ZOOMING OUT, BETTER STORYTELLING

Elbe River, Dresden, Saxony, Germany, May 26, 2024

We had met with a dear friend in one of the lovely beer gardens along the Elbe River in Dresden, Saxony and enjoyed a great time together. On the way back to the apartment we watched mighty thunderheads developing around us and with them the low sitting sun created some spectacular light in the sky and on the river.

I took a few pictures of the scene, zooming in on the clouds, with the sun beams as my subject, but wasn’t really happy with the results. I realized that it was more about where to place the different elements in the frame, the river with reflections, the steam boat, the silhouette of the building, and of course the position of the sun in the cloud. Zooming slightly further out made finally for better storytelling about location and time.

Nikon Z6II, Nikkor Z 24-70, f/4 S,   @ 43mm, 1/500 s, f/8, ISO 100

MISSISSIPPI RIVER STORIES 2024 #2 - WINTER, BUT WARM COLORS MAY HELP

Bluffs at Catfish Creek, Upper Mississippi Valley, Dubuque, Iowa

After all the snow we had here in the Midwest during the last couple weeks and the very cold temperatures that still remained today, I wanted to make one single photo that sums it all up, tells the story about winter here in the Upper Mississippi Valley. I drove around this weekend, mostly to places nearby and along the river that have the potential to deliver this kind of a story. Well, I got a few shots yesterday and recognized last night in front of the computer, nice photos but the story is not told the way it needs to be told.

So I went out again this morning with a recent blog post of acclaimed photographer Moose Peterson in mind, while thinking about my plans for the day. He called it ”Red Loves White!”. This very interesting article is about the iconic landscapes out west, Bryce, Zion, Arches NP, Grand Canyon, etc., and how these red rocks can really reveal their beauty with the addition of snow. (https://www.moosepeterson.com/blog/red-loves-white/)

I wasn’t really out for the rocky bluffs here in the Mississippi Valley and its side valleys. However, I thought how can I emphasize the presence of cold weather, snow loaded branches, or ice covered creeks in my photo? The answer I found in Moose’s blog post while thinking in reverse was, try to add some red, orange, or yellow to the wintry landscape! The closest place that came to mind was the Mines of Spain, the State Recreation Area just south of Dubuque, Iowa. Catfish Creek has hollowed out this side valley of the Mighty Mississippi River and has its confluence with the big river just a couple hundred yards behind the bend in my photo. I love what I found!

VISIT DURING ”MOON WHEN THE GRASS IS UP”

View from Sage Creek Rim Road at sunset, Badlands National Park, South Dakota

The month with daylight longer than in any other one comes slowly but surely to an end. The Sioux called this period of time ”Strawberry Moon”, ”Moon of Making Fat”, or ”Moon When The Grass is Up” (source: Saga of the Sioux, by Dwight John Zimmerman). The visit in Badlands National Park, one of my favorite places to be, was certainly a highlight in June for me. In my younger years I read a lot of books about the Native Americans that called this place home. Their stories about dealing with all aspects of nature, surviving in all kinds of weather, and hunting for bison and other wildlife to make a living have always fascinated me. The tragedy how they were conquered by white people still touches me and this is one of the reasons why I feel very emotional when I’m out west in these places. This time I finally was able to visit the site of the infamous Wounded Knee Massacre, just south of Badlands National Park.

Although more than 130 years ago there was certainly no road here on top of the Sage Creek Rim, but I’m sure the view to the southeast wasn’t much different for a hunter or warrior who came up here.

RETURN OF THE COLORS

Many of the wildlife photos we create in the wetlands along the Mississippi River can help to tell the story about the arrival of spring in the valley. A lot of birds are in their breeding plumage and some species are seen only during spring migration, when they use the Mississippi Valley on their route up to the arctic tundra. Snow Geese are a good example. But how about the vegetation? Well, the dried-up reeds and grasses from last year still dominate the landscape and frankly spoken neither look very photogenic, nor do they help to say, look spring is here. But we can turn around and look at the slopes below the rocky bluffs that mark the edge oft the valley. The fresh green in the trees wasn’t there a week ago and the bottom below the trees is covered with thousands of wildflowers. People that live in warmer areas year around and do not have such long and often gray winters may not fully understand why we long so much for those signs of spring. Yes, I love winter too, but it’s a great time when the colors return to the valley!

FALL COLORS CONTINUE

Cottonwood leaves cover the foreground almost completely but the focus is on these young willows next to the marina. In the background, on top of the bluffs over in Wisconsin, the colors continue.

Mississippi Valley, Mud Lake, Iowa

After a busy week in the noisy and glitzy city of Las Vegas, NV it was nice to enjoy the Sunday back home in the Mississippi Valley. The colors of autumn have passed their peak but there was still plenty to find that makes fall such a beautiful season here. Many trees in the valley have lost their leaves already and warm wind and rain this evening may end the golden and red fall beauty faster than we may like.

The Nikkor 70-200, f/4 with attached polarizing filter was the lens of choice. It allowed me to isolate my subjects from clutter, like dead leaves or already bare branches, or focus on light and colors in the distance.

The red leaves of the sumac are always an eye catcher.

