DIFFERENT WETLANDS, DIFFERENT SMELL

Tauerwiesenteich, near Förstgen, Saxony, Germany,

Nikon Z6II, Nikkor Z 24-70, f/4 S, Panoramic image created from 4 single photos,

This photo is best viewed at a computer. Click on the picture for a larger image on screen.

No, this is not any of the backwaters along the Upper Mississippi River here in Iowa. A week ago, back in my home town Bautzen, Germany, I had the chance to make a short trip to the biosphere preserve ”Upper Lusatian Pond and Heath Region”. This area stretches to the north of town, away from the mountains, and is a mix of woods, heath, wetlands, agricultural land, and includes 240 ponds. Many of them are used to raise fish. One of the treasures in the preserve is the high variety of plant and animal species. This all happens in harmony with agricultural and fish farming.

Today, over there, they received the first snow in the ”Upper Lusatia” (so did we here in Iowa), but a week ago some fall colors were still present in the woods. An observation tower that overlooks this part of the wetlands was used as a shooting platform. A single image seems not to do justice to the wide view from the tower and therefore I took five overlapping photos. I used four of them for the final image and stitched them together in Adobe Photoshop. This used to be a time consuming, sometimes tedious task but with today’s computer power and state-of-the-art software capabilities it is only a matter of a few seconds to obtain the panoramic view.

I love it here in the Driftless Area along the Upper Mississippi River Valley, with its deciduous forests and wildlife, but I definitely miss the smell of resin from pines and mushrooms in abundance, as it was present in my old stomping grounds a week ago…

A FAVORITE VIEW

Fischerpforte (Fisher gate), Bautzen, Germany, Nikon Z6II, Nikkor Z 24-70, f/4 S

I wasn’t sure if I get this shot sharp enough because a tripod wasn’t with me that evening in my home town Bautzen in Germany. This over 1000 years old city holds many interesting views for the photographer but this stairway from the Spree River up to the old town is among my favorites. The place where the photo was made is called Fischerpforte (Fisher gate). Back in the old days the fishermen living down below used these stairs to bring their fresh catch to the market in town. Part of the old city wall is visible at the right hand side and at the upper end of the stairs was a gate that could be closed in the matter of defense.

Back to the exposure time for this image. It was shot at ISO3200 but still required an exposure time of 0.4s. Despite image stabilization in cameras or lenses, stabile handholding and exhaling the air from the lungs is still mandatory for a sharp picture at night time.

FALL COLORS, LATE OCCURRENCE

Maple tree, Dresden Neustadt, Nov 12, 2023, Nikon Z6II, Nikkor Z 24-70, f/4 S

Hey everybody, I’m back from a trip to Germany where I spent time with family and friends, hence the silence here in my blog. Before the airplane even touched the tarmac in Dresden earlier this month I realized how many leaves were still on the trees and foliage just started to change colors. This is not common for early November but warm temperatures without any cold snap had delayed the changes that usually come with autumn.

The photo of this beautiful maple was made from a balcony in Dresden. The sun peeked from behind a cloud for a moment and revealed the brilliance of the leaves colors. The Nikon Z6II was set to ”vivid mode” to get the most out for this shot.

MINNESOTA NORTHWOODS - #14

Split Rock Lighthouse, Lake Superior, Minnesota

The last day of our trip through the Northwoods of Minnesota in September came with strong winds and rain. Big waves broke into the rocky shore of Lake Superior and it was a challenge to find moments with the camera when gray was not the only color visible at times. Split Rock Lighthouse is probably one of the most photographed landmarks along the north-shore and even in not so popular weather conditions, lots of people liked to see it.

No, this wasn’t my model, posing for pictures below the lighthouse, but I couldn’t resist to ”steal” some color on this gray day from the person who took pictures of this young lady in front of rough water.

I know this blog post comes ”a little late” but life stood in the way too many times lately. I hope you enjoyed my photos about some of Minnesota’s beautiful and wild places and maybe it inspired you to get the camera out of the pocket more often…

WEEKEND IN WISCONSIN’S NORTHWOODS

Popple River, Forest County Wisconsin

I spent the weekend in the Northwoods of Wisconsin at a friend’s cabin, to be more precise, in the woods north of Crandon and Laona. With every mile I drove further north fall colors appeared more sparsely. In addition gray skies dominated the weekend’s weather. I still tried to find ways to tell the story with the camera about the changes at the end of the fall season.

I have photographed from this bridge, crossing the Popple River, several times in the past. My older photos show it mostly frozen, with a layer of snow on top. Most leaves were gone already but the patches of grass lead the eye to the background, where some fall colors tell us, it’s not all over yet.

Full moon revealed, near Double Bend Road, Forest County, Wisconsin

The rain had moved out of the area and the almost full moon started peeking through the clouds. The light and mood of the scene reminded me of paintings by German Romantic landscape painter Casper David Friedrich (1774 - 1840). A light at the cabin to my left gave the tree trunks some structure. It is very subtle, but made the difference instead of rendering the trees just as a silhouette and nothing but black on the lower part of the photo.

Most of the maples had lost their leaves already but I found this young maple on an island in a bog. I removed carefully everything bright below this branch to keep the background as dark as possible. After this little bit of preparation it was an easy click.

I’m always amazed about the variety of different tree species up north. On the small island in the bog near the cabin we found pine, fir, spruce, maple, birch, arborvitae, and others. With the absence of popping colors, even in the sky, the camera was set to black and white with a red filter effect applied, making the shape of the trees the subject of the image. Although the arborvitaes are evergreen trees, the may shed some of their leaves. Here they covered the forest floor and gave me another reason to make this photo.

