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.

SUBJECT AND AMBIENCE

Lake Superior, Silver Bay Harbor, Minnesota

Over the years I discovered that making an image of just “the ambience” of a landscape seldom leads to a reasonable, story telling result. The lack of a clear subject is usually the reason for these frustrations. Sometimes it works but more often not. Imagine the photo above without the ship. The rocky islands did not offer enough to make it interesting and the “angel rays” coming through the clouds were not strong enough to make them a good subject. No waves on the lake didn’t help either. But there was this very soft, warm light and subtle reflections on the water creating a special ambience that I liked. The “LAKE GUARDIAN” came to my rescue as it approached the islands and rocky pier of Silver Bay Harbor, Minnesota. Suddenly the picture made sense to me…

 

SIGNS OF SPRING

Sandhill Cranes, Mississippi River, Green Island Wetlands, Iowa

I enjoyed shooting today with my friend Dave Updegraff, who is also an avid photography enthusiast and blog writer. We haven’t done this for a while and it was nice to catch up on things and share thoughts and news. We met in the Green Island Wetlands but I started off my photo trip in Dubuque. It got really warm today and I was surprised that the ice on the 16th Street Basin still covered the pond. I saw more than a dozen Bald Eagles and it took only a few minutes to walk away with the photo below.

There wasn’t much going on in the Green Island Wetlands in the early afternoon and Dave and I drove further south to the “Island City” Sabula, the only town in Iowa that is located on an island In the Mississippi River. Lots of Bald Eagles here as well, mostly sitting on the remaining ice or fighting about fish.

Bald Eagle, 16th Street Basin, Dubuque, Iowa

On the way back we scouted a different road along some backwaters of the river and saw in the distance Common Mergansers, Northern Pintails, and a larger number of Tundra Swans. Spring migration is in full swing already! They were all too far away for a decent photo, but nevertheless, I enjoy the bird watching part as much as the photography.

Dave had to go back home but I wanted to give the Green Island Wetlands another try. And there I found what I was hoping for today, a pair of Sandhill Cranes, foraging in the mud and shallow waters of the marshland. Another sign of a changing season was a pair of Hooded Mergansers. Again, too far away for a good picture (although I make documentary shots for tracking first seasonal appearance over the years). Finally, while on my way out of the wetlands, a huge flock of Red-winged Blackbirds landed in a tree. And this my friends, is here in Iowa for many people a sure sign that spring is knocking on the door…