AUTUMN IN MINNESOTA #13

Sunset at the St. Louis River, just outside of Duluth, Minnesota

Jay Cooke State Park was the last campsite for one night at the end of our journey through the Northwoods of Minnesota. We had some snow and rain during the trip and shooting pictures of fast flowing water just seems to be a logic consequence. Well, I love to make photos of creeks and rivers. It is never boring and always a challenge.

I have talked here in the blog some time ago about a technique to make these kind of pictures without the use of a neutral density filter. There are sometimes situations where combining multiple exposures in one image, right in camera, is a valid solution. In particular at narrow and busy places, like famous waterfalls, with lots of visitors. Observation decks for example often vibrate and make any effort with a long exposure useless.

For this photo things were just great. At this time of the year, mid October, the low sun covers the river and the surrounding rocks with warm light for quite some time before it disappears behind the trees. With the Nikon D750 on a solid tripod I used the BREAKTHROUGH X4, 6-stop ND filter in front of the Nikon Nikkor 70-200, f/4 lens. For the final image a 5 second exposure at f/18, ISO 100 was used. Sure, some people like to see the water even silkier, it’s an unfortunate trend at the moment, but the wild St. Louis River, with its waterfalls and cascades, is not smooth at all at this place. The story of that evening was the combination of soft and warm light with the fast flow and turbulences of the river. If weather allows Joan and I will be back in the Duluth area very soon. Can you sense my excitement…? 😊

AUTUMN IN MINNESOTA #12

Bear Head Lake, Minnesota

Exactly a month ago we spent part of the day 2341 feet below the surface in the Soudan Mine, the deepest and oldest iron ore mine in Minnesota. It was operated until 1962. It is hard to imagine that the miners quite often didn’t see the sun at all during their working week. Thinking about that made us even more enjoy the crisp and clear moments around sunset, back in our camp at Bear Head Lake State Park.

Nikon D750, Nikkor 16-35mm / f4, GITZO tripod GT2931 Basalt, KIRK BH-3 ball head

AUTUMN IN MINNESOTA #11

Bear Head Lake, Minnesota

I admit, this photo was made with some quick instructions shouted across the water. I told Joan to paddle very slowly in front of the tamarack tree, that was for a brief moment perfectly illuminated by the sun. It could have been a great fall shot with its color contrast between the beautiful tamarack and the blue kayak, and as the ice on the cake a nice reflection on the water, if… Yes, if there wasn’t the dead trees in the picture. To be honest I didn’t even see them until I was back home and viewed the pictures on screen. Sure, I can invest another hour and remove all the dead wood from the photo. Photoshop and other software gives us endless possibilities to tinker with an image. But is it worth the time? I clean up a landscape picture if necessary, especially around the edges (called “border police” by other photographers), but I rather go out and shoot again instead of removing a bigger flaw in post process. Every photographer has to make their own decisions about how much time to spend for fixing a problem. Unless I try a new technique in post process I hardly ever exceed ten minutes for working with a RAW file and bring out the romance in the photo. Life is too short and the world doesn’t come to an end if a photo doesn’t get published…

AUTUMN IN MINNESOTA #8

Between seasons, Big Bog State Recreation Area (North Unit), Minnesota

The snow from the morning was melting away quickly when we entered the Big Bog for a second time. We had been there the day before (without snow) and were totally fascinated by this landscape and its plants. Before you enter the small part that is accessible of this 500-square mile peat bog you walk along a lake. The colorful leaves, mirrored in the lake, stood in a nice contrast to the white stems of the birches and of course the fresh snow. The clouds moved rapidly and a hint of blue sky added to the scene and made for a nice color contrast. A photo that tells the story of the changing season.

A mile-long boardwalk leads into the bog. It allows visitors to get a good look at the unique plants and wildlife and at the same time protects the fragile ecosystem below. The open-work plastic grates let sunlight reach the plants under the boardwalk. Without light, they would die, and a shallow water trench would form. It would take many years for the plants to recover.

This photo was made at the end of the boardwalk. Another shower of sleet and rain came down on us. I had the camera on tripod and wanted the snow and rain be visible as trails in the picture. The new 3-stop Breakthrough graduated neutral density filter was mounted in front of the 16-35 and prevented the burnout of the highlights in the clouds. I shot in aperture priority mode and at ISO100 and f/18 the exposure went to 1/40s, long enough to produce some subtle snow trails.

