BANDELIER NATIONAL MONUMENT

The village of Tyuonyi on the floor of Frijoles Canyon.

Bandelier National Monument protects over 33,000 acres of rugged but beautiful canyon and mesa country as well as evidence of a human presence here going back over 11,000 years.  Petroglyphs, dwellings carved into the soft rock cliffs, and standing masonry walls pay tribute to the early days of a culture that still survives in the surrounding communities. (source: park website).

We camped in the park for three nights but trails are open only from dawn to dusk. Beside history and culture the park offers also much for any nature lover. As we wanted to see as much as possible we couldn’t be choosy about the times and some of the photography had to be done, well, at the height of the day. I hope these five photos give you still an idea about the beauty of this place.

IT’S FALL, BUT STILL FEELS LIKE SUMMER

We went out this evening to look for the last signs of summer although fall is officially here. 

The numbers of blooming flowers in the remaining tall grass prairies area are dwindling but a few pretty ones can still be found around here.

We didn’t have a cold snap yet and it was a dry year, which means fall colors may not be as vibrant as we hope. Many leaves have hit already the ground but it is nice to see a few peaks of yellow or orange in the trees.

It seems like it is a better year for bees, wasps, and other pollinators. Not just in our yard, also on the prairie I recognize much more activity than during recent years, and that’s a good thing!

SPIDER AFTER THE RAIN

This big spider wove its web between one of the bird boxes and the ferns and flowers below in our front yard. After a rainy night in late August I found the web full of water droplets and thought this was an interesting subject to photograph. While approaching the web with the 150 mm macro lens on camera, the nest started to vibrate a little and the spider came suddenly out of the bird box, and tried to find out if someone fell victim in his artfully designed web.

In order to have sharpness for both, the water droplets and the spider, I closed the lens down to f/8. Because I was really close the depth of focus was only 10 mm, less than half an inch, and the background remained still nicely blurred.

Nikon D750, Sigma 150mm / f2.8 APO EX DG HSM, @1/160 s, f/8, ISO 200,

FOCUS STACKING, WITH FALL ON THE DOORSTEP

Joan and I used a gorgeous Labor Day weekend for some outdoor activities, including hiking in Wisconsin and paddling on the Mississippi River, but photography started right here at home in our backyard. The trunk of a fallen maple tree waits in our backyard to be sawn into pieces sometime, but right now it is the host for a beautiful cluster of mushrooms.

For the first time I employed the technique of focus stacking for the final image. I took three shots and each had a different focal point, in this instance the three groups of mushrooms. Back in post process the three images were merged and only the sharpest parts of each photo are revealed in the final picture. There are many different ways of doing this and you can find all ideas about it on YouTube. I prefer the manual way, hiding or revealing the part of each photo that matters for the final result by using the paint brush.

Tree fungus or mushrooms can be found at any time during spring, summer, or fall, but autumn is the probably the best time for this kind of a subject.

WRONG TIME, SAME TOWER, BUT CLOUDS…

Cirrus clouds above the clock tower in Dubuque, Iowa

If you think, I have seen the tower just recently in July on this website, you are absolutely correct. Last Friday was another concert under the clock tower in Dubuque, Iowa. The former ‘Dubuque and all that Jazz’ is now called ‘Music on Main Street’ and this was the event for the month of August in 2021. One of my favorite Midwest bands, the Minneapolis based “10 of Soul” played again. I have photographed them already three times since 2014 and their performance is always very energetic. If time allows I still may post a few photos here in the blog. Today it’s all about the clock tower again, which by the way didn’t show the correct time. The hands rotated the whole time in ‘high speed’ around the clock face. I guess the guy in charge of the software for the clock was on vacation…😉

It was the cirrus clouds that triggered my desire to aim the lens at the tower again. This time the color version of the photo was just right, making the clouds the subject, and the tower stays kinda subdued because the setting sun didn’t threw much direct light at it anymore.

‘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

NATURE CLICKS #509 - SAD UNDERWING MOTH (CATOCALA MAESTOSA)

I like to say it right at the beginning, I don’t put any money on a bet about the identification of this moth, but several online sources led to the conclusion that this is a Sad Underwing Moth. Yesterday evening, when I came back from a little trip with our dog, the moth used our front door as a sunny resting spot. The sun was already pretty low but there was no need to employ a speed light or any other artificial light source. The dark underwings are usually hidden beneath the camouflage of the forewings but this one had one side exposed to the light. The color version of the image is not bad but I really liked the graphic impact of this moth, hence the development as a black & white photo.

Nikon D750, Sigma 150mm / f2.8 APO EX DG HSM, Induro GIT 404XL tripod, RRS BH-55 ball head,   @ 1/2 s, f/16, ISO100

MISSISSIPPI RIVER STORIES 2021 #5 - A LIVELY RIVER

This Muskrat, which is a semiaquatic rodent but actually not a member of the genus Rattus, swam right at me and was in interaction with a second one.

