ESSENCE OF THE SEASON

Giant Swallowtail -------

Summer seems to be in its zenith and I try to catch the essence of this season in light and colors. The good old Sigma 150, f/2.8 macro lens is still a perfect tool for this kind of shooting. To get the best out of it I shoot wide open most of the time, rendering the background with a nice bokeh. Focus has to be on the spot (eye and body) due to the shallow depth of field at f/2.8 or f/3.2. The butterflies have never a quiet moment and continuous-servo autofocus is the only way to get a sharp image.

ATTENTION NEEDED

Monarch on a Blazing Star --------

My German photography friend Maren Arndt knows how to make good macro shots of butterflies and insects https://marensfotoblog.wordpress.com/2017/08/04/alle-lieben-rainfarn/. She is a true artist and environmental conscious photographer. Her latest blog post has inspired me to put the Sigma 150mm / f2.8 and 1.4x Teleconverter on the camera today and try to hunt for butterflies between Joan’s flower beds in the yard. My best shot was the one above of a Monarch butterfly, an insect that is in big trouble, mainly due to the loss of habitat.

Milkweed is the only plant where the Monarch butterflies will lay their eggs. It is not the prettiest plant on the planet but we let the milkweed grow wherever it comes up in our property. Iowa has a strategy designed to help keep the threatened Monarch off the national endangered species list. To make it short, recreating habitats (instead of steril grass patches) can make a difference. Below are a few links to sources that explain why this should be a big deal for all of us here in the Midwest. If we can’t fix it, our grandchildren may not be able to enjoy this butterfly when they are grown up anymore.

https://www.learner.org/jnorth/images/graphics/monarch/annual_cycle_wheel.gif

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/money/agriculture/2017/02/27/iowa-launches-plan-save-threatened-monarch-butterflies/98492138/

http://monarchsineasterniowa.blogspot.com

https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/ia/programs/financial/eqip/?cid=nrcseprd889463

If you are still with me after looking at all the links (thank you, if you do!), here are some thoughts about the photo. First, it’s just a photo, and it doesn’t tell the full story. Sometimes I have to acknowledge that the picture alone is not enough to create the awareness a particular environmental case needs. The text, or like today pointing out to other sources, may make our brains working. The photo becomes second nature, it just supports the message. Still not a bad thing…

 

STILL IN GOOD SHAPE

Giant Swallowtail, Little Maquoketa River Valley near Durango, Iowa ----

How would summer be without butterflies? During the last few days we saw a couple Giant Swallowtails, a Red Admiral, and one Tiger Swallowtail. Not all of them look photogenic. Some have missing tails or parts of their wings. I’m not sure who is in charge of that. Maybe birds tried to prey on them, but it is not so uncommon to see a swallowtail with missing parts of their wings. However, this Giant Swallowtail was still in pristine shape, with a wonderful dark color.

Nikon D750, Sigma 150mm / f2.8 APO EX DG HSM, Sigma APO Teleconverter 1.4x EX DG, @ 1/1600 s, f/4, ISO400

 

THROUGH THE FENCE

Red Fox (captive) --------    

This photo has nothing to do with our main activities last weekend. We went out camping to the Volga River Recreation Area near Fayette, Iowa and paddled the lake and finally the Volga River this weekend. It was a gorgeous tour and time well spent. The river had a good water level and was much faster than other times in July according to the park ranger. Unfortunately I’m not brave enough to take the D750 on a river tour with some whitewater challenges. With other words, no images from the paddle tour.

On our way home we stopped at the Conservation Park and Iowa Welcome Center in Osborne. Beside a lot of other interesting places, like an arboretum, a nature center, and a pioneer village, the center has a native wildlife exhibit. Owls, hawks, a black bear, wolf, coyote, and other animals that can’t make a living on their own in the wild anymore are hosted in this facility.

To be honest, I’m not a big fan of animals in captivity, although I understand the value for education. I’m just not excited anymore. However, the light on this Red Fox intrigued me and making a picture with the fence between me and the critter was a challenge I could not let pass by…

WILDFLOWERS AT EASTER

Dutchman's Breeches, Nikon D750, Sigma 150mm / f2.8 APO EX DG HSM -----------

It is this short time of the year when we have a few days to enjoy the wildflowers on top of our lime stone bluffs here above the Little Maquoketa River Valley. A week ago the Hepatica were blooming but today, after the rain we had last night, I didn’t find a single one anymore. There are still a few Bloodroot in the woods and the Mayapples come out of the ground, although not blooming yet.

Right now we see lots of Dutchman’s Breeches blooming everywhere. I will travel the next seven days and I already wonder if any of them will still show their unique blossoms next weekend.

I hope you all have a nice Easter weekend! Go out and make some good clicks!