This grassy trench is the result of human efforts to drain the bog many years ago but this project luckily failed. I used the compression effect of the long lens and made this photo at 400 mm focal length. The light on the tamarack trees, whose needles had turned already yellow, caught my eye.

AUTUMN IN MINNESOTA #7

Tamarack River, Big Bog State Recreation Area, Minnesota

The most memorable morning during our tour through the Northwoods of Minnesota was in the Big Bog State Recreation Area. Big Bog has been called Minnesota’s last true wilderness. The 500-square-mile peat bog is the largest in the lower 48 states. We had pitched our tent right at the Tamarack River, not far from where the river enters the Red Lake. Winter can come early in this part of the country and on October 12 we had our first snow fall of the season. It wasn’t really cold, the light was just gorgeous, and we enjoyed the transition between autumn and winter very much. A few hours later it all melted away…

The “queen” leaves the “snow palace”

All images: Nikon D750, Nikkor 24-120mm / f4

 

AUTUMN IN MINNESOTA #5

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.

AUTUMN IN MINNESOTA #4

Mississippi River, only a few yards after the headwaters

Itasca State Park is the oldest state park in Minnesota, established 1891, and was created to protect the forest and waters around the headwaters of the Mississippi River. Its landscape was shaped by glaciers and it contains over 100 lakes and large tracks of Minnesota’s remaining old-growth red and white pine forest. It is a fantastic place to be in the fall, not just for photography.

Here is it where it all starts. The water from Lake Itasca flows over a simple rock barrier and the Mississippi River starts its 2,552 mile (4107 km) journey to the Gulf of Mexico.

The polarizing filter in front of the Nikkor 70-200 eliminates some of the glare on the water and led to a four second exposure at f/18. Enough to indicate the flow of the water with a silky look.

Stand of tamaracks, Lake Itasca, Minnesota

Itasca has beautiful red and white pines, spruce, fir, birch, aspen, maple, and others, but beside the colorful leaves one particular tree tells the story of fall the best. Larix laricina, better known as tamarack (German: Lärche), is a deciduous conifer. Its needles turn bright yellow in autumn and tell the story about the changing season. We found them at many locations in northern Minnesota during our trip. 

All three photos were made at or around the headwaters of the Mississippi River.

Nikon D750, Nikon Nikkor AF-S 70-200mm, f/4G ED VR, B+W F-PRO Kaesemann High Transmission Circular Polarizer MRC filter

 

EARLY SNOW

Gorgeous light shortly after sunrise but most of the snow melted away during the day.

What’s going on? We still have daylight savings time (Sommerzeit) but last night a few hours of snow fall changed everything. It’s the first snow of the season for our woods here in eastern Iowa, but up in northern Minnesota Joan and I had already a white morning earlier this month.

All images: Nikon D750, Nikon Nikkor AF-S 70-200mm, f/4G ED VR

AUTUMN IN MINNESOTA #3

Fall colors, Itasca State Park, Minnesota

When you go in October to the Northwoods the colors of autumn will probably be on your mind. We definitely wanted to be amongst the leaves and suck up every drop of light pouring through them. Two ingredients, a wet spring and a cold snap, are necessary for a good fall color show. When we left Iowa it was very warm but we were hoping to find colors further north in Minnesota.

Already at our second camp, in Itasca State Park, we found what we were looking for. Fall is a great time at Lake Itasca, at the headwaters of the Mississippi River (more about this in a later post). We hit the peak, while later, further north, more trees had already lost their leaves. I hope you enjoy this photo and some more that will follow in the next time…

 

AUTUMN IN MINNESOTA #2

Winniwissa Falls, Pipestone Creek, Pipestone National Monument, Minnesota

Back from another trip to Dallas, TX I finally find some time to work on my photos from our travel through Minnesota.

Long before I moved to the US the life, traditions, and history of the native people has always interested me. I read many books about the Indians of North America in my younger years. Pipestone National Monument has been on the list to visit since quite some time. This location was the preferred source of pipestone among Plains tribes. The soft stone (catlinite) was quarried by Indians since a long time, possibly 2000 years. Still today Indians quarry the pipestone during late summer and fall. This is done by hard manual labor with sledge hammers and wedges. The red stone is under a very hard layer of quartzite that needs to be removed first. The sheets of catlinite are lifted from the pit and cut into smaller blocks, from which the pipes are carved.

