Sage Creek Wilderness, Badlands NP, South Dakota
After a mostly cloudy and very windy and dusty day the sky started to clear and the sunset did the rest to add to the story of this evening in Badlands National Park last Saturday. When a show like this is over, a glass of wine tastes twice as good and while having an interesting conversation with another camper, a great day in the wilderness winds down perfectly…
Nikon Z6II, Nikkor Z 24-70, f/4 S, @ 24 mm, 1/50s, f/5.6, ISO 200
After five or six of gray and mostly rainy days this week the sun peaked out from behind the clouds. Joan, dog Cooper, and I took a ride in the car, heading south in the Mississippi Valley. A strong blowing wind had definitely an influence on the appearance of birds around the river and wetlands in the valley. Beside the usual suspects we saw a lot more ducks than during the last couple weeks. That doesn’t mean the photo opportunities have increased at the same rate. However, we came across two pairs of Blue-winged Teals. The leading male was already outside of the frame but the other three ducks stayed close together. Colder air temperatures than during the last weekends kept heat shimmer in bay and obtaining focus across the water wasn’t so difficult.
Little Missouri National Grasslands, North Dakota, September 2020
Some of the questions I wanted to find answers to during our vacation trip were, how can I make the dynamics in the sky at certain times part of my visual storytelling, or how can the fast movement of clouds be made visible in a still image? Therefor I have a lot experimented with neutral density filters. For example in the photo you see here, the Breakthrough 10-stop X4 ND filter extended a 1/40 s exposure up to 30 seconds at f/22. Much can happen in 30 seconds! The wind blew pretty strong that evening and it wasn’t just the clouds that were moving. As you can see, it also blurs part of the grass and the trees. First I thought that wouldn’t work well, but the rocks in the background become the anchor point for the eye. They are there since millions of years and as long as the tripod with the camera is not shaking, they will remain sharp. All the other elements, clouds, grass, sage brush, and trees show movement and let you hopefully feel the wind…
Lake Itasca, Minnesota
On our first evening, just before sunset, I watched this angler paddling to shore at the campsite of Itasca State Park. A little bit of rim light from behind made him standing out even in front of the darker background. A peaceful scene and an easy click at 200 mm focal length.
Ozawindib Lake, Itasca State Park, Minnesota
We brought our kayaks with us on top of the car but during the next two days we had some doubts if that was a good decision. Heavy winds during the day kept us on land. This photo was made at Ozawindib Lake, which is a lot smaller than Lake Itasca, and the whitecaps and blurred leaves tell the story about the weather. With or without boat, the fall colors were just stunning.
Lake Itasca
Finally during our third and last evening we were able to launch the kayaks at Lake Itasca and enjoyed the beautiful scenes from the perspective of a paddler. Our dog Cooper knows this game very well. He jumps into Joan’s boat before it is even in the water…
This time I took the 70-200, f/4 with me. This lens is a lot easier to handle in the kayak and better to protect from the wet elements than the Sigma 150-600.
Male Bobolink, near Dubuque, Iowa
I promised you yesterday another bird encounter and first sighting. The Bobolink has been on my “most wanted list” since a long time. They feed mostly on the ground and in low vegetation and their habitats include prairie and grasslands. Before I saw them I could hear them and it was not very often that a Bobolink was visible between the grass and wildflowers on this patch of grassland just at the edge of town.
Same bird as above but showing its white wing patches and rump
Yesterday evening I saw several males and two females but never got really close to the ladies. I wasn’t really thrilled with my photos from the male Bobolinks and so I went back again today to give it another try. The only chance to get close to a bird is by staying in the car and use it as a blind and invest some time and a lot of patience. There was no easy click to make this time. Many factors play a role for getting a sharp image. The grass is swaying in the wind and so does the bird. If you just see one doesn’t mean you have a clean view and moving the car in the right position was important. The roads in this area have no or very little traffic. They were built for future economical development, which I seriously hope will never happen. Larger areas with undisturbed prairie or grassland are a scarce commodity here in Iowa and if these remaining areas become a big parking lot with a store behind it, these habitats will be gone forever and so will the birds.
Green Island Wildlife Refuge, Iowa
During one of my recent trips to the Green Island Wetlands I came across this pair of Trumpeter Swans. It is really not difficult to find them anymore. These wonderful birds have made a great comeback here in Iowa. Getting close enough for a good photo is a different story that cannot always be told. The swans were fighting the squally wind and so did I during my attempts to keep the focus on them. Most of my images show the two swans swimming next to each other and looking in the same direction. That one shot, where one of the trumpeters started preening its feathers made all the difference for me. This little gesture changes the story telling. Neither the strong wind nor my presence seemed to bother them. They preen their feathers when they feel comfortable and safe.
Marie Louise Lake, Sleeping Giant Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada ---
When I looked across Marie Louise Lake I thought that Sleeping Giant, the mountain range in the back that gave this provincial park its name, would be a good subject for a photo. While evaluating the scene I became aware how rough the wind made the lake surface and how the reflections on the water played a role how we saw the lake. Suddenly the lake with its subtle reflections was a lot more interesting and the Sleeping Giant played just a second role for this image. Sure, the eye will go briefly to the bright parts of the clouds in the back, but the clouds are not interesting enough in this matter and the eye will return to this beautiful light and the rough surface of the water in the foreground. It became one of my favorite shots from this trip around Lake Superior…
Clouds and other weather related things have always triggered my interest and so it may not be a total surprise that I make them increasingly the subject in my landscape photography. There were high winds last Wednesday and these clouds moved very fast and changed shape and colors constantly. The low sun that came out briefly gave the scene some depth and drama.
