NATURE CLICKS #535 - EASTERN PHOEBE

Eastern Phoebe, Little Maquoketa River Valley, Eastern Iowa

A couple nights ago some frost came along, making for a chilly Saturday morning. It did not stop me to go out with the camera when I saw the movements of a flycatcher in the front yard. The bird turned out to be an Eastern Phoebe, a species I haven’t seen in a while. More often the phoebe is present here in spring and I believe I photographed it for the first time in the fall. There is a similar looking flycatcher around during the summer, the Eastern Wood-Pewee, but they migrate much further to South America, and the pewee left some time ago already. The Eastern Phoebe spends the winter in southeast North America and Central America.

I’m not the only one who calls this “killer light”, when a slightly muted sun in crisp fall air hits the scene. I had a great time sitting on the porch, sipping on a hot cup of coffee, and shooting away with the long lens and 1.4 teleconverter attached to the camera. The Eastern Phoebe is a lovely bird to watch. They pump their tail up and down while sitting on a perch (a pewee doesn’t do that). and look out for insects. As the air warmed up fast in the morning, the phoebe caught most of its prey just above the grass below. We may think, it’s cold, no insects, but the birds know where to find and how to feed on them.

IT’S THE MAPLES

A cold snap last weekend, much cooler temperatures this week, and wow, we have fall colors here in the trees. Much needed rain during the last couple days and strong winds brought quite a few leaves down. But it is the maples here in the Mississippi Valley and in all the side valleys around that take the stage for the fall color show. I love the orange and yellow against darker backgrounds, as we can find it along the steep slopes, it’s my way of telling the story of autumn… Wishing all my friends and followers of this blog a wonderful weekend! Go out and find your colors!

LOOKING BACK

Blackwater Canyon, West Virginia, 2017

Fall is here with all its beauty. Leaves fall down by the thousands, finally some much needed rain arrived, cooler temperatures kicked in , and last not least colors unfold in the trees. I just don’t find the time this week to go out during day light and capture the beauty with the camera. However, exactly five years ago we spent some time in Blackwater Canyon State Park in West Virginia, at the peak time of fall colors. And of course, I still have some images I can share with you. Hopefully next weekend the camera comes out again here in the Upper Mississippi Valley. I can’t wait…

WARBLER SHOW

Can’t resist to show a few more photos from last weekend’s shooting at the Mississippi River. I chose my position near some dead trees the Yellow-rumped Warblers seemed to prefer for catching insects. It also increased my chances to get some clean shots with a blurred background and no distracting leaves or branches sticking out from the head of the bird.

All images: Nikon Z6II, Nikon FTZ adapter, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, Sigma APO Teleconverter 1.4x EX DG, Induro GIT 404XL tripod, Induro GHB2 gimbal head,

NATURE CLICKS #534 - RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER

Red-bellied Woodpecker, Mississippi River, Frenchtown County Park, near Guttenberg, Iowa

Yellow-rumped Warblers were not the only birds I had in front of the lens last weekend. This dead River Birch at the edge of the water was also part of the habitat for a Red-bellied Woodpecker. Some pieces of bark on its bill tell us that he had a busy day. The sky was clear at this time and the blue makes for some nice color contrast to the plumage of the woodpecker. We have the red-bellied here in our woods and can see them every day but including a shaggy birch as a perch in the frame makes it special for me. The image is cropped and orientation was changed because I wasn’t able to keep some parts of the dead tree that I didn’t like out of the frame. Changing position was not an option. I know, it’s a compromise…

Nikon Z6II, Nikon FTZ adapter, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, Sigma APO Teleconverter 1.4x EX DG, Induro GIT 404XL tripod, Induro GHB2 gimbal head, @ 850 mm, 1/250 s, f/9, ISO 400

FIRST BE PATIENT, AND SECOND, DON’T FORGET THE POLARIZER

A hint of fall colors, Walnut tree, Mississippi Valley, near Guttenberg, Iowa

Another great day with warm weather and some hope to find the unbeatable light of autumn here in the Mississippi Valley. It has been a dry year for the most part and many smaller trees loose their leaves without putting on a great color show. But we are not at the peak of fall colors yet and it may take a little time to find the spots that satisfy the eye and mind. I’m not a big fan of bare branches and dead sticks in my tree photos and some decent light has to be present before I make the click. This walnut tree below the steep slope of the Mississippi Valley caught my attention. I love the shape and how it stands out against the background and the surrounding trees. When the layer of clouds thinned out and more light revealed the colors of the leaves, the click was finally made.