WAY TO FINISH A WEEK

There are many good ways to finish a work week, watching a movie, listening to great music, or having a chat with the bar tender, you name it. For me not much can beat being in the great outdoors, listening to the sounds of nature, and watching the things unfold. After a long stretch of days without sunshine the seeming impossible happened just a few minutes before sunset today, the edge of an endless overcast passed finally the sun. This happened while I watched a flock of 30 Snow Geese and listened to the calls of over 100 Sandhill Cranes in the Green Island Wetlands. After sunset the light for shooting into the field, where hundreds of Mallards and Wood Ducks came to rest, was not sufficient anymore. Pointing the long lens to the west and waiting for birds moving in front of the clouds was the option I took advantage of. As I said, many good ways to finish a work week… 😊

NEGATIVE SPACE

The use of negative space as an element of composition in art has intrigued me since a long time time, I just haven’t really pursued it much in my own photography yet. If you follow my blog permanently, you already know that earlier this week I had some good moments shooting while the morning fog lifted after a rainy night. This photo was created just seconds before the scene cleared up. The trees in the background and their reflections on the water are still just a hint of slightly darker gray. The color version of this image isn’t much different, not indeed, but I didn’t like the kinda dirty looking yellow tint from the sun mixing with the fog. Heritage Pond is right beside the highway and can be busy with people fishing and other recreational activities at times. The photo may suggest it was shot at a location far away from civilization. Of course it was not, but for a few seconds it made me feel like it was…

2017

Three trees at sunset, Lake Superior, Cascade River State Park, Minnesota, August 2016 ------------

To all my photography friends and buddies: May the light guide your steps again in 2017!

To all of you: WISHING YOU AN INTERESTING AND WONDERFUL YEAR 2017! 😊

FINALLY, IT’S HERE…

We finally got our first snow today. This is rather late for the season. It still isn’t really cold and so the white stuff was wet and clung to the branches and trees in our woods and garden.

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

FIRST FALL PHOTOS

We pitched our tent in Wyalusing State Park, Wisconsin this weekend and were rewarded with wonderful and sunny fall weather. Located at the confluence of the Wisconsin and Mississippi rivers, the bluffs and valleys of Wyalusing belong to the same drift-less area we call home. The leaves just started to change colors although many are still green. The air was crisp and clear, other than the haze we see often during the summer, and this gives the light a different quality. I wanted to challenge myself and took only one prime lens with me during our hikes in the park, the SIGMA 150/ f2.8. My older version of this lens is a little slow with focus, but this doesn’t play a big role when hunting for light and colors in the woods is the goal.

 

THE TREE AT GOOSEBERRY RIVER

Gooseberry Falls State Park, Minnesota ----   

While hiking up the trail from the waterfalls along Gooseberry River this tree and its roots, nestled into the rocks, caught my attention. On the way back the light was in my favor and I stuck the legs of the tripod in the sand and made the click. How about the waterfalls? Sure, some photos were made as well. Everybody does that. Sometimes looking away from the main attraction of a known location leads to a photograph that is special. At least it was for me at this time.

 

WILDFLOWERS IN ABUNDANCE AND MEETING A LEGEND

Wildflowers at Palisades-Kepler State Park, Iowa

It was a lovely spring weekend and if you like wildflowers, it was the perfect time to see, photograph, or just enjoy them. It was Joan’s weekend off from work and we decided to pack the tent and go camping again. It had to be somewhere near Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Why? I will talk about this in a few seconds. We stayed two nights at Palisades-Kepler State Park, an 840-acre mostly wooded area with river bluffs, big trees, and a large variety of wildflowers. The bluffs overlook the beautiful Cedar River. We have quite a few wildflower species here on our bluffs above the Little Maquoketa River, but we can’t compete with the variety we have seen last weekend in the state park. I’m not much into flower photography but a few clicks were made anyway…😉

Moose Peterson

Well, the big reason I wanted to be near Cedar Rapids was a photography seminar on Saturday, which I had booked already several weeks ago. It was organized by the Linn Area Photo Club. I couldn’t be more excited because one of my favorite photographers presented ideas, shared his knowledge, and answered many questions from the audience. Moose Peterson, acclaimed wildlife, landscape, and aviation photographer, Nikon ambassador, and great educator had probably the most influence to my own style of photography during the last 8-9 years. The seminar was supported by many of his photos and seeing them projected on a big screen was a feast for the eyes. Although I don’t make a living from my photography, but I like his ideas, concepts, and workflow and have many applied to my own work. Moose Peterson shares his incredible knowledge and his passion for photography on his websites, on YouTube, or in his own publication, the BT Journal. http://www.moosepeterson.com/blog/ . Check it out, they are all great sources for inspiration and learning photography.

Early morning in Palisades-Kepler State Park, Iowa

Spending almost a whole weekend day with such beautiful warm weather inside a building is not normal behavior for me but I didn’t regret any minute and time flew by very fast.

Back in the camp Joan talked me into a hike and showed me some of the best spots in the park she and our dog Cooper had discovered during the day. Well, and we still had the Sunday for chasing the light… 😊