3.20 pm isn’t really sunset time at the end of January but it kinda felt like it after a big cloud had moved in front of the sun. I’m glad I went out to the Green Island Wetlands yesterday and made the click. We didn’t see the sun today at all…
Nikon Z6II, Nikkor Z 24-70, f/4 S, @ 70 mm, 1/1250 s, f/10, ISO 200
Virginia opossum, Green Island Wetland Preserve, Iowa
I “patrolled” my favorite wetland area along the Mississippi down at Green Island this afternoon. Five different raptors were spotted, with the most noticeable a Rough-legged Hawk. None of the birds came within range of a decent photo but it was fun watching some bird action. As I was ready to go home I spotted a black dot in the distance on top of the dyke. Getting closer it was soon identified as a Virginia opossum. They do not hibernate but reduce their activities during the winter and can stay in their den for several days if it gets a bit below freezing.
Both images: Nikon Z6II, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, FTZ adapter
This little guy had obviously enough from staying home and was out for a walk. As I got out of the car it had nowhere to go, there was only all open and snow covered territory around. The critter took a stand, showed me its teeth briefly, and figured out feigning death, means “playing possum”, wouldn’t help either. So it waited what would happen next and probably wondered why the guy with his camera in hand got low to the ground but didn’t charge or attack. The Virginia Opossum, also known as the North American opossum, is the northernmost opossum and also the northernmost marsupial in the world. Several sources state that this animal eats 95% of the ticks they encounter and it is estimated that they eat about 5000 ticks per season. Talk about a useful animal…!
A second round of photos from last weekend’s trip to the Northwoods of Wisconsin. Our friend Bryan built his cabin near this remarkable tree. I have photographed it, but never during a snow storm before. Actually I wasn’t really motivated to go out and wade through the deep snow to get the tree from this angle. Instead I just played with the camera and shot this image through the glass of a window.
As mentioned yesterday already, no snow stuck to the trees for long due to the high winds, but I think with its toning and long shadows the photo still tells the story about a very cold winter day up north on the frozen tundra.
The question came in, “how was the ice fishing?” I guess, this picture tells it all. What you see is the black tip of the flag that goes up when a fish bites. The orange stick is just for safety, so no stranger drives over your fishing hole accidentally. The photo was shot with an iPhone 12 after I had already removed my three tip-ups from the ice. Our friend Doug had his fishing gear still out when I snapped the pic. We all cleaned the drilled holes in the approximately 15” (38 cm) thick ice quite often to prevent them to freeze over, but the drifting snow covered the depression and the tip-up within minutes. It was faster then I have ever seen it in 17 years of ice fishing fun. We had a few flags going up and it was never because of a serious bite, just triggered by the icy winds. Yield of the day, one Bluegill, caught by Bryan’s son Clayton with a jigging rod at a hole next to his truck. Experience means nothing while ice fishing… 😆
Frozen Popple River, Forest County, Wisconsin
Last weekend was the annual ice fishing trip with friends in the Northwoods of Wisconsin. Very cold temperatures are not unusual up there but due to an icy wind we actually limited our time on the ice to only a few hours. Instead we scouted some lakes we had never been before and checked them out for future ice fishing adventures. Beside all the other fun we had I used this opportunity for some photography while driving through the woods and across the frozen land. Our host Bryan, who has a cabin up there, knows the area very well. I was happy that he stopped at a location I had been before several years ago and always wanted to revisit for some better images.
Both photos were made from a bridge across the frozen Popple River. Fresh snow fell the night before but unfortunately the wind blew most of it off the trees. I liked how the shore lines lead the eye into the backcountry. The Nikkor Z 24-70, f/4 S lens was used the whole time and I was very pleased how the Nikon Z6II performed under sub-zero conditions (-4ºF, -20ºC). A considerable wind chill made shooting quite a challenge and everything had to be done fast. There are of course gloves in my pockets that would allow shooting for a while, but I still prefer to use bare hands while operating the camera. Nice to have a warm pickup truck as a backup when the fingers start to get frozen stiff…😉
Cottonwood with fall colors, Jemez Mountains, New Mexico
I’m heading out to the icy Northwoods in Wisconsin soon for the weekend. I thought looking at a photo with warm fall colors may help to keep the spirit up during the height of winter… I hope you enjoy.
Common Redpoll
We received more snow yesterday and snow removal took priority over photography. After a cold night the birds knew where to find food and water this morning and I decided to spent some time behind the camera and the glass of our balcony window. To make things even more awkward I put the 1.4 teleconverter onto the SIGMA 150-600, f/5-6.3 S lens. This was the first time that I used this piece of glass with the new Nikon Z6II mirrorless camera, extending the focal length to 850 mm. Let me talk about the performance first before we come to the birds. Even behind the double glass of the balcony door, the autofocus still worked fine at f/9 with the Sigma APO Teleconverter 1.4x EX DG. Yes, the pictures are a little soft, probably just due from behind the window glass, and it took higher ISO settings to nail the shots but it was doable.
