IN CAPTIVITY, BUT STORYTELLING

Diamondback Water Snake, Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium, Dubuque, Iowa

There is at least one thing that any picture of an animal has to have in common, no matter if it was shot in the wild, or like this one, shot through the thick glass of a terrarium in the Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium. I’m talking about sharpness, in particular the sharpness of the eye. If the eye is not sharp the image goes to the trash can. Are there exceptions? Of course, as always in life. I have plenty of pictures in my library that will never see the eye of the public because they are not sharp, but I keep them for reference. The photo library is also a diary and can tell us, i.e. what day in late April or early May the migrating birds arrived from South America.

Back to this photo of a Diamondback Water Snake. Until tonight, when I sat in front of the computer screen, I didn’t realize that I had photographed this beautiful snake before in the wild but had mistakenly labeled it as a Northern Water Snake. The body part that reveals the pattern of a Diamondback is from another snake and beside that, I trust the naming of professional biologists still more than my own research. Not a big deal, that’s what museums are for, educational places not just for the young generation.

If you try to find out how the body of this snake is coiled in this picture you may get lost. What you see is the head of one, but underneath were three other snakes, hopefully enjoying location and climate as well. However, the composition of this photo is not an accident. I wanted to have the upper part of the body in a coil, knowing that the blue color of the background will still help to tell the story of a beautiful critter, even if displayed in captivity.

I WISH…

Spiny Softshell Turtle, Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium, Dubuque, Iowa

… I can find a Spiny Softshell Turtle one of these days out in the great outdoors. This one is a resident of the Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium in Dubuque, Iowa. More “summer fun” with the grandkids again today and a visit of this great museum is always on the agenda when they visit us.

The softshell turtle’s soft, rubbery, and flat shell makes it easy to distinguish them from other turtles . The long and piglike nose gives the turtle a unique appearance. They are among my favorite critters in the museum and when the day comes I find one in the wild, you will hear from a very happy photographer…

Nikon D750, Nikkor 70-200mm / f4 @ 200 mm, 1/250 s, f/4, ISO 400

SUMMER FUN

We had some summer fun with the grandkids in the backyard this afternoon. Beside “water battles” and other kids entertainment we watched our little House Wrens being fed by their parents, looked at butterflies, and collected acorns and other nature treasures. During a break this small dragonfly caught my eye. I believe it is a Four-spotted Skimmer, but I’m not sure.

I didn’t shoot the SIGMA 150, f/2.8 wide open but at f/4 it still had a very shallow depth of focus. By exposing strictly for the highlights the not so pretty background of our compost bin got thrown out and the dragonfly stands out nicely.

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

PIC OF THE DAY

House Wrens

We watched the female House Wren carefully going in and out of  the hole at the nest box in our front yard for the last 2 weeks. She sat on a clutch of eggs. The male wren guarded the home and tried to lure every potential predator away by singing and drawing the attention to himself instead to the nest location. Today was the moment we were waiting for. While enjoying a cool drink on our porch this evening we saw both parents bringing food to the nest. Sure sign that there is some new life in the box. I don’t think it ever happened during all the years that I had both parents in front of the lens at the same time during this crucial period of time.

The female on the left arrived first with some food in her bill on the roof of the nest box. The male was also a successful hunter and handed his prey to her, just a second after this click was made. She managed to take both and deliver it to their offspring. We watch the House Wrens every year raising their offspring somewhere around the house, but believe me, it is still an excitement for us to be a witness.

Nikon D750, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, Induro GIT 404XL tripod, Induro GHB2 gimbal head, Nikon SB 800 speed light, MAGMOD MagBeam flash extender.

DITCHING THE COLORS

When I go for a walk I try to make it a habit to look for light and subjects that may benefit from a certain way the light touches them. This corner of the historical Star Brewery in Dubuque found my attention. It was a colorful picture with red and orange brick stones, a blue staircase, and greens and yellows from the tree, plants, and flowers. But I had this imagination of a black and white photo with some contrast when I looked through the viewfinder. The blacks suppress all the not so important elements and the highlights bring out the graphic impact of the staircase. It is the image I had in mind.

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

THE SOUND OF PROP PLANES (PART 2)

Yesterday was the better day for shooting the T6’s at the Dubuque Airport. A little storm that went trough our area brought some clouds and that made for a much more interesting background. The wind had shifted to the west and the second runway, closer to the observation deck, was used for landing the planes. My keeper rate was much better and I hope I can attribute that to my practice of panning with the long lens the day before. Today I didn’t go out but we had a great air show right here at home. When the noise of plane engines filled the air we knew they all took finally off for the Air Venture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. What a display! I counted 27, flying all together in formations of four, as they had practiced during the last few days. Today’s photos are all from Saturday afternoon at the airport. I hope you enjoy!

