WEEKEND IN WISCONSIN’S NORTHWOODS

Popple River, Forest County Wisconsin

I spent the weekend in the Northwoods of Wisconsin at a friend’s cabin, to be more precise, in the woods north of Crandon and Laona. With every mile I drove further north fall colors appeared more sparsely. In addition gray skies dominated the weekend’s weather. I still tried to find ways to tell the story with the camera about the changes at the end of the fall season.

I have photographed from this bridge, crossing the Popple River, several times in the past. My older photos show it mostly frozen, with a layer of snow on top. Most leaves were gone already but the patches of grass lead the eye to the background, where some fall colors tell us, it’s not all over yet.

Full moon revealed, near Double Bend Road, Forest County, Wisconsin

The rain had moved out of the area and the almost full moon started peeking through the clouds. The light and mood of the scene reminded me of paintings by German Romantic landscape painter Casper David Friedrich (1774 - 1840). A light at the cabin to my left gave the tree trunks some structure. It is very subtle, but made the difference instead of rendering the trees just as a silhouette and nothing but black on the lower part of the photo.

Most of the maples had lost their leaves already but I found this young maple on an island in a bog. I removed carefully everything bright below this branch to keep the background as dark as possible. After this little bit of preparation it was an easy click.

I’m always amazed about the variety of different tree species up north. On the small island in the bog near the cabin we found pine, fir, spruce, maple, birch, arborvitae, and others. With the absence of popping colors, even in the sky, the camera was set to black and white with a red filter effect applied, making the shape of the trees the subject of the image. Although the arborvitaes are evergreen trees, the may shed some of their leaves. Here they covered the forest floor and gave me another reason to make this photo.

Cascade in the Little Popple River, Forest County Wisconsin

The tinted water at this cascade is a good indicator that the river flows through a boggy and peaty landscape, shaped by the glaciers a long time ago. This was shot handhold at 190 mm focal length and 1/20 sec. exposure time. I wanted movement in the water but also keep some of the details and not making it just some ”chocolate milk” flowing over the rocks.

ONLY ONE

Rainy day deep in the woods, Forest County, Wisconsin

The last three days were spent in and around a friend’s cabin up in the Northwoods of Wisconsin. I had high hopes to come back with a few photos that tell the story about a landscape “five minutes before winter”. It didn’t happen. The weekend was marked with rain and a uniform gray sky. I had an image in my head, with fog and maybe some good spot light that would help to draw the attention away from the bare deciduous forest that had lost its colorful leaves already. Again, it didn’t happen.

But at least there was this short moment, when the endless rain slowed down a little bit and the different layers of conifers in the background became visible. The trunks of the birches stood out and a few remaining leaves in the foreground left no doubt about the time of season. Only one picture in three days? Yes, getting skunked is sometimes part of the game in nature photography. Well, we stacked some wood for the winter, raked some leaves around the cabin, made repairs, had some good food on the stove, drove around in the rain in search for a picture opportunity, and stopped at the local bar. Yep, only one photo, but we had a lot of fun too…! 😉

NATURE CLICKS #535 - EASTERN PHOEBE

Eastern Phoebe, Little Maquoketa River Valley, Eastern Iowa

A couple nights ago some frost came along, making for a chilly Saturday morning. It did not stop me to go out with the camera when I saw the movements of a flycatcher in the front yard. The bird turned out to be an Eastern Phoebe, a species I haven’t seen in a while. More often the phoebe is present here in spring and I believe I photographed it for the first time in the fall. There is a similar looking flycatcher around during the summer, the Eastern Wood-Pewee, but they migrate much further to South America, and the pewee left some time ago already. The Eastern Phoebe spends the winter in southeast North America and Central America.

I’m not the only one who calls this “killer light”, when a slightly muted sun in crisp fall air hits the scene. I had a great time sitting on the porch, sipping on a hot cup of coffee, and shooting away with the long lens and 1.4 teleconverter attached to the camera. The Eastern Phoebe is a lovely bird to watch. They pump their tail up and down while sitting on a perch (a pewee doesn’t do that). and look out for insects. As the air warmed up fast in the morning, the phoebe caught most of its prey just above the grass below. We may think, it’s cold, no insects, but the birds know where to find and how to feed on them.