Many people enjoy the mighty Mississippi River during the summer weekends and the main channel becomes often very busy and noisy. As the day came to an end yesterday, the most motorized boats were gone and the river fell back into silence. I finally got the kayak into the water again and paddled Mud Lake, a backwater area that is separated from the main channel by an artificial, overgrown rock dam. Mud Lake is still connected with the big river but has very little current and is a wonderful nature area, in particular during this time of the season.

Bald Eagles, pelicans, herons, gulls, and geese fly up and down the river but it’s easier to photograph them from land. I wanted to see again what’s out there in and on the water and took dog Cooper and the long lens with me for a two-hour kayak trip.

Arrowheads that grow along the shore of the dam in the shallow water show their flowers. They produce tubers down in the mud that are an important food source for at least 15 species of ducks, snapping turtles, and muskrats, hence the name “duck potatoes”.

Shortly after I left the sandy boat ramp at Mud Lake Park this Northern Water Snake crossed in front of the kayak. I have seen them before but never took a picture from the boat. They are non venomous but may bite when agitated.

Mud Lake is covered by huge rafts of water lilies and make it a beautiful green habitat. Even some parts of the channel are overgrown with them this year and paddling through the big leathery leaves can be a challenge at times.

No paddle trip without seeing turtles. Most common at Mud Lake is the Painted Turtle. This one stretches its hind leg into the sun.

The water lilies are a great playground for the Red-winged Blackbirds. They find an ideal buffet of insects on the big leaves and blossoms. This female gave me a nice display.

ARTSY-FARTSY SUMMER FUN

Although I do not publish a new blog post every day, I still try to make a few clicks with the camera daily. Sometimes just to practice or try out new things, and other times to keep the creative juices flowing. Most of these pictures will never be seen by the public eye but for me they are part of the ongoing learning process in photography.

We had finally some rain today and the air cooled down a little bit, but two days ago it was very hot and muggy and I just sat in a chair outside with the camera in my lap. The sun had already set but there was still a little glow touching our flowers, ferns, and grasses in the front yard. I played around with some long exposure times between two and ten seconds while keeping the camera in motion. This became more interesting when the lightning bugs (some call them fireflies or glowworms) started their performance. The slow movement of the camera duplicated our purple coneflowers while the short appearance of the bugs made for sharp little light trails. Just some artsy-fartsy fun with the camera… 😊

Nikon D750, Sigma 150mm / f2.8 APO EX DG HSM, @ 8s, f/5, ISO 100

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

FEELS LIKE IN A TV AD…

Hackberry Emperor

In the last few days hundreds, if not thousands, of Hackberry Emperor butterflies have emerged and flutter around. It feels like in these TV ads that try to sell you everything with a tropical touch. Well, we have plenty of the larval host plants around here, the hackberry tree. It is not uncommon to see many of these butterfies at this time of the season but these are by far the highest numbers we have seen since we live here above the Little Maquoketa River Valley near the Mississippi. The males land on everything that is bright, sunny spots or just bright objects, and await the females. They don’t hesitate to land on your skin and I read that they readily land on people to drink sweat for salt.

An event like that is a perfect reason to get the old, well trusted SIGMA 150/f2.8 macro lens out of the bag. It doesn’t focus very fast in comparison to more modern lenses, but if it locks on, the sharpness is absolutely wonderful.

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

EVERY SPRING…

Bloodroot, Whitewater Canyon Wildlife Area, Dubuque County, Iowa

Easter weekend and the last couple days have been warm, or at least mild, and nature responds to that. Wildflowers started blooming in large numbers. We went on a hike through ‘Lost Canyon’ and ‘Valley of 13 Caves’ in the Whitewater Canyon Wildlife Area here in Dubuque County on Easter Sunday. Well, we could make similar pictures in the woods behind our house here in the Little Maquoketa River Valley, but it was nice to get out and explore something away from home. Yeaah, I say that every year, I’m not a flower photographer, but at the end it’s hard to resist to look for the light and make a click whenever nature’s beauty unfolds in front of the eye…

Hepatica, Whitewater Canyon Wildlife Area, Dubuque County, Iowa

SECOND APPEARANCE

Hard to believe this was almost a week ago. A few days earlier our crocus and snow bells showed their first blossoms until they got all covered again during a snow storm last Monday. So, here is a couple photos from the second appearance of spring flowers in our yard this year.

It’s not really macro photography but the old SIGMA 150/f2.8 macro lens is still in my bag and finds employment for shots like this. Most modern lenses focus much faster, but if the camera is locked on the subject, this lens delivers still tack sharp results. Another reason for me to use this lens sometimes is the Minimum Focusing Distance (MFD), which is 15 inches (0.38m). A ‘killer tool’ for any detail shots!

LAST FOR THE SEASON: ICY ART

With winter coming slowly but surely to an end I thought to wrap up my little project for the season. I had fun to find patterns, shapes, reflections, and colors in ice, on rivers, lakes, on glass, or even just at the surface of a frozen bird bath. Not all pictures made it into the new collection but I thought a few were worth to be shown. If you like to see the whole gallery, just click on the photo and it will open the ICY ART collection for you. Have a marvelous weekend!