ELEGANT FLIGHT

Greater Sandhill Cranes, Mississippi River, Green Island Preserve, Iowa

If the river is in motion, and I mean when the ice breaks under big temperature changes, everybody can make an interesting picture at any other moment. We went down south today and I certainly hoped to get a few more shots of birds that are the ambassadors of the change in season we all look forward to.

The swoop of Sandhill Cranes I saw yesterday was still present in the Green Island Preserve and during a hike in the wetlands today, we saw some of them taking off and finally getting close enough for a few pictures. Hearing their call after a not very hard , but already long winter is another bonus to the pleasure of watching their elegant flight. 

SITTING, FLYING, SWIMMING, WALKING…

One of many Bald Eagles at the bridge across the river between Sabula, IA and Savannah, IL.

Short post today. Here are a few photos from today’s trip to different locations along the Mississippi River. 

More than fifty Trumpeter Swans shared the ice and open water at the Green Island Preserve.

Always a sure sign that spring is near, migrating Sandhill Cranes. (counted ~30 today)

Again, thousands of Greater White-fronted Geese are still around. Wave after wave flew up the Mississippi Valley and then turned west and followed the Maquoketa River. I still haven’t found out where they roost for the night.

IT’S THAT TIME OF THE YEAR…!

Migrating Greater White-fronted Geese, Mississippi Valley, iowa

I leave it up to you to count all the Greater White-fronted Geese in the photo below. It has been a few thousands that came through the Mississippi Valley this evening within fifteen minutes around 5PM. Wave after wave flew across the Green Island Wetlands just before sunset. I don’t know where their roost for the night is this time. Other years the wetlands were used as a resting location for the night, but with a much drier location this time, the geese may have a better spot to rest. I have witnessed the spring migration of the Greater White-fronted Geese several times before, but it still sends a chill down my spine when these birds head towards their breeding grounds in the arctic regions of Canada. Nature at its best!!

YELLOWSTONE - 150 YEARS

Black bear mother with her two cups, October 2007, Nikon D200 with Nikon 80-400-D VR

On March 1st, Yellowstone, the world’s first national park, was created 150 years ago. I had the pleasure to visit the park with its beautiful mountains, over 10,000 hydrothermal features, and abundant wildlife, together with my wife Joan in 2005, 2007, and 2018. In 2005 I still used mainly a Nikon N2020 35mm film camera but played a little with a 3.2 Megapixel, Minolta Dimage Xt digital camera. At the second visit I just had started with serious digital photography and little did I know how to create an image with some impact. But it is nice to have these old images as a memory. It was interesting to see in 2018 how the National Park had changed and how the park administration tried to deal with the vast number of visitors that pour in the park every day, even in the off-season. It still remains a magnificent place to visit and to photograph. Yellowstone National Park has inspired conservation efforts around the globe since its inception in 1872 and in order to celebrate this event I pulled a few pictures from the library and like to share them with you.

Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River, September 2018, Nikon D750 with AF-S Nikkor 70-200, f/4

Wolf watchers, Lamar Valley at Slough Creek, October 2007, Nikon D200 with Sigma 18-50, 2.8

Mammoth Hot Springs, September 2018, Nikon D750 with AF-S Nikkor 70-200, f/4

PANNING PRACTICE WITH GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULLS

Immature Great Black-backed Gull, Mississippi River, lock & dam #14, Le Claire, Iowa

Here are a couple more photos from my trip last weekend to lock & dam #14, down in Le Claire, Iowa. The goal was to practice panning with the Nikon Z6II and Sigma 150-600 lens attached. There is always a number of gulls around this area, mostly Ring-billed Gulls, but this time I found only three birds and they all seemed to be Great Black-backed Gulls. This is an uncommon species for this part of the country but I have photographed them before at this location and some other, more experienced birders than me, have documented their presence as well.

Gulls are a great subject for practice with the long lens. They fly often in circles and return over and over again during their hunt for fish, giving the photographer multiple chances to try different settings for the autofocus system and to find out what works best for a fast flying subject. It doesn’t matter how good the autofocus system on a new camera is, proper panning and handholding is still essential for a high keeper rate of sharp images. I could tell that I’m well out of shape. The keeper rate wasn’t bad but there is a lot room for improvement. The Mississippi was still covered with ice here in the Dubuque area yesterday. Once the ice breaks, which will be soon with the warm weather we have since a few days, the birds will move in and I hope my panning skills can improve with more practice down at the river…

Nikon Z6II, Nikon FTZ adapter, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S,

1. photo   @ 600 mm, 1/2500 s, f/6.3, ISO 200

2. photo   @ 600 mm, 1/1600 s, f/6.3, ISO 200

RESULTS WITH LONG EXPOSURE

Whitewater Creek in Whitewater Canyon Wildlife Area, eastern Iowa

There is a chance that this could be my last winter photo of this season that includes snow. What it’s left on the ground melts rapidly away right now and warmer temperatures are in the forecast for the next days. After we left the cave with ice formations ,you perhaps saw in my last blog post, we went down to Whitewater Creek at the bottom of the  canyon. When I saw the pristine field of snow along the creek, with no animal or human tracks on it, I felt the urge to make a photo.