Mines of Spain State Recreation Area, Dubuque, Iowa

I photographed this solitary tree at the beginning of my hike but a bare blue sky made it kinda boring. When I came back these clouds moved through and in addition the slight blur of the leaves told the story of a very windy but beautiful fall day much better.

Mines of Spain State Recreation Area, Dubuque, Iowa

Cottonwood leaves carpet the grass below the trees. The traces of fast decay make for an interesting texture beside the golden colors. Just another way to tell a story about autumn.

Mississippi Valley, Mud Lake, Iowa

SLIVER OF SKY

Young White-tailed Deer, Little Maquoketa River Valley, Durango, Iowa

The sun started to disappear behind the trees on the other side of our valley and there was a nice glow on the snow yesterday evening. Joan’s call, “deer in the front yard” made me leave my desk and run for the camera. A well known White-tailed Deer doe with her two fawns showed up and checked out if any seed droppings were left below our bird feeders. It was too late to open the window without scaring them away and so I shot again through the glass. This fawn looked towards the sunset and had its ears pointed in that direction as well. I have a number of images without that sliver of sky at the top of the picture but I chose this one here. The subtle glow on the fawns fur and on the few dead leaves at the left hand side of the picture become more obvious, or make more sense, by including this small piece of sunset sky. The spot is brighter than the rest of the picture, but not bright enough to prevent the viewers eye coming back to the beautiful face of the young deer. Enjoy the weekend!

Nikon Z6II, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, FTZ adapter,   @ 600 mm, 1/125 s, f/6.3, ISO 1000

MISSISSIPPI RIVER STORIES 2021 #10 - MIGRATION OF THE TUNDRA SWANS

Migrating Tundra Swans, Mississippi River, near Brownsville Minnesota

Right now one of the most interesting stories about fall migration happens here in the Mississippi Valley. Thousands of Tundra Swans migrate from the arctic tundra to the Chesepeake Bay at the Atlantic Ocean. On their way south they stop along the Mississippi River, and one of the best places to watch them is at a couple overlooks near Brownsville, Minnesota, just a few miles north of the Iowa border. The river is already freezing over in some of the backwaters. That means the swans may take off any day with more ice forming soon.

I have been at the Brownsville overlooks several times over the years with the camera and any time I ask myself, how can I tell a better story of this annual occurrence with my photos? It’s easy to take a wide angle lens, point it across the river, which is almost three miles wide at this place, and have thousands of wide dots in the picture. I do that for my own documentary purposes but those images do not make a good wildlife photo. 

So I try a little bit of everything, a single swan, a pair, or a family of Tundra Swans. It seems getting closer to a roosting place would help, but most of them are quite a bit away from the shore. On my way home I looked at a certain bay and got lucky. The bay was already frozen over and became a roosting place for the swans. With the sun disappearing fast behind the bluffs on our side of the river and the shadow line creeping forward across the ice, it was the right time to make a photo that tells a story about fall migration of the Tundra Swans.

All images: Nikon D750, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, Sigma APO Teleconverter 1.4x EX DG, Induro GIT 404XL tripod, Induro GHB2 gimbal head (last photo without tripod)

BRAVING OUT ANOTHER STORM

Another winter storm hit the area again a couple days ago. I tried to capture a photo with some storytelling about and how the birds brave it out. It doesn’t really need much to give the viewer an idea. The snow covered branch and the snow trails in the background set the stage for this male House Sparrow. Shutter speed had to be slow to make a trail and here 1/50 second at f/8 was used to make the click. Some people don’t think it is worth their time to aim the lens at such an ordinary bird but I strongly disagree. They are part of our natural heritage and just because they are abundant doesn’t mean they are less important. And look at at this guy, isn’t he pretty?

MISSISSIPPI RIVER STORIES 2020 #8 - ICED OVER

I do not like to end the year without another ‘Mississippi River Stories’, as always, coming from the stretch of the river that borders Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Illinois. Although I have been at the river more than any other year, sadly my blog did not reflect that in 2020.

Mississippi River, Beach at Finleys Landing, Iowa, December 26, 2020

I took our dog Cooper yesterday to Finleys Landing, a small marina and county park that includes a beach, very popular during the summer. This time we had it for ourselves. No snow this Christmas, but the cold temperatures we got a few days ago froze parts of the Mississippi in high speed. You may look at these images and think this was the result of several weeks, but fast dropping temperatures and the immense force of the mighty Mississippi created this landscape of ice sculptures. You literally can hear how the big river changes its shape every minute…

The Nikkor 70-200, f/4 was the second most used lens this year, just hardly defeated by the SIGMA 150-500, my primary wildlife lens. I love the 70-200 and I’m pleased how it made its way into my landscape photography. It really helps to tell a story between a detail shot, like in the the first image, or a scene that gives a sense of location, as in the second photo.