LOOKING BACK

Blackwater Canyon, West Virginia, 2017

Fall is here with all its beauty. Leaves fall down by the thousands, finally some much needed rain arrived, cooler temperatures kicked in , and last not least colors unfold in the trees. I just don’t find the time this week to go out during day light and capture the beauty with the camera. However, exactly five years ago we spent some time in Blackwater Canyon State Park in West Virginia, at the peak time of fall colors. And of course, I still have some images I can share with you. Hopefully next weekend the camera comes out again here in the Upper Mississippi Valley. I can’t wait…

IT’S FALL, BUT STILL FEELS LIKE SUMMER

We went out this evening to look for the last signs of summer although fall is officially here. 

The numbers of blooming flowers in the remaining tall grass prairies area are dwindling but a few pretty ones can still be found around here.

We didn’t have a cold snap yet and it was a dry year, which means fall colors may not be as vibrant as we hope. Many leaves have hit already the ground but it is nice to see a few peaks of yellow or orange in the trees.

It seems like it is a better year for bees, wasps, and other pollinators. Not just in our yard, also on the prairie I recognize much more activity than during recent years, and that’s a good thing!

JUST LOOK FOR THEM

Little Maquoketa River Valley, Iowa

This photo was taken more than three weeks ago, down in our valley where the Little Maquoketa River meanders through the fields and meadows towards the Mississippi. I love the moody side of fall, with some leaves still present and fog hiding much of the clutter between the trees. The corn at the bottom of the picture was still waiting to be harvested, which by now is all done. On a gray day like this it is a much bigger challenge to tell a visual story about the season than with bold fall colors all over. It can happen I go home with still an empty memory card in the camera but sometimes the subtle things in the background make the image, we just have to look for them…

FALL COLORS - NORTHEAST IOWA AT ITS BEST

Turkey River, near Motor Mill, Iowa

The five photos I show you today don’t need a lot of text. Gorgeous weather and fall colors probably at their peak last weekend in Northeast Iowa. We pitched the tent for a night at Motor Mill along the Turkey River. Finding the colors wasn’t the problem, finding a way to let the light tell the story is the challenge that is left to us…

As always, a click on each photo gives you an enlarged view.

AUTUMN IN MINNESOTA #9

Looking out the window and seeing the snow that came down last night makes me want to think about something different. This was already the fourth time this season and with temperatures forecasted at -15º C (5º F) for tonight, it is a save bet to say, winter has arrived. About a month ago, back in Itasca State Park, Minnesota, fall colors were at their best. Alright, let’s wallow a little bit with those colors for now…

AUTUMN IN MINNESOTA #7

Tamarack River, Big Bog State Recreation Area, Minnesota

The most memorable morning during our tour through the Northwoods of Minnesota was in the Big Bog State Recreation Area. Big Bog has been called Minnesota’s last true wilderness. The 500-square-mile peat bog is the largest in the lower 48 states. We had pitched our tent right at the Tamarack River, not far from where the river enters the Red Lake. Winter can come early in this part of the country and on October 12 we had our first snow fall of the season. It wasn’t really cold, the light was just gorgeous, and we enjoyed the transition between autumn and winter very much. A few hours later it all melted away…

The “queen” leaves the “snow palace”

All images: Nikon D750, Nikkor 24-120mm / f4

 

AUTUMN IN MINNESOTA #1

Split Rock Creek State Park, Minnesota

Just back last night from a 16-day trip through mainly the north of Minnesota we have hardly time to unwind. I’m flying out to Dallas, TX for another trade show of the printing industry tomorrow, but like to keep the readers of my blog in the loop. Joan, our dog Cooper, and I went on another tent camping vacation. With fall colors in mind we searched again for the quite and joyful moments in nature and did not get disappointed. I will post photos during the next few weeks about this trip, but due to business travel it might be infrequent at times.

We started out in the southwest corner of Minnesota and pitched our tent for two nights at Split Rock Creek State Park, Why? I will get to this point in a later post.

Split Rock Creek is dammed up and many geese use the lake as a safe resting place during the night. Scouting the lake shore the morning before led to this photo at sunrise on day two. The Canada Geese stayed together for the night and gaggle after gaggle took off shortly after the sun was up in its full beauty.

