MISSISSIPPI RIVER STORIES 2021 #8 - END OF SUMMER?

Mississippi Valley, Backwaters of Mud Lake, Iowa

As I’m writing this much needed rain is pouring down on us but it won’t be for very long until the small band of thunderstorms has moved out again. Colder air will move in shortly and we might see the end of the summer. Yesterday evening at the Mississippi River an interesting cloud was all what it took to trigger my desire to push the shutter release button of the camera. Maybe it was the announcement that summer will be over in a heartbeat…

Nikon D750, Nikkor 70-200mm / f4,   @70 mm, 1/160 s, f/5.6, ISO200

A VISIT IN THE NOT SO WET WETLANDS

Green Island Wetlands, Mississippi Valley, iowa

It was overdue but yesterday I had finally a chance to make a trip to the Green Island Wetlands, 40 mile south and along the Mississippi River. As expected the water levels were at its lowest since a long time and many areas had no water above the mud at all. This is probably not a bad thing. The last few years have been very wet and much of the wooded land was submerged under the water. As a result most of the large trees and many shrubs died. All the dead wood you see in the above photo gives you an idea how bad it is. My hope is that during a dry year like 2021 some of the bushes can recover and become a nesting habitat for songbirds again. There is no hope for the trees…

Sandhill Cranes

As always, I was interested what kind of wildlife would be present. Only one Great Blue Heron and one Great Egret tried their hunting luck. Most of these stealthy fish hunters had probably moved closer to deeper waters along the river. A few Canada Geese and a female Wood Duck were about the only waterfowl I saw. But one bird species that obviously stood the ground and still found enough food was present and came within the range of my long lens, the Greater Sandhill Cranes. I saw six birds feeding and walking between grass and reeds. It is always a joy tho watch them and listening to their calls.

‘WISCONSIN DESERT’, VISIT ON A SAND PRAIRIE

Six-lined Racerunner

Last Sunday we went to an unusual nature preserve in our neighbor state Wisconsin. Here is a quote from the Wisconsin DNR website that gives a much better description of this 1,104 acres (446.8 ha) preserve than I can ever give you.

Spring Green Preserve, known as the 'Wisconsin Desert', features a rolling sand prairie on an old Wisconsin River terrace and harbors a unique flora and fauna that are adapted to the hot, droughty environment. The dry sandy soils contain many desert-like plants such as false heather, three-awn grass, and prickly pear cactus. Nearly 40 species of annuals and biennials thrive here, a high number for a prairie, […} Several sand blows, with shifting dunes and open sand, are scattered throughout. Bird life is diverse and includes large numbers of rare open country birds […]

Small part of Spring Green Preserve, a sand prairie born about 17,000 years ago.

Although already late in the season we still found a good number of interesting plants and insects. The biggest thrill for me was the sighting of a Six-lined Racerunners (Aspidoscelis sexlineata), a sun-loving lizard that lives in a variety of habitats, including bluff prairies and sand prairies. I have never seen one before and was very happy to get a few shots of this fast critter.

At places like the Spring Green Preserve is always a good chance to meet people that enjoy nature and travel as much as we do. Thank you to the couple from Madison for the interesting conversation! 

Great to see some real bees in the flowers

All photos: Nikon D750, Sigma 150mm / f2.8 APO EX DG HSM

MISSISSIPPI RIVER STORIES 2021 #6 - DIFFERENT SUNSETS

Mississippi River with Dubuque, Iowa on the other side

The wildfires in the west and in Canada seem to be far away when you live in the Midwest but the impact effects all of us. We deal here maybe only with bad air quality at times, but it is heartbreaking to see how people loose their life and their homes. Since the big fires burn we see the sunsets differently due to the smoke that crosses the continent in the upper atmosphere. A couple days ago I made this image across the river, over in Illinois, with downtown Dubuque, Iowa in the background. The sun was partly hidden behind a hazy cloud.

A 3-stop soft split-graduated neutral density filter was used for the upper part of the photo. I underexposed by -0.66 EV for the foreground and brought back some of the details of the city in post process.

Nikon D750, Nikkor 70-200mm / f4, Induro GIT 404XL tripod, RRS BH-55 ball head, Breakthrough GND filter 0.9,   @82 mm, 1/200 s, f/10, ISO100

MIDSUMMER RAINBOW

Mines of Spain State Recreation Area, Dubuque, Iowa

It is these brief moments that can make a walk in the evening very delightful. A couple days ago a thunderstorm moved just south of us and created this nice scene. Landscape photographers love rainbows, but it was the cloud that puts the ice on the cake for me.