All images: Nikon D750, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S

NATURE CLICKS #432 - HORNED LARK

Male Horned Lark

I haven’t seen and photographed a Horned Lark here in eastern Iowa since more than four years. Before 2015 I never had problems finding them, especially in early spring. The bird is listed as a common bird in steep decline, which underlines my own observations. To my surprise I found a male Horned Lark yesterday and today again on the observation hill at the Dubuque Regional Airport. I saw this bird several times with insects in its bill, and as the second photo shows, they take the bigger ones too. It nurtures my hope that there is a nest somewhere around.

Due to the fact that I was at the airport for making some clicks of the historical airplanes that practice for the big air venture in Oshkosh, WI next week, I didn’t have the tripod out. It helped to stabilize the lens on one of the posts that support the sunroof on the observation deck. The gravel of the parking lot is not really attractive but that’s where the Horned Lark foraged for insects. Although I shot very many pictures of the planes and only a few of the bird, these wildlife photos are important to me and made me very happy.

THE SOUND OF PROP PLANES

During the last couples days the sound of propeller driven airplanes over the house made me aware that it is the time of the year again when pilots with their historical planes get ready and practice for the big airshow next week in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. This evening I went out to the Dubuque Regional Airport and tried to make some clicks. I have done this before during other years and although I’m not really into aviation photography I enjoy these airplanes and take this opportunity for practice of handholding skills with the heavy long lens attached to camera. My keeper rate wasn’t very good today and I hate to come up with tons of excuses, but it was pretty much the lack of practice of my handholding capabilities.

As mentioned in other blog posts over the years before, I like to tell the story of motion with these airplanes and aim for a blurred prop. The only way to get this kind of shot is to stick with a slow shutter speed, means between 1/60 s and 1/200 s. The T6’s flew in formations of four and this was my favorite shot of this evening. But wait, there was some bird present at the observation deck of the airport that I haven’t seen in a long time. But hey, this is for another blog post… 😉

MISSISSIPPI RIVER STORIES 2019 #07 - BEFORE TWILIGHT AND A LOOK AT THE MOON

Mississippi River, Potosi, Wisconsin

Same location as in my last blog post from two days ago. Before the time of twilight the sun has to set, of course, as it happens 365 days a year (but not every day lets us enjoy the twilight time 😉) The view goes to the northwest, the direction where the river comes from, and due to the time of the season the sun sets still over a part of Wisconsin. Our state of Iowa is the small stretch of land on the left hand side, and that may give those of you who are not so familiar with this area an idea how mighty the Mississippi River really is. For shots like this I set the white balance in camera pretty close to 7000 Kelvin. The new Breakthrough 2-stop graduated neutral density filter prevents the blow out of the highlights even in the center of the sun. The real landscape photography gurus may ask, why did you use only a 2-stop filter, if the range of light is asking for three stops or maybe even more.? Yes, I have a 3-stop GND filter (Schneider GND 0.9) and I knew it would have been the proper choice, but I’m still testing the limits of the Breakthrough X4 GND 0.6.

Moon over the river, Potosi, Wisconsin

And here is the other reason to be out there as a photographer, even if it wasn’t really my subject this evening. An almost full moon raised 42 minutes before sunset, pretty much exactly 180 degree on the opposite side. A little too early for the best shot of a moonrise but still good for a picture from the same spot and pointing the lens to the southeast. The exposure time was 0.6 s & f/16, giving the water a nice blur and telling the story about a windy spot by looking at the willow leaves.

I know, family and friends over in Germany often ask me to show more photos of our area. I hope this gives those of you who have never been here, or have a look at my blog from different parts of the world (Hi, Jeanine and Johan in Johannesburg / South Africa) a better perspective if I tell one of my “Mississippi River Stories”. I appreciate every visitor in my blog! Keep sending me message/opinions/questions, etc. 

MISSISSIPPI RIVER STORIES 2019 #06 - STAYING FOR THE TWILIGHT

Mississippi River, Potosi, Wisconsin

I went east, over to the Wisconsin side of the Mississippi River this evening. There is a popular spot in Potosi, where a dyke with a gravel road reaches out into the river for about half a mile. At the end is a little parking lot and a boat ramp and you are surrounded by water on three sides. Sometimes it is a great place for wildlife photography but this wasn’t on the agenda this evening. The river makes a bend here and has a northwest to southeast course. Today it was kinda special, because the almost full moon came up in the southeast over the river and the sun set exactly 180 degree on the opposite side. Because the course of the river at this point you can see the sun disappearing behind the trees on the bluffs of the Wisconsin side.