FALL LIGHT, UNBEATABLE…

Bankston County Park, Middle Fork Little Maquoketa River, Iowa

It’s definitely fall, the leaves started to come down, but we don’t have really the fall colors yet. It needs a cold snap to make that happen but at the other hand we are not unhappy that temperatures are still in the “summer range”.

I love autumn, its colors, and the quality of light that follows the haze of summer days. Bankston County Park is located in a lovely valley along the Middle Fork Little Maquoketa River and was the destination for a short hike with the dog this evening. Every location where the rocks are exposed here in eastern Iowa reminds us that this was once just the bottom of a shallow sea millions of years ago. Just before the sun disappeared behind the ridge a shaft of “killer light” hit the layered rocks on the other side of the small river.

I underexposed by 2/3 of a stop. This hides some of the debris from recent flooding and brings out the colors of the rocks. An easy click that put a smile in my face…

Nikon D750, Nikon Nikkor AF-S 70-200mm, f/4G ED VR

FALL IS OVER

White-breasted Nuthatch, Little Maquoketa River Valley, Iowa

Oh, you see some white aside from the bird’s body and between the trees in the background of this photo? You got it! We had our first snow a couple days ago and it took until today to melt it. With the snow came a bunch of Dark-eyed Juncos from the north, who will spend the winter here, and their arrival is always the best indicator that autumn is almost over. It was a gray weekend again and the best I can come up with is this photo of a White-breasted Nuthatch in its typical position on a tree trunk.

DOES SUMMER HAVE AN END?

To my friends and family in Germany I always describe September as a month that has in general still the character of summer here in Iowa, This is in particular true for this year. During the last few days unusual high temperatures made life a little uncomfortable for people like me, who love a more moderate climate. This all had to come to an end and this evening thunderstorms crossed the country and will continue to cool down the air in the next 24 hours. With thunderstorms come big, puffy clouds. If you follow my blog since a while you know already that I like to make clouds the subject of photos in my landscape photography quite often. I just love how clouds, and the ever changing light that comes with them, can create drama in a landscape. If in addition a string of Canada Geese crosses the sky, the shutter of my Nikon D750 is rattling… Oh, I love fall, even if it still feels like summer…😉

AT THE BOTTOM OF THE CANYON

White Pine Hollow State Preserve, Iowa -----

After a week in Chicago I was longing for a real nature experience, away from urban areas, and I don’t know any better place around here than White Pine Hollow State Preserve near Luxemburg, Iowa. This is rugged terrain and getting down to the bottom of this canyon took some hiking efforts and requires solid boots and an outfit that can withstand thorns and stinging nettles. If you make it, you will be rewarded by solitude and a beautiful nature. The recent flash flood has changed the canyon, rocks have been moved and some of the gullies are a lot deeper. The leaves have started falling off the trees, although we don’t have really fall colors here yet.

Contrast becomes very high if the sun is out and exposure can be a problem. Starting the hike in the afternoon, when the light became softer but still reached the bottom of the canyon, was the way to go today.

MISSISSIPPI RIVER STORIES 2016 #11 - FALL COLORS

Mississippi River overlook near Guttenberg, Iowa ----------

My business commitments required a trip to La Crosse, Wisconsin today and driving the “Great River Road” along the Mississippi towards Minnesota is probably my favorite drive from Dubuque, Iowa. Last weekend Joan and I where just up in this most beautiful part of Iowa again for another camping trip. We had great weather, still warm and sunny, but I didn’t bring home many pictures that told the colorful story of fall.

Four days can make a big difference here at this time of the year. We had a lot of rain in the last days and many of the leaves in our valley came down. Most importantly those leaves still hanging from the trees got finally a real color change. On my way back this evening I stopped at several places at the big river to look again for migrating birds and took the time to capture the essence of autumn. We had a heavy overcast and even some rain sprinkles today but the range of light was reduced to 3-4 f-stops, which to me means “great light” for revealing the warm colors without glare. 

All images: Nikon D750, Nikkor 24-120mm / f4

The water level of the Mississippi raised again after all the rain of the last couple days. Many islands and parts of the backwaters are submerged in water. I have seen this fallen tree sticking in nothing but mud before and would have never thought of getting the camera out of the bag. Well, it is impossible for me to just walk by if nature reveals its beauty in such artful way. I know, some may see only a dead tree sticking in the muddy waters of the Mississippi…