A trail leads the visitor through the park, to old and active quarries, to quartzite cliffs, along Pipestone Creek, and to a waterfall. We visited Pipestone NM on a sunny and very windy day. Dealing with harsh light and high contrast was the challenge for anyone using a camera.

Pipestone is a sacred place and quarrying is accomplished with respect for the Earth. Prayer flags can be found at many locations.

Detail of quartzite cliffs

The Three Maidens boulders, American Indians traditionally leave food and tobacco beside these stones in return for this land’s gift of stone.

(source used: Pipestone National Monument brochure)

 

AUTUMN IN MINNESOTA #1

Split Rock Creek State Park, Minnesota

Just back last night from a 16-day trip through mainly the north of Minnesota we have hardly time to unwind. I’m flying out to Dallas, TX for another trade show of the printing industry tomorrow, but like to keep the readers of my blog in the loop. Joan, our dog Cooper, and I went on another tent camping vacation. With fall colors in mind we searched again for the quite and joyful moments in nature and did not get disappointed. I will post photos during the next few weeks about this trip, but due to business travel it might be infrequent at times.

We started out in the southwest corner of Minnesota and pitched our tent for two nights at Split Rock Creek State Park, Why? I will get to this point in a later post.

Split Rock Creek is dammed up and many geese use the lake as a safe resting place during the night. Scouting the lake shore the morning before led to this photo at sunrise on day two. The Canada Geese stayed together for the night and gaggle after gaggle took off shortly after the sun was up in its full beauty.

MISSISSIPPI RIVER STORIES 2019 #13 - TOWBOAT AND BARGES

My favorite place to walk our dog and let him run and roll around is down at the Mississippi River at Mud Lake Park, Iowa. The best time is just before the sun disappears behind the bluffs and trees, which is right now about an hour before real sunset. It was very warm today, the light was golden, and Cooper and I just enjoyed sitting at the river, watching the birds and boats. We were already in the shade when this towboat with 12 barges came down the Mississippi but the sun still reached the main channel. The barges did not sit deep in the water and their covers were open. Maybe they went south to a terminal to pick up coal for one of the power plants further north, who knows…

When you look close at the first photo, there is a little detail I saw when I framed the shot with the 600 mm lens. A Bald Eagle sat on a piece of stranded driftwood and ate a fish. Just a silhouette, not the subject of the image, but nevertheless interesting.

A towboat with barges passes the entrance to the Hawkeye Marina at Mud Lake, Iowa

IN ANTICIPATION

Tipi between aspens, Ashcroft, Colorado, 2014

In anticipation of our soon starting vacation I’m looking through older photos with fall colors. As mentioned yesterday already, we don’t have any here yet, but we will head north and October is probably the best time to be there for the colors of autumn. 

This aspen covered slope in the Rocky Mountains was gorgeous by itself but the tipi between the trees added another point of interest to the image. This photo was made in the ghost town of Ashcroft, an old silver mining town founded in 1880.

FALL LIGHT, UNBEATABLE…

Bankston County Park, Middle Fork Little Maquoketa River, Iowa

It’s definitely fall, the leaves started to come down, but we don’t have really the fall colors yet. It needs a cold snap to make that happen but at the other hand we are not unhappy that temperatures are still in the “summer range”.

I love autumn, its colors, and the quality of light that follows the haze of summer days. Bankston County Park is located in a lovely valley along the Middle Fork Little Maquoketa River and was the destination for a short hike with the dog this evening. Every location where the rocks are exposed here in eastern Iowa reminds us that this was once just the bottom of a shallow sea millions of years ago. Just before the sun disappeared behind the ridge a shaft of “killer light” hit the layered rocks on the other side of the small river.

I underexposed by 2/3 of a stop. This hides some of the debris from recent flooding and brings out the colors of the rocks. An easy click that put a smile in my face…

Nikon D750, Nikon Nikkor AF-S 70-200mm, f/4G ED VR

PREPARATION

Great Sand Dunes, Colorado, 2014

We still have a couple more weeks to go before our vacation starts. Beside getting all the camping and photo gear ready I try to prepare mentally for what I like to accomplish with the camera. I look at older photos and recall some of the great moments we had in past years. One morning at sunrise in Great Sand Dunes National Park, Colorado is definitely among my favorites. No, we don’t head out in this direction this year, but finding these memorable light situations and vantage points is always a top priority no matter where we go.