Nikon D750, Sigma 150mm / f2.8 APO EX DG HSM, @1/800 s, f/6.3, ISO 100

CLOUDS AGAIN

Clouds, Dubuque Regional Airport, Iowa, Nikon D750, Nikon Nikkor AF-S 70-200mm, f/4,   @95 mm, 1/500 s, f/10, ISO100

After a busy day with no time to get behind the camera this evening I thought I can share another image from last week, when great clouds set the stage at the Dubuque Regional Airport. I love the line the winding road takes between the surrounding hills and I tried to incorporate it into the arrangement of elements in the photo. The road leads the eye to the puffy storm cloud in the back, but it doesn’t stop there and the view goes up to the clouds above. I saw this image in black and white in my mind when I framed it in the viewfinder. Some very bright traffic signs and a power line were removed in Photoshop. Oh yeah, “men made clutter” doesn’t help a picture like this one…

3X CLOUDS

Observation point at Dubuque Regional Airport, view to the southeast, at 35 mm focal length, slight crop

I have been on the road the last couple days and have seen some remarkable cloud formations. Driving mostly on interstate and state highways I had to let pass many good opportunities to take out the camera. Finally, on the way home a stop was made at the observation point of the Dubuque Regional Airport this evening. I like this place for cloud photography for two reasons. You have a 360 degree view and no cables or wires obstruct the view. While not a friend of the humidity that comes with the hot temperatures of summer here in the Midwest, I love the clouds that often come with it. All three photos were made within five minutes and in each direction light and clouds were different.

View to the northeast, at 95 mm, slight crop

View to the southwest, at 32 mm, slight crop

ACROSS THE VALLEY

Nikon D750, Nikkor 16-35 mm f/4, Breakthrough GND filter 0.9,   @16 mm, 1/200 s, f/10, ISO100

A couple weeks ago we had dear friends visiting us over the weekend and as part of the program we went to a popular overlook near Balltown, Iowa, not far from home. From there the eye goes across the Mississippi Valley and over to Wisconsin. It was a little hazy but the puffy clouds let the light shine through and made for some nice sun spots on the fields below. A 3-stop graduated ND filter was used to keep some of the details in the clouds and gives them also a little more drama.

PHOTOGRAPHY OUTING WITH THE DCC

Clouds over barn and pond, near Blanding Landing, Illinois

Nikon D750, Nikkor 16-35 mm f/4, Breakthrough GND filter 0.9,   @16 mm, 1/100 s, f/9, ISO100

Last week the Dubuque Camera Club had its first outing in a long time. Led by photography artist Henry Matthiessen III, owner of “Stoned Art Studio and Gallery” in Dubuque, Iowa, the group visited several locations in the Mississippi Valley, over in northwest Illinois. Fast moving clouds in the sky allowed for some good shooting around dusk. I have been at some of the locations before, but never at that time of the day. After seeing the results from some other photographers already on Facebook, I think it is very interesting how many different ways can be found to shoot basically the same subject, the landscapes and light that were present for all of us. Thank you again to Henry for introducing us to some new locations! Here is my take from that evening.

Barn in the woods,  near Blanding Landing, Illinois

Nikon D750, Nikon Nikkor AF-S 70-200mm, f/4,   @200 mm, 1/80 s, f/5.6, ISO100, slightly cropped

Tranquility,  near Blanding Landing, Illinois

Nikon D750, Nikkor 16-35 mm f/4, Breakthrough GND filter 0.9,   @20 mm, 1/200 s, f/5.6, ISO100

Oak tree, Chestnut Mountain Resort, Illinois

Nikon D750, Nikon Nikkor AF-S 70-200mm, f/4,   @116 mm, 1/125 s, f/8, ISO100, cropped

Mississippi backwaters at dusk, Blanding Landing, Illinois

Nikon D750, Nikon Nikkor AF-S 70-200mm, f/4, Breakthrough GND filter 0.9,   @82 mm, 1/30 s, f/9, ISO100, slightly cropped

EVENINGS IN THE BADLANDS

Evening in Badlands National Park, South Dakota

I think I had mentioned before that the focus in the Badlands was on wildlife photography this time. Well, a few landscape pictures were created anyway. The dusty Sage Creek Rim Road has plenty of good spots to stop the car, change lenses, and capture the essence of this sometimes moon-like, but beautiful and wild landscape. The elements in the frame were placed with black & white in mind already. A 2-stop or 3-stop graduated neutral density filter helps to give the sky a bit more emphasis.

Nikon D750, Nikkor 16-35 mm f/4, Breakthrough GND filter 0.9,   @16 mm, 1/200 s, f/10, ISO100

CLOUDS, EAGLES, AND COOTS

Green Island Preserve, Nikon D750, Nikkor 16-35mm / f4, B+W F-PRO Kaesemann High Transmission Circular Polarizer MRC filter

At arrival in the Green Island Wetlands today I was greeted with some nice puffy clouds. Usually I approach the area with the long lens already attached to the camera, ready to use, but this was a good reason to get the wide angle lens and polarizer out of the bag. Last year’s vegetation is rotting away and pretty soon new growth will dominate the lakes, ponds, and marsh land in the Mississippi Valley. 

Immature Bald Eagle

While driving deeper into the wetlands I found a large congregation of Bald Eagles, more than 30 birds that were perched on trees or logs in the water. Seeing a few is always guaranteed but I couldn’t figure out why so many at this time of the year? Some were messing with each other but most just sat still on their perch, like this immature eagle. It had to do something with food. They mostly feed on fish and the fish population certainly didn’t grow in the wetlands since last week. So, why so many at the same place?

