UNDER THE CANOPY

Female American Goldfinch, Walnut Woods State Park, Iowa

This is a late post from last weekend. We spent a relaxing holiday weekend in and around Des Moines, Iowa with friends. Not much photography this time but I had a chance to explore briefly Walnut Woods State Park, a nice wooded area along the Raccoon River in West Des Moines. There was a blind for watching birds but I placed my tripod outside of the building and practiced for a while shooting under the canopy of the trees, challenged by constantly changing light conditions.

Gray Catbird, Walnut Woods State Park, Iowa

To maintain some consistence I employed the Nikon SB800 speed light with a little dome diffuser to pull out some shadows and get better results for the colors of the birds feathers. As always, the speed light was mounted with a flash bracket above the long lens, which allows for better direction of the light and prevents unwanted reflections in a bird’s eye.

We saw mostly the same bird species that we have here in our woods and so I looked just for the best ”posers” among them. Nothing spectacular, just pure shooting fun!

Nikon Z6II, Nikon FTZ adapter, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, Sigma APO Teleconverter 1.4x EX DG, Induro GIT 404XL tripod, Induro GHB2 gimbal head, Nikon SB 800 speed light,

RETROSPECTS 2020 - #12

Milky Way, Medicine Rocks State Park, Montana

I’m ending my retrospects not with a photo from December last year. For actual reasons I show you another image from Medicine Rocks State Park in eastern Montana, taken in September 2020. In December, the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) designated Medicine Rocks State Park in Montana a certified International Dark Sky Sanctuary. There are now 14 dark sky sanctuaries worldwide.

I consider myself a beginner for night photography. I’m looking into that for quite some time but I’m often discouraged by the light pollution we face most of the time, even in a not so densely populated area like here in eastern Iowa. Back in Montana last year it was just amazing and I’m not sure if any picture can reflect how gorgeous it really was. I have seen impressive skies before, for example back in the mid 80’s during backpacking tours in the Carpathian Mountains of Romania in southeastern Europe, but dark places like that become rare. We camped in Medicine Rocks State Park for two nights but only during the first the skies revealed some of their secrets…

If you followed patiently my retrospect series I like to thank you. I enjoyed sharing some of the photographic moments of 2020 with you again and I hope it helped to overcome the daily worries that might be larger than usual for some of you these days.

MEDICINE ROCKS - AFTER SUNSET

One of the numerous rock formations in the state park that are sacred to Native Americans, September 2020

It’s election day here in the US and most people have probably other things to do than browsing through photography and nature websites tonight. But if your blood pressure needs some adjustment, stop right here and have a look at this peaceful scene, shot after sunset in Medicine Rocks State Park, Montana. 😉

Nikon D750, Nikkor 70-200mm / f4, Induro GIT 404XL tripod, RRS BH-55 ball head,   @70 mm, 1/160s, f/5.6, ISO100

TONTO NATURAL BRIDGE

Tonto Natural Bridge, Arizona

There is one photo I still like to show you from my trip to Arizona three weeks ago. Not because it is overly pretty, but it took a few extra thoughts and efforts in the making. On my way back from Petrified Forest National Park to the airport in Phoenix I took a little side trip and visited Tonto Natural Bridge State Park. The bridge is located a few miles north of Payson in the mountains of Central Arizona. It is believed to be the largest natural travertine bridge in the world.

With very limited time on hand (never a good thing) and being there around 2PM, with the sun high in the sky, made me wonder if there was even a decent photo opportunity as I was driving down into the deep valley to the state park area. Another bummer, the access to the observation deck below the bridge was closed due to some high water damage. I had to make the best out of the circumstances at this visit for getting a photo but at least I wanted to see it.

The only way to manage the very high contrast scene was to bracket each image with five handheld shots (-2,-1,0,1,2EV). I’m really not a big fan of HDR but it is amazing how the technology inside of Adobe’s software has improved during the last years. Within a minute the five shots were lined up and merged into a DNG file in Lightroom. It still took some dodging and burning to balance the exposure locally.

I wanted a picture that made it clear that this was a natural bridge, with a little light from the other side, and showing some of the travertine structures. The cactus in the foreground and the pines, or their shadows in the canyon, give a better idea about this place. First I was tempted to remove the safety reeling on top of the bridge but than I realized that it gives this geologic wonder a sense of scale.

AUTUMN IN MINNESOTA #12

Bear Head Lake, Minnesota

Exactly a month ago we spent part of the day 2341 feet below the surface in the Soudan Mine, the deepest and oldest iron ore mine in Minnesota. It was operated until 1962. It is hard to imagine that the miners quite often didn’t see the sun at all during their working week. Thinking about that made us even more enjoy the crisp and clear moments around sunset, back in our camp at Bear Head Lake State Park.

Nikon D750, Nikkor 16-35mm / f4, GITZO tripod GT2931 Basalt, KIRK BH-3 ball head

2016 RETROSPECT / 8

Lake Superior, Split Rock Light House State Park, Minnesota, August 2016

The tour around Lake Superior during our vacation in August / September led to a lot of photography fun. At many places we stayed or just stopped I wished we would have more time. Sometimes I see the potential for a landscape image but a bald blue sky or heavy gray overcast makes me want to wait a few days until the sky comes up with more dynamic.

The water in this bay near Split Rock Light House in Minnesota was very calm and the light had a kind of mystic touch on this day in late August. Not very dynamic, but still appealing to me.

NOT SO FAMOUS LOCATIONS

Lake Carlos State Park, Minnesota

The chance that we can create a good nature photo increases dramatically if we go to an interesting location. Period! Well, we all know this is not always an option. Sometimes life stands in the way. So should we leave the camera in the bag or even at home any time we think the location is not worth any efforts? Of course not! Watching the light and colors, looking for interesting perspectives, or focussing on details can sometimes lead to a photograph at places that usually cannot compete with Yellowstone or the Grand Canyon.

On our way home from North Dakota last October we camped for one night at Lake Carlos State Park in Minnesota. Not a bad campsite, and at least at the end of the season there were not too many people. But every way I looked around, there wasn’t much I really wanted to photograph. It wasn’t until the sun had disappeared and left us with a nice glow on the shore, that I realized the potential for a shot. There was some “camping and boat clutter” between the trees in the background, which were cloned out for this image. The moon and the last light of the day made all the difference.

Earlier I tried to take some pictures of these Pied-billed Grebes on the lake. At that time the reflections on the water were just to bright and I didn’t get a shot that I liked. Ten minutes after the photo with the moon was shot I saw still the colors of the sky reflected on the water. Suddenly it wasn’t about a detailed shot of the birds anymore, it was just all about color and positioning the silhouettes of the grebes in the frame...