AT SINSINAWA MOUND CENTER

Last night I attended the opening reception for “Driftless Depictions”, an exhibition of beautiful photographic works of local artist and photographer Henry Matthiessen III, in the Sinsinawa Mound Center over in Wisconsin. This place is the home of the Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa. It was the first time I have been there and took the opportunity to visit also the Queen of the Rosary Chapel under the same roof. Here is what their website has to say about it:

No visit to Sinsinawa Mound Center is complete without a stop in Queen of the Rosary Chapel. The setting is tranquil, inspiring, and surrounded in simplicity by the mahogany pews, marble floors, and limestone altars. Visitors are awestruck with this architectural treasure and its unique circular shape, fluted ceiling, and the 37 diamond and half-diamond shaped stained glass windows. The true beauty is in the story of Christ’s redemption that is told through the brilliant mosaic of biblical scenes through rhythm in glass.

Being in the chapel not much before sunset was quite impressive. When I saw the reflection of one of the stained glass windows on the floor and on the backs of the pews, I knew I had a photo. Sure, with HDR techniques applied every detail would be visible, but I often prefer the approach with exposing for the highlights only.

Henry Matthiessen III, The exhibition “Driftless Depictions” can be visited until October, 23. Highly recommended!

Detail shot of diamond and half-diamond shaped stained glass windows in the chapel.

SELECTION FROM THE PRAIRIE

All photos: Pine Valley Nature Area, Jackson County, Eastern Iowa

We used Labor Day weekend for some scouting and exploration of nature areas we had never visited before. One of them was Pine Valley Nature Area in Jackson County, located about 3 miles northwest of Maquoketa Caves State Park. I’m posting the location below for those who like to discover it as well. This 676 acre woodland and prairie area is a gem for any nature lover. It is a great place to study different types of prairie grass and at this time of the year you will find an abundance of wildflowers on the prairie. I’m sure in spring and early summer we can find a lot more birds than we saw last Monday. It looks promising for wildlife photography.

I traveled light, with just the Nikkor 70-200, f/4 lens on camera, during our hike on some of the trails. This is not a macro lens but I tried to isolate certain flowers, grasses, and other plants from their dense surroundings. Not my usual kind of photography, but thinking about how to place the subject in the frame or trying to find a good background was a lot of fun during this hike. I hope you enjoy this little selection of images.

All photos: Nikon Z6II, Nikon FTZ adapter, Nikon Nikkor AF-S 70-200mm, f/4

IN MEMORY

Today’s blog post is dedicated to our good friend Werner over in Germany.

He loved the mountains and being in the Great Outdoors as much as we do. Our thoughts are with his wife and family. We will miss him dearly!

MISSISSIPPI RIVER STORIES 2022 #10 - AT THE NORTHEASTERN TRI-STATE POINT

Northern Water Snake, Mississippi River, near the Minnesota / Wisconsin / Iowa tri-state point

Many people here in the US use this long Labor Day weekend for spending time in the great outdoors. Summer is still here in the Mississippi Valley but fall knocks at the door with pleasant temperatures. We used this Sunday for a paddle tour with the kayaks and paddled the backwaters and main channel of the Mississippi River at the northeast corner of Iowa, where Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa touch each other. The only way to get to this sign below is by boat. It can be seen in the main channel of the big river on the Iowa / Minnesota side.