American Coots, Nikon D750, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S

And maybe here lies the answer. Large shoals of American Coots, thousands of “marsh hens” occupied the lakes within the wetlands. They kept very close together while moving in the shallow water and feeding on plant materials, aquatic invertebrates, or worms. I have seen Bald Eagles sitting in a tree and feeding on dead coots at other times before and maybe the large numbers attract more eagles than we see usually in Green Island along the Mississippi.

‘SUPER RESOLUTION’ - ANOTHER TRY

Mesa Arch, Canyonland National Park, April 2008

Here is another photo I gave the treatment in post process with the new enhancement feature in Adobe Camera RAW that allows to quadruple the image size. This shot was made in April 2008 at Mesa Arch at Canyonland National Park in Utah. Yes, that is the spot where photographers sometimes pile up on top of each other early in the morning to get an iconic sunrise shot. Google it and you will know what I mean.

I like the company of other photographers but I’m still not a fan of crowded places. We spent the time before and around sunrise that day at the Courthouse Towers, a rock formation in nearby Arches National Park and had it all for ourselves. Joan and I moved on late morning and arrived at Mesa Arch about 1pm. Of course, not the best time for good light but a few clicks were made anyway just for the memories. I used a Nikon D200, which in 2008 was a very good 10MP DX camera. I believe the first digital Nikon full frame camera (FX) was the D3, that just had hit the market in 2007. With other words, most people used cameras with a half size sensor (DX) or smaller. The lens was a SIGMA 18-50, f/2.8. Not a bad lens but kinda soft in comparison to the glass that is now available. With 3872 pixels on the long side of the image I never felt it was worth the effort to work with the RAW file and try to extract more detail out of a relatively hazy scene. 

The picture became now another candidate to try the new ‘Super Resolution Feature’ in Camera RAW. The enhanced original file has 7744 pixels at the long side and working with Vibrance, Dehaze, and other contrast enhancing sliders I was able to get some details in the photo I didn’t even know they were there. The photo can now be printed at a resolution of 300ppi almost 26 inch (~650 mm) long and with a lower resolution, like 240ppi, a 32” (~820 mm) wide picture will still look decent.

I just thought I share my new gained experience with the new software with you and give you another example what can be done with older and smaller pictures. I repeat what was said in yesterday’s blog post, I’m impressed about the outcome.

MISSISSIPPI RIVER STORIES 2021 #3 - ICE? GONE!

Mississippi River, Marina entrance at Mud Lake, Iowa

Two days ago I reported about the break up of the ice on the mighty Mississippi. Today I went back, and wow, the main channel of the river had completely open water, all the way to the Wisconsin side. The rocky bluffs in the background are 2 kilometers away from Mud Lake Park, where this photo was made. There is still some ice in the quiet backwaters that don’t have much current, or like here, in the entrance to the little marina at Mud Lake. 

Our part of the river was already in the shade this evening when I started shooting, but with the setting sun in my back, there was still a photo that could be made. I tried to find an angle with some warm light in the big water puddle that contrasts nicely with the dark blue of the last ice. A few days ago people were still sitting on their buckets, trying to catch a fish through a hole in the ice. Very soon the first boats will leave the marina for their first trip of the season…

Nikon D750, Nikkor 70-200mm / f4,   @70 mm, 1/320 s, f/8, ISO100

MISSISSIPPI RIVER STORIES 2021 #2 - A FAVORITE

115 years old swing railroad bridge across the Mississippi between Sabula, Iowa and Savannah, Illinois

You may have seen photos of this old railroad bridge here in my blog before. No wonder, any time I head south along the big river to Sabula, Iowa’s only town on an island, I have to stop and take a look at this nice piece of engineering. This single track swing bridge between Iowa and Illinois was opened in 1906. It hasn’t lost any of its charm to me and is still one of my favorite men-made subjects for a photo along the Mississippi River.

Last weekend the ice started melting around the bridge and made for a more interesting foreground than at other times before. I put my only manual focus lens, the Zeiss 35/f2 on the camera and set the picture control of the D750 to Monochrome mode. I always shoot in RAW and if I would change my mind later, a color image can still be extracted from the recorded data of the RAW file. But setting the picture control to ‘Monochrome’ allows to view the results immediately in black and white on the screen of the camera. 

Nikon D750, Zeiss Distagon T* 2/35 ZF, 1/160 s, f/11, ISO100

MISSISSIPPI RIVER STORIES 2021 #1 - THE ICE BREAKS UP

Yes, in 2021 I will continue with my visual Mississippi River stories that can be told with a photograph. Today the ice was finally in motion and big floes drifted slowly down the stream. I’m always amazed how high it can pile up if anything is in its path. I have photographed this marker near the end of the dike at John Deere Marsh several times before, and I knew it would help to tell the story about the break up of the ice on the Mississippi River. The SIGMA 150-600 is not my typical lens for landscape photography but I love the effect you can get for a picture like this. 

Nikon D750, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S,     @ 330 mm, 1/1000 s, f/8, ISO100