midwest. First I hiked into the Pine Creek Unit of the Driftless Area National Wildlife Refuge near Colesburg, Iowa. I had scouted this location already in early June and wrote about it here in the blog. It was recommended as a good birding location and here is a link to my earlier post: https://exnerimages.net/blog/2025/6/1/scouted-a-new-location

White-crowned Sparrow

Most birds have migrated south already but I found a few White-crowned Sparrows feeding on berries and seeds in the brushes at the edge of the woods. Nothing says more about the season than having the bird perched next to some ripe berries in a bush almost bare of its leaves.

Rugged slope in the Pine Creek Valley

This time I wanted to get a little deeper into the area. The slope down to the pine creek valley is very rugged and there are no trails at all. Be forewarned, thick and thorny underbrush make it a challenge to hike with photo equipment! However, with the turning leaves and a little bit of sunshine you will see some beauty, hardly found in any other part of Iowa.

FINALLY SOME COLORS

A week ago I was asking myself, will we get any fall colors before most leaves are on the ground? It was still quite warm this week and many leaves just dried up and tumbled down. Well, all what it took was a few colder nights and a little bit of rain and everything changed quickly.

A short walk into the woods behind the house early this morning was worth the effort. The sun wasn’t out, but that turned out to be a good thing and allowed to capture the mood of this early morning with some fog between the trees. The polarizer was attached to the lens to take away any glare from the leaves and using the tripod allowed to shoot with ISO 100 for a minimum of noise introduction.

Nikon Z6II, Nikkor Z 24-70, f/4 S,   @ 37 mm, 1.3 s, f/14, ISO 100, Polarizing filter, GITZO tripod GT2931 Basalt, KIRK BH-3 ball head,

MISSISSIPPI RIVER STORIES 2025 #6 - ISLAND CITY ATTRACTIONS

Sabula, Island city in the Mississippi River

Sabula, Iowa’s only city located on an island in the Mississippi River, has two technical attractions I always like to look at. The first is their old-style water tower, which seems to be well maintained. If the sun is on the structure this tower stands out and can make for a nice reflection on the water. I have photographed it many times before but with the beautiful clouds we had during my last visit I could not resist to get the camera out again.

Sabula Railroad Bridge

The other interesting structure that connects Illinois and Iowa across the Mississippi River is the Sabula Rail Bridge, a large through truss swing bridge. This time I was there at the right time. After a few small boats had just passed, the bridge started moving and was swiveled back and ready for the next train to get over it. It only took a few minutes and my photo shows it about half way closed. The clouds again made this shot stand out for me.

FOLLOWING THE CLOUDS TODAY

The whole week we had these wonderful puffy clouds here in the Mississippi Valley. Unfortunately they dissolve before the day ends. I thought it is worth a try to drive down already early afternoon today to the Green Island Wetlands, one of my favorite wildlife spots as the avid reader of my blog already knows.

I wanted to come back with some black and white images that tell the story about the landscape of the Green Island Wildlife Management area and maybe an idea what the clouds can do to enhance it. To get already a good preview into my mind how the final picture would look, I set the camera to monochrome mode and with a red filter setting applied, simulating the same way I would have photographed this scene back in the days of film. As I shoot always in RAW mode all the color information is still embedded in the file and it still allows me to tweak a certain color in post process for the final outcome.

How much impact clouds can have to emphasize a certain landscape can be comprehended by studying the work of Ansel Adams or Clyde Butcher. I admire the photography of Ansel Adams since a long time but discovered Clyde Butcher only a couple years ago through the book ”Seeing the Light” by Tom Shroder and John Barry. What an amazing life story and mesmerizing photography! I follow the Instagram posts of this renowned black and white photographer, humanitarian, and environmentalist, but if you like to just have a look, go to his website clydebutcher.com . Highly recommended!

