OZARK MOUNTAINS (9)

Ferns and lichens, Petit Jean State Park, Arkansas

While I’m writing this blog post snow comes down and will probably not stop before tomorrow afternoon. Well, it’s a good reason to post a photo with some green in it. In my first article about the Ozarks I talked about the challenge to find interesting details in late fall, when most leaves were gone already. These ferns and lichens on a rock wall along Cedar Creek in Petit Jean State Park, Arkansas are a good proof that beauty in a landscape is not just found at the great vistas. I’m pretty sure I will process this image as a black & white sometime later but for now, let’s enjoy some color.

Nikon Z6II, Nikkor Z 24-70, f/4 S, GITZO tripod GT2931 Basalt, KIRK BH-3 ball head,   @ 70mm, 1/50s, f/8, ISO 800

WHAT’S LEFT

The vegetation here on the bluff tops and down in the valley has passed its prime and finding a patch of ferns, flowers, or herbs that isn’t fading becomes difficult. It was a rainy Sunday and during a walk with our dog Cooper in the valley I kept my eyes on the ground, always looking for a little light that may make a difference. Using black & white as the medium to tell the story about what’s left from the beauty of these ferns seemed right to me.

FIRST FALL PHOTOS

We pitched our tent in Wyalusing State Park, Wisconsin this weekend and were rewarded with wonderful and sunny fall weather. Located at the confluence of the Wisconsin and Mississippi rivers, the bluffs and valleys of Wyalusing belong to the same drift-less area we call home. The leaves just started to change colors although many are still green. The air was crisp and clear, other than the haze we see often during the summer, and this gives the light a different quality. I wanted to challenge myself and took only one prime lens with me during our hikes in the park, the SIGMA 150/ f2.8. My older version of this lens is a little slow with focus, but this doesn’t play a big role when hunting for light and colors in the woods is the goal.

 

LOOKING DOWN, MANDATORY IN BAD WEATHER

Pukaskwa National Park, Ontario, Canada

When we have to deal with a gray overcast and maybe drizzle or rain it is tempting to leave the camera in a safe and dry place while going on a hike. By doing so it is guaranteed that most of the time we would just skip opportunities that may lead to a shot the “fair-weather-shooter” will probably never see. This is not the time for the great vistas but by keeping the eyes on the ground, between the rocks, bushes and trees, you will come back with a nature shot that is at least not the same the guy before you had already posted on the internet.

We had such a day while camping and spending time in Pukaskwa National Park, Ontario, Canada. I actually get excited if fast moving clouds, wind, and weather provide moments a bald, uniform blue sky will never deliver. Hiking through rugged terrain on the Manito Miikana trail, on a peninsula surrounded by the waters of Lake Superior, we saw this spot with rocks, ferns, moss, and lichens. Light wasn’t there in abundance but enough to make the click at 1/30s, f/8, and ISO 640. Sure, I could have made the picture at f/4 to get a faster shutter speed but I really wanted more depth of field since my subject wasn’t just the ferns but the whole scene. See the reflections on the ferns caused by the rain water? Yep, I left the polarizer in the camp site…😏

 

GOING FOR THE GRAPHIC

We move rapidly into the second half of summer and many plants and wildflowers loose already their lush color and started drying up. I wanted to make a photo of this fern since quite some time because its shape and pattern fascinates me. It has a bold graphic and I like to see it on my office wall. I had a first try a few days ago already but didn’t like my results. But today I realized I was almost running out of time because many of the ferns down in the Little Maquoketa Valley started loosing shape. 

The Carl Zeiss Distagon T*, 35 mm, f/2 ZF with its manual focus is a great lens for this kind of photo. Closing it down to f/16 gave me enough depth of field for all leaves being in focus, even the ones in the second and third layer behind the front. Exposure time dropped to 1/13 s and therefore it was important not having any wind. I shoot more than 99% of my photos by using the viewfinder for composition and focus. Because the camera was low on the tripod and with only manual focus it made sense to use the screen in the back of the D750 instead of the viewfinder. It’s hard to break old habits but I actually liked it this way. It allowed me to keep my eye glasses on the whole time (I usually take them off while shooting through the viewfinder). This would not work with a moving critter and most of my wildlife photography but I start reconsidering how I may photograph landscapes in the future. I believe it makes me more thinking about composition, about what is in the frame and what is not…