There were some other people coming out for the sunset tonight but only one couple stayed after sunset for the civil and nautical twilight. We got rewarded with a great show in the sky, sunbeams in the northwest and a full moon in the southeast. A little wind made this evening very pleasant, summer doesn’t get much better…

Nikon D750, Nikkor 16-35mm / f4, Induro GIT 404XL tripod, RRS BH-55 ballhead, Vello cable release, Breakthrough GND filter 0.6,   @16 mm, 2.5 s, f/20, ISO100

CHASING CLOUDS AGAIN

Thunderstorm cell moving out, near Sherrill, Eastern Iowa

A little storm cell showed up on the radar this evening and brought finally a few rain showers. I jumped in my car and tried to chase the clouds, hoping for some exciting light and drama in the sky. Well, the clouds dissolved pretty quickly and the big drama didn’t happen. I have photographed this old farm house many times before over the years. It’s condition doesn’t get any better, another reason for not making it the subject of my image, but in context with clouds and landscape it makes sense to include it anyway.

ON THE OLD RAILROAD PATH

Heritage Trail, old railroad path near Durango, Iowa

Another picture from yesterday’s walk on the Heritage Trail in the Little Maquoketa River Valley. The photo from my last blog post was made way in the back behind the couple on bicycles, on the bridge that crosses the river. In the old days when the railroads were built they tried to keep the tracks as straight as possible and blasted away some of the rocks and bluffs that were shaped by the river a long time ago. These hollows make some nice and shady spots on the trail that have a micro climate and can be interesting for finding plants, birds, and critters.

As mentioned in my last blog post, I tried out a new GND filter and even in a situation like this it helps to manage the high dynamic range of the scene.

Nikon D750, Nikkor 16-35mm / f4, Breakthrough 2-stop X4 GND filter

DOWN IN THE VALLEY

Little Maquoketa River, Durango, Iowa

A shot fresh out of camera from this evening. I went down into our Little Maquoketa River Valley to Durango, Iowa, a little village with maybe a dozen homes and the old railroad depot, which is now a bar. The picture was taken from the railroad bridge towards the fork where the Middle Fork Maquoketa River and the Little Maquoketa River meet, only a few miles before their water enters the Mississippi River. The railroad tracks have been removed a long time ago and their path is now a very popular recreation trail, called the Heritage Trail.

I was testing a new 2-stop soft edge graduated neutral density filter and I’m sure after I have more experience with it I will write a little review here in the blog. After the flooding during the last months the river banks don’t look necessarily pretty. A lot of dead wood and debris edges the banks and removing some of the sticks in post process is part of my way to make this landscape picture work. You can see how the GND filter keeps the interesting clouds and the moon on the right hand side intact and leaves good detail and tones in the fore- and middle-ground. Sure, I could lift the dark shadows in post process to reveal more detail in the trees, but this would not benefit the storytelling of this image. This is not a picture with a clear subject but the eye follows the lines of the river, goes to the clouds, maybe the moon, and comes back to the subtle reflections on the water in the foreground. No reason to get lost between dead branches and the mud of the river bank, which are nicely covered in the shadows.

ALL YEAR LONG

American Goldfinch, near Durango, Iowa

Goldfinches breed later than most birds in North America, mostly not before mid-summer. They are vegetarians with almost no exceptions and they rely on plants that provide seeds, like thistle, milkweed, and others. The American Goldfinches are the only finch that molts twice a year. The males get their pretty yellow feathers in late winter and it makes it very easy to identify them even over a long distance. We have them around here in eastern Iowa all year long, but it might not be the same birds that we see during the winter because they migrate.

A good way to attract them to the backyard is by providing a bird bath that is always filled and of course heated during winter time. We don’t see them actually bathing very often but they sure like to drink. Setting up a little perch helps to make a picture without the bird bath in the frame. The gesture of the finch, just ready to jump down to the water source, made me choose this photo for today’s blogpost. Nothing spectacular, but still pretty…

BUSY BLUEBIRD PARENTS

Male Eastern Bluebird, Dubuque, Iowa

A couple days a go I received a call from my photography friend Kevin, inviting me for a backyard shooting at his house in the evening. A pair of Eastern Bluebirds were feeding their offspring, three little chicks in a bird box. Kevin builds nest boxes, not just for his land, also for public places like Swiss Valley. He had set up a nice perch near the nest and all what we had to do was waiting for the parents with some food in their bills. Almost every time they came with insects, larva, or spiders the bluebirds used the perch to observe the surrounding before they safely approached the entrance to the box.

We sat comfortably in lawn chairs behind our tripods, had good conversation, and clicked away when the action took place. The low sun provided relativ soft light and it was not necessary to use any flash for color boost or to fill in the shadows.

Female Eastern Bluebird

Eastern Bluebirds are some of the prettiest birds we have here and they are very photogenic. The blue of the female’s wing feathers is a lot paler than the male’s but both parents put the same efforts in to find enough food for the chicks.

Food supply in abundance

This was the shot Kevin and I were hoping for, both adult bluebirds with food in their bills on the perch at the same time. It happened only once this evening but we used this opportunity. I usually shoot with the long lens wide open at f/6.3 but here I had it set to f/8. This provided of course still not enough depth of field for having both birds in sharp focus. The focus was on the male at the top but the photo summarizes the story of this evening.

It is always fun to shoot together with Kevin and I’m thankful again for sharing a great photo opportunity.