If you like to photograph the fall colors for the first time during the next few weeks, here is a little tip that may help you to come back home with some good shots on the memory card. Don’t forget to bring a polarizing filter! No, we don’t need that for a better blue in the sky anymore, but it will remove the glare from the sky on the surface of the leaves and it will reveal the true colors. This works for leaves that either still hang from the trees or maybe make a nice pattern on the ground already. Glare on a surface is one of the things you can’t “fix” in post process.

ON THEIR WAY SOUTH

Northeast Iowa is a great place for a leaf peeping tour with fall in full swing right now. But a short stop north of Guttenberg at the the Mississippi River led to a few bird sightings as well today. Several Yellow-rumped Warblers enjoyed the sun and obviously found still insects at the edge of the water during their migration to the south.

DUBUQUE NIGHT OF LIGHTS

Dubuque historic Star Brewery building at Night of Lights event

Tonight was the inaugural event of Night of Lights in Dubuque, Iowa. Businesses and private homes in and near Downtown Dubuque were asked to leave the lights on for a few hours. Painters and photographers tried to capture the beauty of this event during the early night hours.

I was out of town the last couple of days and returned late from a business trip this evening. With not too much time on hand I drove straight to the old Dubuque Star Brewery building, a historic landmark next to the Mississippi River. Stone Cliff Winery has a wonderful tasting room in the historic brewery building and their wine garden was nicely illuminated. I guess all possible lights were on and with the location about ready to be closed, I had nobody walking through the scene during a 20 seconds exposure time for this photo. The metal sculpture in the foreground, “Flowing Connections” by artist Matt Moyer, is part of the annual ART ON THE RIVER exhibit, located along the Mississippi Riverwalk. I wished I had more time to check out some other locations in town, but maybe next year…!!

Nikon Z6II, Nikkor Z 24-70, f/4 S, GITZO tripod GT2931 Basalt, KIRK BH-3 ball head, VELLO wired remote switch,    @ 24mm, 20 s, f/18, ISO 100

OVERCAST DAY? HOW ABOUT DETAIL SHOTS?

Roots / Stones / Leaves, Backbone State Park, Iowa

Erosion on a steep slope has washed much of the soil and stones away that ones covered the roots of this old tree. A few rocks are still trapped between the roots. Fresh green surrounds the old tree trunk. The soft light reveals the structure on these exposed roots and let us wonder how old the tree might be.

Joan and I, and of course dog Cooper, went tent camping last weekend. We used Saturday for a couple hikes in Backbone State Park. With being it mostly an overcast day it wasn’t the right light for great vistas, although some leaves started changing colors. If a uniform gray overcast is good for anything, its for detail images in the landscape and that’s what I was going for.

Virgin’s Bower has many common names and I like “Old Man’s Beard” the best. The tails of the seeds are very feathery and inspired me to make this shot.

This is the flow of Richmond’s Spring in Backbone State Park. It’s water has a constant temperature of 48ºF (8.9ºC) as it comes to the surface. With 0,4 seconds exposure time I had the look I liked for the flowing water, not too milky, not too detailed…

LAST DAYS WITH THE HUMMINGBIRDS

Ready for a “dog fight’ with the competition. Even during migration the young hummingbirds still battle for the best feeding source.

Even if I don’t have time to watch the hummingbirds frequently during the day, I know that most of them have started their fall migration to Central America. The best indicator is the level of liquid in our hummingbird feeders. We have four feeders hanging from the porch or in the front yard and during peak times in August, when the new generation is buzzing around, we cook about 1.7 liters each day of the 1:4 sugar / water mixture. The demand has dropped considerably during the last couple weeks. The birds we see at the moment are most likely different ones every day. The last hummer is usually seen at the end of September or sometimes during first week in October. They need a lot of energy to make the long journey south. Many of them cross the gulf of Mexico in a single flight. That is amazing! For almost seven long months we will be without them. Next year, at the end of April we expect them back as always.

I photographed this young male earlier this month and I’m always wondering if the birds ever come back to the same place again. I guess I’ll never know…

FOLLOWING A STORM CELL

Storm cell, near Belmont, Wisconsin

I talked about drama in the clouds in yesterday’s blog post and using black & white to tell the story. Today I came across another dramatic weather development and that took a different approach. I was on my way to a business meeting with a customer in Wisconsin this morning and watched a small thunderstorm cell ahead of me during the first forty-five minutes of driving. Sure enough I drove right into it and a short heavy rain and even some hail cleaned at least the car. The light on the cell looked very impressive but I had a hard time to find a spot to pull of the road for a picture. Finally I found an exit and luckily this smaller side road had a nice curve that could be used in the photo as a foreground element. The rain still poured on the east side while a clean blue sky followed the dramatic cloud.