Now, let’s talk about the birds. At this side of the house we have only a feeder with sunflower seeds hanging from the balcony. That draws in all the seed eaters, like cardinals, titmice, a couple Purple Finches, and dozens of House Finches, Dark-eyed Juncos, or American Goldfinches.
While shooting, testing, and looking at the results my excitement grew rapidly when I spotted a Common Redpoll. The only time we saw one before was seven years ago, right here on our balcony. They are actually an Arctic bird, breeding high up in the north of Canada. I just read that redpolls sleep in snow tunnels during a long arctic night to preserve body heat. Amazing! They migrate south for the winter but our area is even south of their usual winter range. However, I read reports about sightings here in Iowa every year. Not my best image but I know that some birders follow my website and I like to share my own bird sightings with them.
Yellow-rumped Warbler
The other bird I like to mention today is the Yellow-rumped Warbler. We still see between two and five females every day drinking at one of our bird baths, despite the very cold weather. They probably feed on the juniper berries that can be found here on top of the bluffs at he Little Maquoketa River Valley. The Yellow-rumped Warbler is capable of wintering further north than any other warbler. The photography, oh boy, I try really hard to make a picture without the bird bath in it. Do me a favor ladies, just jump onto the stone! 😉
Medicine Rocks at sunset, Montana 2020
Streamlining and maintaining my photo library is always an ongoing project, especially during winter time. Some of our images just beg to be processed and we publish them immediately, and that’s great. Others need some time before we discover the potential of the image. And last not least there are always photos, mostly older ones, that can’t hold the quality standards I have today and will just be treated with the delete key of the computer keyboard.
With today’s photo I go back to 2020. Medicine Rocks in eastern Montana was a mesmerizing place to pitch the tent and inhale the feeling of the beautiful Wild West. It has been a sacred place for native people since hundreds of years and it bothers me how some individuals disrespect the fact and carve, whatever they want, into the soft stones of Medicine Rocks. I usually never alter the context of my photos, but here I admit, the stupid carving of a name into the rocks was eliminated while processing the final image.
It was a beautiful evening and the setting sun put a nice glow on some rocks, while others were already in the shade. In one of my blog posts about Medicine Rocks from October 2020 I posted already a color version of this image. So this is clearly a “group 2” picture, because I needed some time to discover the potential for a black and white version. You may not agree but I like it actually better.
Little Maquoketa River, only a few yards away from meeting the Mississippi River. Nikon Z6II, Nikkor Z 24-70, f/4 S, @ 70 mm, 1/200 s, f/11, ISO 100
You bet, I will post my little photo stories from the mighty Mississippi River here in eastern Iowa, or from the Wisconsin or Illinois shore on the other side, again in 2022. Today’s photo was made during a really late “lunch walk” with our dog Cooper. At 2PM the sun is already getting low during this time of the year, creating shadows and reflections that would not be there any other time. John Deere Marsh, the wetland preserve behind the big Deere factory, north of Dubuque, Iowa, was mostly created by the powers of two rivers, the Mississippi and the much smaller one that has carved out the valley below our house, the Little Maquoketa River. The image was made just a few yards/meters away from the confluence of these two streams. We love to paddle the Little Maquoketa River upstream with our kayaks during the summer. Here, near the confluence in the Mississippi Valley, it is twice as wide as it is below in the valley of our residence, only a few miles west. The river is mostly calm and just a wonderful place to be at any time of the season. I know, “high noon” and the hours around it, are not a great time for landscape photography. Quite often I do the “noon walk” with Cooper without even taking the camera strap off my shoulder, but sometimes there is a click to make, as it was today…
Adobe style details, Ranchos de Taos, New Mexico
I haven’t created any interesting photos during the last couple days but I still work with some of the images I made in October last year during our road trip to New Mexico. Long before we went there I have been fascinated with adobe buildings and the way they are designed and built. Many places in New Mexico have adobe style architecture, even if some newer ones use modern construction materials but are made to look like the historic churches found in the area.
All photos in today’s blog post were shot just around the famous San Francisco de Asís Mission Church in Rancho de Taos, New Mexico. We visited the church on two days at different times and with different light. Many of my detail images were made while strolling around the church, apparently with black & white in mind, and this will certainly happen. However, some pictures live also from their colors or color contrast and triggered my desire to develop them the way you see them here. I hope you enjoy!
Blue Jay, Nikon Z6II, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, FTZ adapter, Induro GIT 404XL tripod, Induro GHB2 gimbal head
After very gray but warmer weather yesterday the sun was back today and with it the cold air. We have still a good layer of snow on the ground and it made sense to use it for some bird photography in the woods around the house. You know already how much I love how the sunlight is bounced by the snow to the underside of the birds. Yes, the birds are here for food and water but they are careful and don’t fly directly to a feeder. Sometimes they also have to wait until a bigger competitor has left. The best chance to make the click is when they perch on branches at the edge of the woods. Since we have so many birds visiting, the photographer can be choosy and aim the lens to the species with the most brilliant colors only…😉
Northern Cardinal, Nikon Z6II, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, FTZ adapter, Induro GIT 404XL tripod, Induro GHB2 gimbal head
Juvenile Bald Eagle in all its glory, probably in its 2nd or 3rd year. The bird flew by with something (little fish?) in its bill.