NATURE CLICKS #473 - RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH

In my presentations about “Story telling in wildlife photography” I always emphasized to start shooting in your own backyard, garden, or anywhere around your place of living. That hasn’t changed and recently I made a few improvements to my own front yard “shooting gallery”, means the arrangements of bird feeders, bird baths, landing and perching places the birds can use during the cold season. Since we came back from our vacation about mid September we watched two Red-breasted Nuthatches that became frequent visitors in our yard. This seemed to be a little early, but however, they were some of the first birds that trusted the new arrangements and rewarded me with some great opportunities for making a click. Regarding light, the place is ideal during the hour before sunset, most likely also the time when I’m done with my day job and when undivided attention to the bird traffic is possible. The Red-breasted Nuthatches never remain much longer in a spot than 1-3 seconds, not always enough time to predict the shot, obtain focus on the bird, and finally make the click. I love when it works out and light, color, and gesture tell the story of this beautiful bird that may hopefully spend the winter here in eastern Iowa.

ENDLESS APPETITE

Great Egret, Mississippi Valley, Green Island Wetlands, Iowa

Here is another one from my last photo shoot with the Great Egrets in the Green Island Wetlands. No, this is not the same fish as in the last picture. The appetite of the egrets seems to be endless. This particular egret caught and ate four of them, all about the same size, within less than 20 minutes. This is great for us, who want to take storytelling pictures of these beautiful birds. Sure, the beautiful pose they make sometimes while standing motionless in the water is worth a click if the light supports it, but the catching or handling of their prey tells sometimes a more powerful story about their life and biology.

WEEKEND THOUGHTS

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

The story of our Ruby-throated Hummingbirds can be told in different ways and I’m very happy if I’m able to show them in their natural habitat. I have lots of photos of the hummingbird going back and forth drinking from one of our feeders. When I make a sharp picture, and of course do not have the feeder in it, I’m happy too. But is that really where to go with my photography about hummingbirds? Sure, I can fiddle forever about the technical aspects of a photo, but many technically perfect pictures lack the story about the animal. Still alright, if you contribute to the perfect bird guide book or app, but very few of us nature photographers do, and what’s left is just good storytelling about the animal. 

Thanks to Joan’s gardening efforts we have over 50 Bee Balm flowers in the front yard at the moment. Prime food for the Ruby-throated Hummingbird! They still get the most energy out of the hummingbird feeders, hanging from the edge of the porch, but for a good photo the flower environment beats anything else.

THE FLICKER'S STORY

Male Northern Flicker

The last couple mornings brought us some sunlight and combined with woodpeckers getting closer to their mating season, the colors of their feathers are at their best. The ground is soft and the Northern Flickers are in the grass and probe with their bills in the soil for insects. It is believed that they eat ants more than any other North American bird, but right now it is a little bit to early for their preferred food.

At this time of the year it is a good habit to have the camera with the long lens mounted on a tripod and always ready to shoot. You never know what shows up in the morning and if there is an interesting sighting, you might miss the opportunity to make a good click if the gear is not ready.

I talk a lot about the storytelling in our images, especially during my presentations, and it is always valid to ask yourself, “what is the story in the photo?”. It might be possible to get a shot of the flicker with his bill in the ground, mostly with the eyes closed, but is it desirable and will be a pleasing photo? I’m not so sure. The flicker in the grass, holding still for a few seconds, while watching out for predators, is a great moment to make the click. The little bit of dirt on its bill tells the story about its feeding habits. The colors of the flicker’s feathers, the old dried up leaves and faded grass, together with the first green of the season leave no doubt what time of the year the picture was taken. And there is your story…

JOIN THE PRESENTATION

Whimbrel, Bolsa Chica Ecological Preserve

Tomorrow I give another photo presentation about STORYTELLING IN WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY. The Dubuque Audubon Society has invited me to be the presenter at their monthly meeting. The event is free and open to the public.

Here are some questions I like to answer:

  • How to start with wildlife photography, even with a small camera and lens?

  • Where are good locations that are easy to access in and around the Mississippi Valley ?

  • How can we become better storytellers with our photos?

  • How about safety and ethics?

  • What other locations outside of Iowa would you recommend?

I have a number of new photos that made it into the presentation. If you live in or around Dubuque and the Tri-State area, please join me tomorrow night

Thursday, February 13, 2020, 6PM @ the EB Lyons Interpretive Center at the Mines of Spain, 8991 Bellevue Heights Rd, Dubuque, IA.

I hope to see you there!

SLOW SHUTTER SPEED, STILL GOOD FOR THE STORY

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

There are many ways to make a picture of a hummingbird. Some people may like to present every single feather to the viewer and ‘nuke’ the birds with tons of flash light in order to freeze the action or obtain depth of focus. This is perfectly fine if counting every feather is important for the story, like maybe in a bird guide book. With still photography it remains a challenge to tell the story of an extremely fast moving bird and even lots of video footage I have seen doesn’t always meet the expectations. For me it is natural to have at least the wings blurred in order to tell the story of the extremely high frequencies of their wing beats. When the hummingbirds hover for parts of a second in front of a flower or a feeder their body seems to stand still and this is the moment I use for my photos. The metadata of yesterday’s shooting in our front yard show that the exposure was between 1/50 s and 1/320 s. The photo above was shot with a shutter speed of 1/125 s. Sure, the rate of keepers versus misses is not the same as shooting your coin or stamp collection, but hey, the fun is at least ten times bigger… 😉