Sunset in the driftless region of eastern Iowa
Much needed rain and gray clouds dominated the sky today. Not long before sunset the clouds moved out and I grabbed the camera and drove into the fields nearby, trying to find a good spot for the sunset and the illuminated clouds without obstructions by power lines or trees. Not as spectacular as I was hoping for but still good enough for a few clicks and starting the weekend…
Black Hawk Bridge across the Mississippi River, Lansing, NE Iowa
While returning from a business trip last night I had to stop at the Black Hawk Bridge that crosses the Mississippi River in Lansing, Iowa. The light on the scene was just too good to be ignored. The website historicbridges.org describes this wonderful cantilevered truss design of the bridge as following: This bridge is among the most unusual and significant large scale cantilever truss bridges in the country, on account of its excellent historic integrity, relatively old age, increasing rarity, and unusual design.
It is a photo I always wanted to make while driving through the town of Lansing or across the bridge several times each year. Yesterday the time was right. No, I wasn’t standing on the railroad tracks, just right next to them, but using a wide angle, 16 mm focal length allows to include the tracks in the photo and make them part of the storytelling about traffic routes in the Mississippi Valley. Sure, it would be nice to have the real warm light just before sunset for a photo like this, but due to the steep bluffs that form the Mississippi Valley in northeast Iowa the sun sets almost an hour earlier on this side of the river.
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!
I was sitting on the porch this evening, knowing that it might be the last chance to say goodbye to a few Ruby-throated Hummingbirds that stop on their way south for a short drink at one of the remaining flowers in the yard, or at least at one of our nectar feeders. The migration wave ends here at the end of September, with an occasional sighting of a hummingbird in early October. Looking a little more critical at this photo you may recognize that this picture was taken at an earlier time of the year. There aren’t enough flowers in the yard anymore to make for such a colorful background. Well, it will be seven month from now until one of us will say, I saw the first hummingbird of the season!
Manitowoc Breakwater Lighthouse, Lake Michigan, Wisconsin
Whenever I go on a business trip I take the camera with me, although quite often I don’t find the time to do some serious photography. Today I was a little early for an appointment with a customer in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. Clouds and light looked kinda promising and so I went quickly down to Lake Michigan to make a few clicks of the Manitowoc Breakwater Lighthouse, that marks the entrance to the marina at the north pier. At arrival in the parking lot I realized that it was quite a long walk to get an unobstructed view of the lighthouse. I did it anyway, shot for three minutes and ran back to the car to make the appointment on time. It was worth the effort. Although the sun was behind my subject, nice clouds in the background, the sun reflecting on the water, and even a few waves crashing onto the pier were all good ingredients for this photo.
Nikon D750, Nikkor 70-200mm / f/4, @ 200 mm, 1/1000 s, f/5.6, ISO100
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
Northern Leopard Frog, Mississippi River, Mud Lake, Iowa
Here is another photo where the decision about the depth of focus (or depth of field, whatever you prefer) had an impact how this Northern Leopard Frog can be presented in its natural habitat. As you can see (without seeing me 😉), I was flat on the ground to be on eye level with the critter. You may also realize that the background is very busy and not very flattering. I started shooting with f/8 to have a little more than just the area around the eye in real sharp focus, but the clutter with sharp contours in the background killed the picture. The frog with its pattern did not stand out enough. The final photo was shot with f/4. Still not a great background but it is at least out of focus, much softer, and the Leopard Frog with its wonderful eye had a chance to shine.
Nikon D750, Nikkor 70-200mm / f4, @190 mm, 1/1250 s, f/4, ISO400
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,
Bald Eagle, Mississippi River, near Mud Lake, Iowa
Daylight becomes shorter a little bit every day but the evenings are still long enough for a paddle trip on the Mississippi River. It was a very quiet evening today on the river. Birds and other wildlife is not as present as earlier in the season but we had some good moments. Many Bald Eagles nest along the river and this one is a local in the Mud Lake area. This log, stranded on a mud bank at the main channel of the river, was obviously a good perch for the eagle. It seemed to enjoy the setting sun as much as we did, but had surely an eye on the fish that comes near the surface. While I took some time to approach the eagle slowly with the camera, Joan had moved on and was rewarded with the brief sighting of an adult and a young river otter. Otters are not uncommon but we haven’t seen one in our area for quite some time.
Green Heron, Mississippi River, Backwaters of Mud Lake, Iowa
The backwaters of Mud Lake were not as easy to paddle as the main river this evening. Lots of aquatic plants, tons of duck weed, and some algae slowed us down quite a bit. This little Green Heron fits right into this habitat. They are not as common as the Great Blue Heron and having an opportunity to aim the lens at this bird is always a great treat.
All photos: Nikon D750, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S
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.
Yesterday we were treated with a nice performance of an Eastern Wood-Pewee, feeding two juveniles in our front yard. This small flycatcher is present every year in our woods but I have never seen more than one at a time. Their song, a slurred “pee-ah-wee” or their call, a shrill “p-e-e-e-e-e-“ makes it easy to locate them between the leaves.
They sally out from an exposed perch to capture flies, bees, butterflies, wasps, and beetles and often return to the same perch. This makes it more predictable for the photographer. We had some rain and the adult pewee found plenty of insects near the ground for its offspring.
Juvenile Eastern Wood-Pewee
Another flycatcher, the Eastern Phoebe, looks very similar, but the pewee has a yellow base on its lower mandible while the phoebe’s bill is all dark. Another way to distinguish the two species is looking at their behavior on the perch. The Eastern Phoebe pumps its tail and the wing bars are less distinctive.
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.
Juvenile male Ruby-throated Hummingbird
I have been an advocate for shooting in the yard since a long time. It is the proving ground for practicing our skills, for becoming familiar with new equipment, and it can be an interesting habitat that teaches us how all things in nature depend on each other. In our woods it seems the Ruby-throated Hummingbirds that were born here earlier this summer have moved towards the south already and other hummers that grew up further north have taken their places at our feeders, or use the nectar from the flowers in the yard. It’s easy to take a photo of a resting bird, but the photos with spread out and buzzing wings have a much greater impact to the viewer. This juvenile male returned several times for a couple seconds to the flowers of our hosta plants. It made sense to pre-focus on the flowers and just wait until the hummer lands again. Getting the AF sensor onto the eye and throwing a hint of flash at the bird is all what it takes. With 200 mm focal length you don’t want the camera on a tripod. Handholding gives you more flexibility and speed in the process.
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.
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