Yesterday a call from my photography friend Kevin made me aware that a large number of Bald Eagles is present at lock & dam #11 in Dubuque, Iowa. The Mississippi is finally frozen over almost everywhere and the eagles come south to find open water, so they can eat and hunt for fish. Below the dams is always some open water and that’s where they concentrate and strive for the best fishing spots. I estimate we saw about 40-50 Bald Eagles at and around the lock & dam in Dubuque, Iowa today. It is the highest number we have seen since quite a few years.
Adult Bald Eagle, Mississippi River, Lock & Dam #11, Dubuque, Iowa
I was excited to explore some of the new focus modes and tried to get a grip on shooting birds in flight with the new Nikon Z6II. Oh boy, the best tools can’t help you much if the handholding skills are not very well developed. I haven’t practiced panning with the long lens for quite some time, but it is an essential skill that needs practice if you want the focus lock on the fast flying subject. The focus tracking capabilities of the camera work very well, better than with any digital camera I ever owned before. If you pan very smooth and follow the subject, you can really concentrate where to position the bird in the viewfinder without loosing the focus and just decide when to press the shutter button. The new tool is great but I guess I have to practice some more and work again on my skills to have a higher keeper rate than what was produced today…
My favorite gesture of the day, the moment when the eagle went from smooth gliding into a sudden dive down.
All images: Nikon Z6II, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, FTZ adapter
Northern Cardinal, Nikon Z6II, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, FTZ adapter, Induro GIT 404XL tripod, Induro GHB2 gimbal head, @ 600 mm, 1/640 s, f/6.3, ISO 640
The first week of the year has been a busy one, hence not much time was spent behind the camera so far. We have that beautiful white reflector on the ground, some people call it snow 😉, which is perfect for bird or any kind of wildlife photography. But this needs patience and without enough time the results, even from the “front and back yard studio”, are just kinda mediocre.
It has been quite cold the last couple days and I made only a few clicks from behind the glass of the balcony door. The window glass softens every picture a little bit but it is possible to make an image and practice shooting technique.
There is no lack of our feathered friends, who enjoy water and food around the house, and I try to find new challenges for my pictures, even if time is sparse. The sun was on the right and the bird looked away from it, but it made the crest of this Northern Cardinal stand out. The snow below throws some light into the shadow part and brings this image to life. Not perfect, but we approach the weekend and I may have the time to dress properly and shoot outside, at least for a while. As I’m writing this, the temperature is at -22ºC and due to the windchill it feels like -31ºC (-24ºF). Tomorrow the height will be at -14ºC, I guess it’s T-shirt time…😉
Twilight at Elephant Butte State Park, New Mexico
I wish all visitors and friends of my website and blog a happy and healthy year 2022!
Last “NATURE CLICKS” post for 2021. It was overdue while we watched several Yellow-rumped Warblers at our bird baths since over a months. At least three different birds enjoy the service of a drink and free bath every day. Although our area is considered “migration territory” for this bird, it is not a real surprise that this species breeds here or is still present despite temperatures have plumped a couple days ago. Afraid of scaring the birds away I made the shot through the glass of our balcony door. When you have 4+ inches of snow on the ground the term of “neotropical bird” seems to get a different meaning…😉
Nikon Z6II, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, FTZ adapter, @ 600mm, 1/250s, f/6.3, ISO800
Mississippi River at Mud Lake Park and Marina, Iowa
I found a book under the Christmas tree, “Light on the Landscape” by William Neill, one of America’s most respected landscape photographers. It is a coffee table-style book with 128 wonderful photographs and comes with lessons incorporating photographic fundamentals, like light, composition, or exposure, but also other aspects, including nature stewardship, inspiration, self-improvement, and others. I just started reading but I’m already fascinated. One of the chapters talks about becoming a student of light and in particular at your own favorite locations over a long period of time.
For me one of these locations would be the entrance to the little marina down at Mud Lake by the Mississippi River. I have published many pictures from this vantage point on a dike and wrote about in the blog more than once that the light is never the same. There are times when I’m not even bother to take the camera out of the bag and others when I run to the end of the dike with the camera after getting out of the car, because light can change very quickly. I go to Mud Lake Park with our dog Cooper at least once a week, but even if no pictures are made, I always try to analyze why some things work and others don’t.
Same vantage point as the photo above but looking south. The main channel is behind the dike on the left. The backwaters of Mud Lake are one of our favorite places to paddle the kayak during the warm season.
William Neill writes about becoming an expert on a particular location. This may not fit a description about me yet, but any time I’m there I study the lighting conditions that occur, and absorb the beauty of the mighty Mississippi.
Today we had a pretty uniform overcast with no directional light but the different patches of snow, ice, and water created patterns that reflected the light in different ways and that we can see only at this time of the season when the river freezes over.
Nikon Z6II, Nikkor Z 24-70, f/4 S