The crystal-clear water flows slowly but still had a few ripples on the surface. Long exposure and the BREAKTHROUGH X4 10-stop neutral density filter eliminated any glare on the surface, made even the bottom of the creek visible, and still retained the reflections from the other side of the creek. It was magical and I love the outcome with any of my Breakthrough filters. By the way, to calculate the exposure time for a photo with the 10-stop or 6-stop ND filters, I use an app on my phone, called ND Timer. It’s free and does the trick just fine. After a test shot without filter you dial the normal exposure time (for this picture it was 1/80s) into the app, choose the grade of your filter (10-stops), and the app displays the required exposure time. I use it usually as a starting point and make corrections up or down to find the best results for the image I have in mind, especially with fast flowing water.

Nikon Z6II, Nikkor Z 24-70, f/4 S, Breakthrough X4 ND filter (10-stop) GITZO tripod GT2931 Basalt, KIRK BH-3 ball head  @ 37mm, 15s, f/20, ISO 100

ICE UNDERGROUND

Nikon Z6II, Nikkor Z 24-70, f/4 S, GITZO tripod GT2931 Basalt, KIRK BH-3 ball head  @ 24mm, 6s, f/18, ISO 100

Here in the region of the Driftless Area we can enjoy deeply carved river valleys and a karst geology with spring-fed waterfalls, underground drainage systems, sinkholes, and a number of caves. Inspired by a recent post on Facebook from the Dubuque County Conservation about a cave with ice in it, Joan, dog Cooper, and I went on a hike into Whitewater Canyon Wildlife Area today. We were there actually already last week but hiked on a different trail. Today it didn’t take us very long to find the cave we were looking for, located in the Lost Canyon. It was still quite cold last week and we found these beautiful ice formations that look like stalagmites, built from the ground by dripping water. It will be much warmer this week and it may not take long before they are gone.

I had seen photos from that cave before and tried to prepare well for this little adventure. Good boots are a must for climbing up the slippery slope to the entrance at the canyon wall and for some grip on the icy floor. I made sure my speed light had fresh batteries before it went into the backpack and took also the small Gitzo GT2931 tripod on the hike.

Nikon Z6II, Nikkor Z 24-70, f/4 S, GITZO tripod GT2931 Basalt, KIRK BH-3 ball head  @ 24mm, 2.5s, f/14, ISO 100

It was not really necessary to go deep into the cave. Both photos were made near the entrance. It is easy to break off one of the ice formations accidentally, but we were carefully and managed to leave the place as we found it. With the camera on tripod, about half a meter above the ground, I started shooting by using the flash light, which was connected by cable with the camera and allowed me to direct the light as wanted. Didn’t really like what I saw on the camera screen and continued to photograph with longer exposure and without the flash. We were at the cave in the very early afternoon. Some snow was still on the ground in the canyon and bright sunlight bounced nicely through the entrance and into the cave with the ice. The photos made with the use of flash from different angles were not really bad, but at the end natural light was the winner for this blog post.

MISSISSIPPI RIVER STORIES 2022 #4 - SIGNS OF SPRING?

American White Pelicans, Mississippi River, Lock & Dam #14, Le Claire, Iowa

In search for the first signs of spring I went down south today to lock & dam #14 in Le Claire, Iowa, where Interstate 80 crosses the Mississippi. Driving on both sides of the river (Iowa and Illinois) gave me different perspectives and direction of light during this road trip. Up here in Dubuque, around lock & dam #11, everything was still covered with ice. South of lock & dam #13 in Clinton, Iowa the river had mostly open water. In the distance I saw hundreds, if not thousands, of ducks and mergansers. It will become much warmer in the next few days and the ice will break shortly, means these birds will move north as the ice is in retreat.

Lock & dam #14 in Le Claire was well known over the years for being a good spot to photograph Bald Eagles during the winter months. This has changed in the last few years, due to mild winters, some loss of perching trees, and probably busy construction and other activities in the area. 

I went there for spotting a particular species of gulls, found it, and will write about in another blog post. With the relatively new Nikon Z6II I still try to learn and find out the best way to focus on fast moving animals. Gulls are one of the best subjects to practice handholding and panning with the long lens. It was a good feeling to refresh the ‘muscle memory’ for this kind of shooting today. I could tell, I’m out of shape and need a lot more practice to regain my skills.

On the way back to the car I suddenly saw the shadows of many big birds crossing in front of me. Looking up, silently about 80+ American White Pelicans soared elegantly overhead and gave me another chance to practice with the long lens. Sign of spring? You bet!