MISSISSIPPI RIVER STORIES 2025 #5 - SUMMER AT ITS BEST

Nikon Z6 III, Nikon NIKKOR Z 600 f/6.3 VR S,   @ 1/2000 s, f/8, ISO 500

I haven’t posted another ”Mississippi River Story” since May but I like to do so at the height of the summer. The heat and very high humidity during the last weeks has been replaced by cooler temperatures, a bit of wind, nice puffy clouds at times, but we still had plenty of sunshine. All good reasons to get the kayak out for a couple paddle trips in the backwaters of the big river. The vegetation is lush and green and some flowers can still be found between the arrow heads and water lilies that grow everywhere in the Mud Lake area. The breeding season for most birds is almost over, it is a lot quieter on the water, and I had a lot less photo opportunities for wildlife. But there is always room for a surprise and a couple Great Blue Herons posed nicely within the range of the lens. I caught the first heron standing motionless in the water, like in the picture below. But the bird moved on and I missed the shot. At the second opportunity the wind pushed me almost too close to the bird but by reading its body language I knew a second ahead of time when the decisive moment would happen. This time luck was on my side.

Nikon Z6 III, Nikon NIKKOR Z 600 f/6.3 VR S,   @ 1/2000 s, f/8, ISO 500

Mississippi River, Mud Lake, Iowa,

Nikon Z6III, Nikkor Z 24-70, f/4 S,   @ 55mm, 1/320 s, f/11, ISO 100

I came back to the entrance of the marina at Mud Lake Park in the evening, hoping to get nice warm light on the puffy clouds we had all day long. Unfortunately the clouds dissolved very quickly due to the air getting drier. The blue boat came at the right time to rescue this photo. A couple minutes later the cloud show was over…

HAZY SUNSET AT LAKE SUPERIOR

Lake Superior, Porcupine Mountains Wilderness, Presque Isle, Upper Peninsula Michigan, 07/28/2025

While the grandkids enjoyed looking for interesting rocks on the beach and had fun playing with some other people’s dog, I had the camera on the tripod and watched how the light of the setting sun would effect the landscape along the lake.

The color of the sky and the haze in the air were the result of wildfires that burned up north in Canada and the smoke got even worse the following days. A big cloud on the horizon made for an early disappearance of the sun, but for a brief moment the rugged shoreline of Lake Superior got a warm touch as I was hoping for.

PADDLING IN THE NORTHWOODS

This juvenile Common Loon was still fed by its parents, but not every dive for food was successful. First time that I was able to make some clicks of loons with their offspring. Fay Lake, Florence County, Wisconsin

I’m back from two different trips to the Northwoods. The second one led to well known territory in northern Wisconsin. Most of the time I have been there for little ice fishing adventures with friends each year in January, but this time the kayak was on top of the car roof while traveling.

I like to share some photos from last weekend that were shot during three paddling trips. The wildfires up in Canada made for unpleasant air conditions and I didn’t really like how most of my landscape pictures turned out. However, there were some good encounters of wildlife, mostly birds, and I saw even a bear crossing the road. I hope you enjoy!

A pair of Trumpeter Swans navigated their five cygnets through the weeds into shallow water near the shore of Fay Lake.

Juvenile Spotted Sandpiper, Wabikon Lake, Forest County, Wisconsin

For almost four hours I enjoyed a paddling trip on the Popple River, deep in the woods of Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. No humans, no men-made noise, just the tranquillity of pure nature. It doesn’t get much better… 😊

EVER CHANGING LANDSCAPE

Cloudscape, near Remsen, Iowa

Many landscape photographers would probably not unpack their cameras in most parts of northwest Iowa. Flat land predominates and intensive agriculture use over more than a century has turned, what probably was once beautiful tall-grass prairie, into habitats with very little biological diversity. A trend we can see all over the world, including my home country Germany. Oh no, I’m not saying the area doesn’t have any charm, but you have to open your eyes, look into details, and most importantly watch how the weather develops to see the potential for a landscape photo.

We have been out west in Iowa’s Plymouth County this week for a family reunion (thank you Don & Shelly for hosting!). Shortly after our arrival at the farm I was intrigued by the clouds crossing the land and rushed down to the gravel road below in order to keep the utility wires out of the frame. I have photographed the place around this farm since many years and can see the changes. This is my first mage with wind turbines in the frame. They create an income for some farms that accepted them on their property, but I also learned that not everybody is happy with the noise…

Alright, let’s talk about the photography. I admit I didn’t have a black & white image in mind when I made the click. There were enough colors and color contrast I thought that would express my feelings. But back home at the computer I recognized the much better storytelling of this photo in black & white. It’s not an image with a lot of leading lines, it’s more about the eye wandering through the image. The highlights of the blooming grasses in the foreground lead to the light in the vegetation in front of this small river bank. But the eye finally goes to the clouds in the sky and after a second we can recognize the wind turbines even in the background.