I’m always debating with myself if it is worth to take the risk and bring camera and long lens along. Any time I don’t, I later regret the decision because a picture opportunity came up and the shot was missed. This would have been true in particular today. We paddled trough a slough, between islands and sandy banks in the backwaters and just before we reached the mighty Mississippi, we discovered this well-fed Northern Water Snake on a muddy log in the shallow water of the slough. The snake was “busy” digesting something big and didn’t move a bit while I tried to bring the kayak in position. The current in the water was not very strong but I found a spot that would eliminate all the bluish glare on the water. Just holding this position while shooting with the long lens was a bit of a challenge. We expected the snake to escape any moment, but we left it as we had found it. It didn’t move at all. Must have had a great dinner…

BATTLE IN FULL SWING

Immature male Ruby-throated Hummingbird

It took me over an hour this evening to get this particular image I had in mind, a shot from the front side of one of our Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. Getting a sharp image from the side is a lot more predictable when they hover at a hummingbird feeder. I’m sitting only about ten feet away from the feeder, barely just above the minimum focus distance at 2.6 m of the SIGMA 150-600 S lens. The depth of focus is very shallow, just about 5 mm with the lens wide open at f/6.3. The hummingbirds are so darn fast and even if they hover for a second, the lens does not always obtain a sharp focus fast enough.

The stress level of our hummers has increased lately. We have probably about a dozen of them around here. Not that they only battle vigorously among each other for the best feeder, because we all know they like to “own” a feeder with this delicious sugar solution in it. No, here in our front yard they also have to fight off at least four different species of wasps that also like the sweet content of a hummingbird feeder. I can tell, the hummingbirds have a certain respect for the wasps. The young immature male in the photo above uses this little branch, I mounted just above one of the feeders, as his “guarding perch”. While the competition mostly buzzes above him and his eyes follow every move, he just got distracted by a larger wasp below him when the click was made. Unfortunately I didn’t have the wasp in my shot but the gesture of the tiny bird is priceless.

NATURE CLICKS #531 - GREAT BLUE HERON

Great Blue Heron, Green Island Preserve, Mississippi Valley, Eastern Iowa

Can you tell why sometimes I like to go out in the rain and shoot with a heavy overcast? Yes, that doesn’t work well when there is a piece of gray sky or just its reflection on the water in the frame. But if you can eliminate any “sky related” things in the background of your image at this kind of weather, you may get a well balanced shot. The Great Blue Herons are kinda skittish and don’t like the photographer, even in its mobile blind, the car, nearby.

I shot this almost over my shoulder, using the brief moment the heron waited before it flew to a different spot. I knew if I would back up the car to get in a little more comfortable position, the bird would not wait for me. I just “hung” the lens barrel outside the car window and tried my luck. It is the kind of photo I like to pursue in my wildlife photography, the critter in its natural habitat. I love when the result comes out of a challenging situation…

BRAVING THE THUNDERSTORM

Great Egret, Green Island Preserve, Mississippi Valley, Eastern Iowa

When I left home for the wetlands today I knew already that a thunderstorm would cross the area this afternoon. Later we had even a tornado warning but finally the thunderstorm and rain came with moderate wind and not much lightning. During the storm very few critters are visible but nothing seemed to bother the Great Egrets. Three of them perched on some trees above the water surface in one of the lakes of the Green Island Wildlife Area. If I wanted to tell a story about the bird, braving these weather conditions, the rain had to be visible. Usually this can be done by slowing down the exposure time and with a dark background, which highlights the falling rain. The wooded banks of the Mississippi Valley are perfect for such a backdrop. The rain came finally down so hard, it wasn’t really necessary to shoot with a slow shutter speed. This photo was made at 1/640 s, ISO 800, fast enough for a sharp image at 600 mm focal length and still rendering blurred rain across the image.

NATURE CLICKS #530 - COMMON SNAPPING TURTLE

Common Snapping Turtle, Bankston County Park, Eastern Iowa

Today I had quite a few interesting wildlife encounters but not all of them can be documented with the camera. This one was easy, a good size Snapping Turtle rested right on the grassy trail in Bankston County Park while I walked our dog Cooper. A little dog and a snapping turtle may not always go well together, so I made sure he kept a safe distance. Snapping Turtles are not dangerous but on land they will defend themselves and snap if they feel threatened.

