GRASSLANDS, BADLANDS, AND BIG SKY

September 14, 2020

Sky after sunset just outside of Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota

Hi, we are back from a trip to the Grasslands and Badlands that stretch from South Dakota into North Dakota and eastern Montana. Our tent was pitched most of the time in remote locations with no or very few people around, making social distancing easy. We watched lots of wildlife, small and big, and enjoyed some “Big Sky”. As time allows I will post some photos that hopefully tell stories about all this during the next few weeks and I’m glad if you find the time again to stop in here in my blog to read about nature and photography.

NATURE CLICKS #465 - SWIFT LONG-WINGED SKIMMER

July 28, 2020

Found in a marshy area at the Little Maquoketa River Mounds State Preserve near Dubuque, Iowa

Also known as the Blue Dasher or Blue Pirat, this dragonfly stands out in the green grass or between the reeds of a marsh. Its wings are quite damaged and I wonder if that is from interacting with other dragonflies or from being the victim of a hungry bird? In this warm and often humid weather the Swift long-winged Skimmer has no problem to “hawk” its food, holding the legs in a basket shape and grasping mosquitoes and other small insects. The chance for the photo comes when they are perching on grass or small branches. Quite often the dragonflies return to the same perch. All what it takes is a little patience.

BEATING THE MUDDY LOOK

July 23, 2020

Earlier this summer I saw this bunch of turtles warming up in the sun on a log in a pool near the Mississippi. The water had a brown color and the turtles looked a little muddy too. The reflections of dead trees and turtles created a pattern that I liked. I knew this could be worked out in a black and white version of the image and here is the result.

SUMMER AT ITS PEAK

July 20, 2020

It is this short moment during the summer when flowers and butterflies look at their best. Today we had two Giant Swallowtails and two Tiger Swallowtails feeding in our patch of prairie and garden flowers. A light overcast made for a balanced ambient light and just a very subtle hint of flash was used to pronounce the colors of phlox and Tiger Swallowtail.

NATURE CLICKS #462 - TAWNY EMPEROR

June 30, 2020

The Tawny Emperor is not as common as its sister species, the Hackberry Emperor (see my latest post about it HERE), although they can often be found together because they share the same habitat and food source. As already mentioned in my earlier blog post, we have hundreds of butterflies here in our woods since at least a couple weeks. We can sit in the sun for a while and they will land in your hair or on your legs. Joan and I debated why we see so many more this year than any other year before. We don’t know, but maybe the mild winter played a role. However, we enjoy the presence of butterflies up on the bluffs of the Little Maquoketa River Valley here in eastern Iowa.

By the way, this was not shot with a macro lens. I had the Sigma 150-600 on camera for some hummingbirds this weekend and while waiting for their performance, this Tawny Emperor in the front yard became suddenly the subject. As always, I’m not an “eye ball photographer” but the lines of the hostas leaves and the emperor lined up perfectly and some water from the last shower was left on the leave. Summer in eastern Iowa…

BLURRING THE WATER

June 27, 2020

Middle Fork Little Maquoketa River, Bankston County Park, Iowa

No landscape or people photographer likes dappled light for the most part. But if the dappled light hits the right spots, a photo can be created. Back to the river valley in Bankston County Park today I tried to get some birds in front of the lens. The feathered friends had other plans and after spending over an hour along the Middle Fork Little Maquoketa River without any good results, I decided to change lenses and dedicate some time to the river itself. We had some rain lately and the water had good speed around the cascades.

I used the technology in the camera to produce some blurred water in the bright light of this afternoon. The Nikon D750 allows multiple exposures for one frame, although its only three at a time. Newer cameras may allow more shots in multiple exposure mode. The camera is on a tripod and first a test shot is made to see where to start. Use aperture priority mode, between f/22 and f/32 (depending on your lens) and ISO100. Autofocus on a fixed point, like a stone, and then turn the autofocus mode carefully off. I set the shutter to continuous high speed but low speed may work as well. Fire all three (or more) shots and look for the results on your screen. Make any corrections you want with your exposure compensation dial and do it again, and again, and again. No two shots are exactly alike, due to the fact that the water looks always different. Back at home, in front of your computer screen, it is time to make the difficult decision which photo to use for telling your story…

Why do I like this way so much? During bright day light you need a very dark filter and may still not have a slow enough shutter speed to blur the water. If you have ever worked with neutral density filters (6 stop or 10 stop) you know that the slightest vibration can ruin your shot and focus has to be on spot before the filter is in front of the lens. The method as described makes you very fast and allows to try out many different shooting angles or zoom settings within a short period of time, giving you a lot more space for creativity while working along a creek or river.

NATURE CLICKS #461 - HACKBERRY EMPEROR

June 27, 2020

If we would have to crown a butterfly of the year by now, it would be the Hackberry Emperor. I can’t speak for the rest of the county or state, but here, in and above the Little Maquoketa River Valley, we see them presently by the hundreds if not more. We have quite a few hackberry trees in our woods here, their only larval food plant, and we see quite a few every year around. But this year is different and their numbers are much higher.