 

DOWNY / HAIRY - SIZE MATTERS

Hairy Woodpecker

They almost look alike from the distance, the Downy Woodpecker and its cousin the Hairy Woodpecker, but body size and length of their bill make it easy to distinguish one from the other species. Also their calls and vocal expressions are different. We have about seven or eight Downies here during the winter but only two of the larger Hairys. Their behavior during an approach couldn’t be more different. While I can walk up to a Downy Woodpecker feeding on a block of suet, the bird will eventually fly away when I’m within a 3 feet distance. The Hairy Woodpeckers in comparison are extremely skittish. As soon they detect a slight movement or noise, i.e. from opening the door, even 30 feet away, they will take off and fly into the trees. And that makes the photography of the larger woodpecker a much bigger challenge.

Downy Woodpecker

Both pictures were shot from an open window today. The Hairy Woodpecker flew away when I opened it, but finally returned back to “woodpecker tree #1” in the front yard after five minutes. Getting the shot of the smaller Downy was easy. They patiently wait in line when a larger woodpecker is at a feeder or they jockey with each other for the right to feed first.

The photos today give you an idea about their different body sizes. Both were shot from the same distance and are cropped to identical size. The dominant knot on the tree is the same in both pictures and helps to evaluate.

ICY ART CONTINUES

Life prevented me from getting out and shooting a lot of pictures this week but there is always something on the hard drive of the computer that deserves to be published. Earlier this month I tried to draw the attention to one of my winter projects, called ICY ART. Here is another image that I like to contribute.

NATURE CLICKS #516 - AMERICAN KESTREL

Female American Kestrel, near Savannah, Illinois

Nine times out of ten we can see the American Kestrel perched on a utility wire. Hardly ever I see them in a tree during winter time. This female didn’t mind my presence in the car on the other side of the road and kept looking for small rodents or birds. As much as I try to keep man-made items out of the frame, taking a picture of this small falcon often includes the wire. I get it, it’s part of the story about this bird, how they hunt and use electrical wires and power poles as their favorite perch.

MISSISSIPPI RIVER STORIES 2022 #3 - WINTER RESTORED

Click the photo for a larger view of the panorama.

I went over to the neighbor state Illinois today and drove up to an overlook in Palisades State Park. There, high up on the rocky bluffs, you have a great view across the frozen river. At the horizon on the left is the Iowa side of the Mississippi Valley and to the right we look upstream towards the Northwest.

The image is the result from three single shots that were merged in Adobe Lightroom. I didn’t use the tripod, just handheld the camera and twisted my upper body for each shooting position. The software does an amazing job if you have components with a clear graphic shape, like these islands in the river, and the pictures have a big enough overlap with each other.

The ice was obviously melting already last week but a drop in temperature and a thin layer of fresh snow last night restored the look of winter to the valley again. As you know I write quite often about the wildlife in the Green Island Wetlands. The lakes and marshes of this preserve are located pretty much in the center of the photo, just behind the trees near the horizon line.

Nikon Z6II, Nikkor Z 24-70, f/4 S,   @ 70 mm, f/10, ISO 100, 3 images

ICY ART IN 2022

The long time readers of my blog may remember that I started a little gallery project on the website in January of last year, called ICY ART. I tried to contribute to this gallery during the last two months with some new photos, but just didn’t find the right subject worthwhile for being published. Today I discovered a promising ice pattern but the water beneath was actually quite murky. I gave it the ‘artsy-fartsy’ treatment with white balance and contrast enhancing measures and got a result that satisfied my artistic sensibilities. Here is a shortcut to the ICY ART gallery. I hope you enjoy. You all have a great weekend!

GEAR TALK: OVERDUE UPDATE

It was more than overdue to update the part of this website that’s called “What’s In The Camera Bag?”. I haven’t done that in a long time and since there have been a few changes and additions in the gear locker, I quietly made some updates during the last couple weeks. When photographers meet, like with friends of the Dubuque Camera Club, there is always a chance that photography gear or post process solutions will be discussed. It boils down to the question, what tool can be used to solve a particular problem in the process of creating a good image? My website has always been about sharing ideas and help others to make decisions about what piece of gear makes sense for their style of photography. My ratings are not the result of comparison with other brands or intensive testing under lab conditions, but rather reflect the experience I gained by using the equipment in the field. As always, the gear list can be accessed by clicking on the “What’s In The Camera Bag?” image in the side bar of my blog. If you like to check it out right now, here is a shortcut into the “CAMERA BAG”.

NATURE CLICKS #515 - RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER

The landscape got a fresh powder coating of snow last night and it became another gorgeous, but cold winter day with lots of sun. I spent the late morning and early afternoon behind the camera and tried to take advantage of the light conditions. This male Red-bellied Woodpecker is one of my favorite subjects at the moment. The bird was almost completely in the shadow of this tree trunk, but its head got a nice touch by the sun and the red color just intensified tremendously. Light was also bounced off the snow and onto the backside of the woodpecker, taking away a little bit of the harsh contrast we often see around noon.

Nikon Z6II, Nikon FTZ adapter, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, Nikon FTZ adapter, Induro GIT 404XL tripod, Induro GHB2 gimbal head,   @ 600 mm, 1/1000 s, f/6.3, ISO 200, cropped