During these walks with the dog I almost always take the camera with me but not a variety of lenses. Today the Nikkor Z 24-70, f/4 was my choice. A little short for wildlife and with only 70 mm maximum focal length I had to go on my knees and get really close to the turtle. This snapper lives probably not in the little river that runs through this valley but rather in the nearby pond or even in one of the small pools hidden in the woods.

Here is a fact for you to think about, the snapping turtle family evolved in North America, has lived in its wetlands almost unchanged since 90 million years, and has survived the period of mass extinction of the dinosaurs…

MISSISSIPPI RIVER STORIES 2022 #9 - TUGBOAT AND BARGES GOING UPSTREAM

A convoy of tugboat and 15 barged going upstream

I’m following a famous photographer on social media who always claims, if my gear can do it, I can do it. I totaly agree and I’m not afraid of weather, and when a heavy rain started to come down last Saturday, I thought of it and just finished everything while the equipment got soaking wet. I guess it pays back to invest in cameras and lenses that have weather seals included in their design…

While eating lunch with friends in Clayton, Iowa, just a few feet away from the big river, I saw the barges being pushed upstream, the clouds changing dramatically within seconds, and just felt a picture opportunity is right around the corner.

It’s just amazing how the the tugboats manage to navigate a set of fifteen barges within the small channel that can be used for deep sitting loads in the Mississippi River. This convoy had nothing but coal onboard, probably heading to one of the last coal power plants upstream. I had the pleasure to see a coal powered plant disappear from the landscape not far from home in recent years and I’m pretty sure I will see this again. Coal has no future.

I have been able to remove any kind of digital noise from this image (an article about this topic will follow soon). What’s left is the texture a heavy rain can produce, and that’s what really makes for story telling in this photo. I really love how the light, coming from the back, sets the tugboat and the barges apart from the clouds and the rest of the Mississippi Valley.

NATURE CLICKS #529 - GARTER SNAKE

In past blog posts I have always complaint that our sightings of snakes have declined during the last ten years in this area. However, last Sunday in the Green Island Wetlands I had three encounters, two Northern Water Snakes and this beautiful Garter Snake. Some enforcement work at the dikes that cross the wetlands is going on and as a result much of the top vegetation is gone at the moment. Maybe that was the reason that I saw three snakes within a very short time.

I don’t really want commit on the exact name for this garter snake. The colors of the critter are not 100% what I found in any online guide or my books. It is probably a Common Garter Snake but I’m not sure. Any advice by an expert is highly appreciated.

I jumped out of the car to make this and a number of other pictures. The snake was aware of my presence the whole time. By slowly walking around it the sun was finally in my back for better light and less reflections. After five minutes it had enough of watching me, turned around and moved slowly away towards the water on the other side of the dike.

MISSISSIPPI RIVER STORIES 2022 #8 - STOP AT THE BEST MOMENT

Thunderstorm moving out, Mississippi River, Guttenberg, Iowa

My thank you goes out to our friend Mary, who drove the car while this beautiful scene with clouds was visible over in Wisconsin across the Mississippi River last weekend. She stopped safely without any hesitation, so I could get out of the car and make the photo. Some wet roads further south told us later that this thunderstorm had mad its impact also on the Iowa side of the river. This was taken just above lock & dam #10 in Guttenberg, Iowa, about 30 miles north of our home.

There is very little to do in post process since I import my monochrome settings right out of camera into Adobe Lightroom. As in this case, what I saw on the screen at the back of the camera after the click was pretty much what I wanted to see in the final image. Another great summer day we were able to share with friends. Thanks again Mary!

CLOUDS ARE THE HELPER

Great Egret, Upper Mississippi Valley, Green Island Wetlands, Iowa

It can be a little tricky if a Great Egret poses between the lush green of the wetlands in full sunlight. To blow out the highlights and end up wit absolutely no detail in its plumage is very easy. The white feathers of this member in the heron family do not have a lot of texture, but it is nice if the little bit of structure we can see remains intact. If a cloud moves in front of the sun the contrast in the scene can be managed much better and both, the egret and the background, receive the exposure they deserve. Watching the sky, I waited for this moment.

