MISSISSIPPI RIVER STORIES 2019 #09 - ARRIVAL OF CELEBRATION BELLE

Ice Harbor, Mississippi River, Dubuque, Iowa

Great clouds, combined with a short rain shower, made for good shooting conditions this evening at the Ice Harbor in Dubuque, Iowa. I took our dog Cooper for a walk on the dyke, a little further north of this place. Well, I call it a “dog walk” but sometimes he just sits patiently next to me while I’m fiddling with the camera on tripod. I tell you what, he probably understands how photography works… 😊

While taking a few shots of the old railroad bridge that crosses the Mississippi over to Wisconsin, I suddenly saw the CELEBRATION BELLE coming up the river from LeClaire, Iowa and taking a turn towards the harbor. We jumped into the car and drove down the short distance. It takes time to maneuver this big boat through the small entry and flood gates of Ice Harbor, giving me enough time to find a good position. The TWILIGHT was also docked in the port and I rushed to find a shooting position where both Mississippi River boats and the clouds would line up perfectly. The spot was found while the first passengers exited the CELEBRATION BELLE. The image was made with the Nikkor 16-35, f/4 at 16 mm focal length and the BREAKTHROUGH 2-stop GND filter attached. The rain shower earlier made the wood of the pier wet and darker. It takes out the glare and makes the pier a good part of the composition that doesn’t compete with the bright subjects in this photo.

MISSISSIPPI RIVER STORIES 2018 #04 - TWO RIVER BOATS IN DUBUQUE

Queen of the Mississippi, Dubuque, Iowa

The tip came from Pamela, the Communications Manager of the Dubuque Camera Club. I'm thankful she let us know that two Mississippi river boats were heading north and would be today in the port of Dubuque, Iowa. The time window is not very long before they head south again and so I went to town in the morning, shortly after the “Queen of the Mississippi” had arrived. Not the best light for photographing such beautiful river boats but it was still workable. I have photographed the “Twilight” before but the “Queen of the Mississippi” was a first. Back in the port this evening, both boats were gone but the quality of light was so much better…

Twilight

MISSISSIPPI RIVER STORIES 2016 - #6

Nikon D750, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM Sports Lens, tripod, Induro GHB2 gimbal head, 1/2500s, f/8, ISO200, @ 150 mm

When I was recently in Germany several friends were asking me to show more photos about the area where we live. Well, the recurrent readers of my blog know that I’m not a fan of the “postcard views”, the pictures that are taken just because the camera owner (sometimes referred as the photographer 😉) was at a location and had to make the click, no matter what time of the day it was and how the light effected the scene.

The subject in the photo above can be photographed several times every day during the summer here at lock & dam #11 in Dubuque, Iowa. The tugboats that move up to fifteen barges up or down the Mississippi River are a great subject for photography. The photo was made at 6:23 PM, and parts of the river had been already in the shade.

Exposing strictly for the highlights makes this image work for me. Exposure compensation had to be dialed in at -1EV. If the shutter speed is still at 1/2500 s, nothing can go wrong. You don’t even need to pan really with your camera to make this shot. The flying pelican was shot at 1/1250 s, still a fast shutter speed, but without panning this would have been a blurry mess.

Nikon D750, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM Sports Lens, tripod, Induro GHB2 gimbal head, 1/1250s, f/8, ISO200, @ 600 mm

While in California last week a conversation with one of my customers came up about the Mississippi River. We both agreed that the river looks always muddy, no matter what time of the year. It is no secret that the top soil of the former prairie erodes away, left and right of the river’s path to the south. If you zoom in closely at my first image, you can see the real color of the water at the back of the vessel, stirred up by the ship’s propellor. At the other hand, the surface of the river has an almost intriguing blue color. We all know it is just the reflection of the sky. Knowing about our light source, direction, reflection, and what ever else may influence our image can make the difference between just wasting time or come back with the photo we have in mind.

THUNDER HEADS OVER DRESDEN

Dresden, Saxony, Germany

Spending time with my German family and friends is priceless. Yesterday we made a trip by train to the more than 1000 years old city of Meissen and returned to the capitol of my home state Saxony Dresden by paddle river boat. The famous skyline of Dresden was crowned by big thunder heads. You can’t ask for more as a photographer…