SHAPES IN ICE #2

Middle Fork Little Maquoketa River, Bankston County Park, Iowa

Here in eastern Iowa we have a good number of small creeks and rivers. They all have one thing in common, their water ends up in the Mississippi River. Unless it has rained heavily and a lot of runoff from the fields comes down the valleys, their water can be crystal-clear. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) stocks some of the creeks with trout at times and people like to come for fishing. 

The Middle Fork Little Maquoketa River is such a stream. Last weekend a little bit of light got reflected by the rocks at the bottom and made for some color contrast to the thin ice at the river bank.

SHAPES IN ICE

Little Maquoketa River, Iowa

Time to calm down after last Friday’s excitement about birds and wildlife. We don’t have any snow on the ground but temperatures have ben below freezing at night and hoar frost and ice started creating natural shapes along the shores of our rivers and ponds. Let’s see if we can find some light there…

JEWEL CAVE

As a visitor of the Black Hills you have several options to visit a cave. We decided to see at least one and our choice was Jewel Cave, which is also a National Monument. There are books and websites out there that will tell you every geological and historical fact about this cave. We really enjoyed this visit and all the information we got from a very passionate ranger during our tour in the cave. Don’t miss it if you ever go to the Black Hills!

Within a few minutes being in the cave I figured out that it is impossible to catch the magnificence in just one “signature photo”. Instead I approached it with just composition and color in mind. I did not want to make just documentary shots. When the ranger asked who would volunteer to be the last person of the tour, to make sure nobody is left behind, my arm went up immediately. I may have missed some of the ranger talk, but being the last one leaving any part of the cave gave me a little more time for the extra shot without being pushed by another person.

The first image was made with the help of a speed light, which was used to throw some light into the foreground by pointing it towards the ceiling. Everybody who has a phone in their pocket can be a photographer these days, and I really believe this is a very good thing. As you can see in the lower right corner, I have not been the only one who was impressed by this cave and tried to capture the moment.

No flash light here, and by exposing strictly for the highlights, the black space around separates the viewer from this side track of the cave. Shapes and colors are talking.

This geological formation is called the “cave bacon”, and if you have ever watched how a piece of bacon changes its color if heated up in a pan, you know why… Oh boy, my good friend Anja will love the “meaty part” of this blog post…😉