From a fallen tree in the water the Great Egret looks out for prey or walks slowly between reeds, arrow heads, and water lilies. At this time of the year all surrounded by duckweed. In the Green Island Wetlands their diet consists probably mainly aquatic insects, fish, or frogs.

Nikon Z6II, Nikon FTZ adapter, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, Sigma APO Teleconverter 1.4x EX DG     @800 mm, 1/1250 s, f/9, ISO 800, aperture priority, dialed in -0.3 EV

NATURE CLICKS #528 - GREEN HERON IN THE WETLANDS

Green Heron, Mississippi Valley, Green Island Wetlands, Iowa

I realized today that I haven’t been in the Green Island Wetlands since the end of May. A good reason to pack the long lens today and head out to this area of marshland, lakes, and woods along the Mississippi River. August is the time when herons and egrets are present, not always by large numbers, but with the lush green background of reeds, arrow heads, and water lilies the chances for a good shot are definitely there.

Green Herons are common and widespread, but it can be hard to see them. While their larger relatives, like the Great Blue Heron, can be often found in open parts of wetlands, the stocky and small Green Heron tends to be at the edges, in shallow water, or concealed in vegetation. The bird I found today balanced on a half-submerged tree branch in the water, surrounded by nothing than duck weed. As mucky as that may look to some, I think it makes for a nice background that separates the subject from the rest of the scene. As most of the time I use my car as a blind. The heron got a little nervous after I stopped but gave me about a minute to make some clicks before it finally disappeared in the jungle of cat tails and arrow heads on the mud bank in the background. The Green Heron wasn’t the only critter I had in front of the lens today, so please stay tuned for more to come…

MISSISSIPPI RIVER STORIES 2022 #7 - SUMMER CLOUDS

Clouds over the Mississippi River, Clayton, Iowa

We met with friends from northwest Iowa in Guttenberg today and took a little drive along the mighty Mississippi to the little river town of Clayton, Iowa. Following an excellent lunch at Clayton Lighthouse Restaurant and Bar we saw some great development of clouds over the river. What serious photographer would not take out the camera and try to tell a visual story about a summer day in August in the Upper Mississippi Valley? My choice was black & white and to see a preview of the final result right on camera screen, the Nikon Z 6II was set to monochrome picture mode. Since I shoot always in RAW the color information is still in the file and if I would ever change my mind about the picture intent, making it a color version, this is still possible. My monochrome settings include a red filter and that meets exactly what I would do in the old days of B&W film photography for a landscape with clouds as we saw today. Great day, good times!

Nikon Z6II, Nikkor Z 24-70, f/4 S,   @ 45 mm, 1/1000s, f/8, ISO 100

NATURE CLICKS #527 - MY FRIEND “THE BASTARD”

Male Belted Kingfisher, Mississippi River, Mud Lake, Iowa

I still owe you a picture from one of our paddle tours with the kayak earlier this month. It looks like I’m getting better with taking a picture of my friend “the bastard”. The long time readers of my blog may remember that I gave the Belted Kingfisher this ugly name, because I still do not have a photo that satisfies my ideas of a good wildlife image. Yes, this time I got this male kingfisher at least sharp but the image needed still some cropping. It was actually a pair that flew ahead of us along the shore of the Mississippi River. I would love to fill the frame with this beautiful bird but they are extremely skittish and took off from their perch several times as soon I had them within the reach of the 600 mm focal length. Using the kayak is anyway not the best approach for this bird. Hiding in a tent blind may lead to better success and maybe one of these days in spring or fall I will do that. I’m not unhappy with this environmental shot of the Belted Kingfisher but I know there is still a lot of room for improvement. I guess I keep calling him “the bastard” until then…😉

Nikon Z6II, Nikon FTZ adapter, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S,   @ 600 mm, 1/250 s, f/6.3, ISO 400