They like the sunny spots on our front porch in the evening and making the photo with the SIGMA 150, f/2.8 Macro lens is not a difficult task.

TWO CONCEPTS FOR A GRAY DAY

June 15, 2020

Last weekend I spent some time again in the wetlands along the Mississippi River. It’s nesting time and except for the pelicans, egrets, and geese most birds are not so visible. The sky had an overcast for most of the afternoon and it even rained a few times briefly. I practiced a little handholding with the pelicans that circled above but birds against a gray sky, well it just ain’t pretty.

When I had this flycatcher, an Eastern Kingbird, in front of the lens, I decided to go for a black & white image. The bird is mostly black, gray, or white and shape and color of the dead branch it was perched on seemed to fit for this concept. The uniform sky made for negative space and supports this approach for a fine art print.

Here is another way to deal with the gray sky and its reflection on the water surface. The water lilies started to bloom and there was this spot without too much glare on the water. You may say, dude, why didn’t you use a polarizing filter in front of the lens? The answer is simple, I don’t have such a big one that would fit the 150-600 mm lens. Yes, the flower was a bit away and I had the long lens at hand anyway… In post process the vibrance was increased a bit more than usual and I used the dehaze-slider to give it a little more punch.

I know, there are better ways to make these kind of photos but photography should remain fun. Coming back home with something on the memory card on such a gray day counts twice… 😊

A HIDDEN GEM

April 6, 2020

One of the hidden gems in the landscape of the driftless area here is White Pine Hollow State Preserve near the little town of Luxemburg, Iowa. You can’t drive in and I recommend some solid hiking boots if you like to explore this area. Except for the hollow that leads down to the bottom of the canyon there are no trails and some sense of direction is recommended. If you don’t mind a hike through washed out and rocky terrain and can master a couple of small river crossings, you will be rewarded with tranquility and the beauty of nature. And now, during these unusual times, it is a place where social distancing is easy to maintain. We hiked yesterday for 3 1/2 hours and didn’t see a single soul. Well, have a look what we found…

Big patches of Wild Leek (Allium tricoccum)

Round-lobed Hepatica (Anemone americana)

ANOTHER SIGN OF SPRING

March 28, 2020

If there is anything I don’t like about March here in eastern Iowa, it’s the fact that we have so many gray days without any sun. Today was another one of those. The photo of the crocuses is from yesterday, when a little more light was available and no extra efforts were necessary to make the colors pop. For this picture I employed the Nikkor 16-35, f/4 and closed down to f/10 for more depth of field than in the photo of the Hepatica from yesterday’s blog post. As I always stress, I’m not a flower photographer, but with all the gray and brown from last winter on the ground a few colors don’t hurt and keep the spirit up on a day like this.

SERIOUS SIGN OF SPRING

March 27, 2020

No, the photo wasn’t taken in our woods this time but during a little hike that Joan, dog Cooper, and I took in the Mines of Spain State Recreation Area this evening. Hepatica Americana is the first wild flower that usually shows up and we found it below some rock bluffs in a more remote part in this park south of Dubuque, Iowa.

I wanted this kind of shot with a low depth of field. At 200 mm and f/5 only a couple blossoms are in focus, but it keeps the eye away from the dried clutter around the plant and that’s the way I like it.

PASSING BY

March 8, 2020

Not a full moon but pretty close. I made this picture yesterday at 600 mm focal length. Most of the Greater White-fronted Geese managed to fly around but finally I found a few that would pass in front of the moon. The trick is to predict the path the geese would take and track them by panning with the lens. If you pre-focus on the moon and just wait until a bird flies by, the geese would be most likely just blurry. The warm light on the birds creates a nice color contrast to the cool background and leaves no doubt about when this shot was taken.

PAINTED DESERT (3)

January 30, 2020

A shaft of light hits a big piece of petrified wood, while the shadow of the mountain behind me hides the surrounding area and makes the subject stand out.

So, how about the petrified wood in the National Park? In a nutshell, the process of per-mineralization of the wood was accomplished by silicification, meaning that the wood was replaced by silica long time ago. That’s interesting, but beside the scientific facts there are other reasons to point the lens at these gems in the desert.

Erosion produces the look how we can see the fossilized trunks in the park. Many are still buried under layers of soil and rock.

Different minerals have produced the colors we can find in the petrified wood today.

EDUCATIONAL VALUE

January 20, 2020

On the exhibition floor during DUBUQUE BALD EAGLE WATCH 2020

I have another photo of the Dubuque Bald Eagle Watch event from last Saturday for you. This picture tells a good story about the educational value the attendees were able to experience. The Jackson County Conservation had a turtle and this Milk Snake on display and visitors were able to touch or even handle them. Beside the birds of prey during the presentation of the University of Minnesota Raptor Center, this snake was the real star of the event. Many people came to see it and get a hands on experience with the harmless reptile. Not everybody was as brave as this little girl, who had no fear to pick up the snake and let it move around arms and fingers. I guess at the end of the day the snake was a little bit stressed but hopefully a lot more people had a new appreciation about some wildlife that surrounds us.