Almost always when I go on a one-day business trip I take the camera with me. Most of the time I never get it out the bag because not much happens, nothing interesting is waiting to be photographed, or time pressure dictates the course of the day. Today finally the passion paid off… Great moment!

GOING FOR THE DRAMA (NOT THE BRIDGE)

Rain front moving in over Iowa, Mississippi River, East Dubuque, Illinois

Last Friday evening I went across the Mississippi River to East Dubuque, the northwest corner of the state of Illinois. Over on the Iowa side a rain front moved in and started to cover already partially the low sitting sun. It is tempting to have only an eye for the Julien Dubuque Bridge that connects both states but there was more to consider as the subject for this photo. I was intrigued by the reflections on the water and the drama in the sky above. The bridge as a silhouette still holds the picture together and all lines, from below, above, and from the sides of the image converge near the brightest spot.

I started out shooting in color mode from different angles and distances to the bridge but non of the shots held the drama I saw as a possibility for the final photo. My monochrome settings in the Nikon Z6II apply the effect of a red filter. It gives extreme contrast, darkens the sky and makes the clouds really stand out. Seeing the effect right in the electronic viewfinder or on the camera screen gave me a good direction how I wanted to compose and how my exposure would effect the drama in the scene. Finally, later in post process at the computer, I reduced the effect of the red filter by lowering the contrast a little bit, and making it more looking like an orange filter was used.

Don’t take me wrong, the bridge is a nice subject for a picture, but this was all about the drama in the sky and its reflection on the Mississippi River.

NATURE CLICKS #533 - MONARCH

Monarch butterfly, Bowstring Wildlife Area, Eastern Iowa

In July the monarch butterfly was officially designated as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Scientists estimate that the species' population has dropped between 20% and 90% over the last several decades. This migratory butterfly is known for its spectacular annual journey of up to 4,000 kilometers across the Americas. We still see them at flower meadows, in patches of re-planted prairie, or along the edges of rivers and lakes, although this year I have not watched them in large numbers. Any time I see one I try to make a photo. I only had the 150-600 mm lens with me during a hike in the Bowstring Wildlife Area, located along Lytle Creek between Zwingle and Bernard, Iowa. Zoomed all the way in to 600 mm I like how the insect got backlit, pronouncing its colors nicely. This wooded area has several patches of restored prairies and would be a prime habitat for many butterflies. Unfortunately only two Monarchs crossed my way today. I have a hard time to imagine that this beautiful insect may disappear…

NATURE CLICKS #532 - RED ADMIRAL

As summer comes to an end I realize that we didn’t have a great year for larger butterflies here on top of the bluffs along the Little Maquoketa Valley. Yes, in early summer we had thousands of Hackberry Emperors again, most likely due to to the abundance of Hackberry trees around here, but a lot less of any kind swallowtail butterflies. However, today I saw this Red Admiral in the front yard. The photo was made at one of our Autumn Joy Sedums. This flower seems to be a preferred feeding plant for many insects. We see large numbers of bumble bees, different species of wasps, all kinds of bugs, ants, and for the first time in years even some real bees. This is good news. We have lots of other flowers but the nectar of the sedum must be good or they like how easy the access is. The admiral let me get really close with the Nikkor Z 24-70. Not a macro lens but capable to deliver the environmental shot I mostly prefer.

FIRST FALL PICTURE?

Giant Sunflowers beside the road, Green Island Wetlands, Eastern Iowa

These Giant Sunflowers swayed heavily in the wind while rain clouds still moved through the Mississippi Valley. A short visit to the Green Island Wetlands yesterday afternoon didn’t lead to a lot of wildlife sightings but these yellow beauties and color contrast with the dark clouds tell the story of a cooler day after some much needed rain the night before.

I wanted to freeze the strong movement of the flowers and and started shooting with about 1/1600 s, at f/6.3 and ISO400. While this worked somehow, I was not happy with the blurred clouds in the background. Drama was missing. After closing down the aperture to f/14 I was left with 1/800 s at ISO1000. Still good enough to freeze the action and adding much more pronounced cloud shapes. Warmer weather is coming back tomorrow but I guess I have my first fall picture of the season…😉