Cascade in the Little Popple River, Forest County Wisconsin

The tinted water at this cascade is a good indicator that the river flows through a boggy and peaty landscape, shaped by the glaciers a long time ago. This was shot handhold at 190 mm focal length and 1/20 sec. exposure time. I wanted movement in the water but also keep some of the details and not making it just some ”chocolate milk” flowing over the rocks.

WAITING IS NOT ALWAYS BORING…

Sunrise at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport

Yesterday morning I was waiting for my next flight in the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport in Texas. The glass of the airport window was not very clean, to say it mildly, but so close to the lens it worked like a diffuser. The light was ”killer” on the fuselage of the plane parked at our gate. The second photo was taken 2 minutes earlier, just before the sun came up at the horizon. I thought that shot works as well, with three airplanes in the sky at the same time and gorgeous light. Waiting for a connection flight is not always boring…

MINNESOTA NORTHWOODS - #13

Common Merganser, Bear Head Lake, Minnesota

On almost every lake we paddled last month up in Minnesota we found this bird species, the Common Merganser. We see them here in eastern Iowa during winter as long there is open water on the Mississippi River, and of course during migration. Most of their breeding grounds is higher up in Canada but the lakes in northern Minnesota are called home as well.

They are pretty tolerant when approached slowly with a kayak and they let us come quite close sometimes. So it is not a ”one time opportunity”, as it probably was with the River Otters. This gave me much better time to wait for a backgrounds that was not so busy. There is a lot of fallen trees lined up along the lake shores and as natural as it is, it’s not always a flattering background. The mergansers hunt mostly for fish underwater and if they do it right in front of you, you just know, the bird has accepted your presence and they don’t feel threatened.

MINNESOTA NORTHWOODS - #11

Fall colors, Road in Superior National Forest, near Schroeder, Minnesota

This photo was made on our last day up in the Northwoods of Minnesota. We had moved to a campsite at Ninemile Lake in Superior National Forest, not far away from Lake Superior. It was raining almost all day long but we still went out and tried to capture some beauty along Lake Superior, the worlds largest freshwater lake in the world by surface area. If nothing else can be done on a very rainy and almost stormy day, searching for interesting looking stones along the shore is still an option…

This was two and and a half weeks ago and while we drove back to camp, we enjoyed already the colors of fall. Well, we had to stop for this view to soak it all in and make a few clicks, but fifteen minutes later we entered the TRESTLE INN, a saloon and restaurant in the middle of nowhere, not far from our campsite. Great food, good beer, and just an incredible friendly staff! A great way to beat the rain and to end another wonderful day in the Great Outdoors!

MINNESOTA NORTHWOODS - #10

American Red Squirrel, Bear Head Lake State Park, Minnesota

We don’t have them here in our woods, the American Red Squirrel. They feed primarily on the seeds of conifer cones and we just don’t have this food source. It is smaller than our Eastern Gray Squirrels. If you see them in or near your campsite, there is no reason to set the alarm clock if you like to get out of the tent very early in the morning. The Red Squirrel will wake you up with a loud chatter with the first day light.

During an early morning walk in Bear Head Lake State Park this little guy walked towards me on this fallen, mossy tree trunk and announced my approach with the camera vociferously. I love how its bushy tail is backlit by the light peeking through the trees.

Nikon Z6II, Nikon FTZ adapter, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S,   @ 600 mm, 1/250 s, f/6.3, ISO 2000

LAST STRAGGLER?….I LET YOU KNOW!

Oh, I hope you don’t mind I interrupt my photo story about the Minnesota Northwoods for an actual story that took  place at home.

We watch the appearance of birds here in the woods on the bluffs of the Little Maquoketa River in eastern Iowa since almost 19 years now and any time when we think, we have seen it all, there is another surprise. You almost can set your clock for the migration schedule of the Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, the tiniest bird we enjoy here. With little. exceptions they arrive here May 1st, sometimes a day or so earlier. In the fall we wave good by to them around the last day of September, never later than October 2nd. Well, we kept two hummingbird feeders hanging from the roof of our porch just for these stragglers this week. We had ”summer weather” until two days ago, with nice warm temperatures and to no surprise some migrating hummers found the feeders every day. Yesterday autumn has finally arrived, with temperatures at a high of 12 ºC (54 ºF), and I just thought, well, I guess I can take the feeders down to winter storage. Oh, I’m glad I didn’t!

Sitting on the porch after work last evening another migrating Ruby-throated Hummingbird visited briefly for a boost of its energy level. As indicated before, it’s the latest we have seen a hummingbird coming through here. I guess the feeders with sugar solution will stay over the weekend, just to be save…

Today’s photo is not from the ”last straggler” this week. It was shot mid July this year, but this male was quite a character and I thought you may enjoy my sharing of this photo with you. Hey, fall is here, who knows what comes next!

MINNESOTA NORTHWOODS - #9

Sunrise over Lake Shumway, Savanna Portage State Park, Minnesota

I climbed out of the sleeping bag before sunrise and walked over to the lake. A band of clouds covered the rising sun and it became clear I wouldn’t get the light on the lake as I was hoping for. It was very quiet, no noise from any traffic, neither cars nor airplanes, just a deep silence. When the sun came up above the tree line a few gaps in the clouds started to open and suddenly sun spots were reflected on the lake. I knew I had my photo, carrying the mood from this gorgeous and quiet morning.

MINNESOTA NORTHWOODS - #8

North American River Otters, Bear Head Lake, Minnesota

It is not always guaranteed coming back with some decent images from every wildlife shooting adventure but it takes only one good photo to make it a successful trip. For our trip to the Northwoods of Minnesota a couple weeks ago this picture of three River Otters I value the most. Yes, there is a third otter on the log, right behind the one on the left and if you look carefully at this low resolution photo, you may see its nose peeking out from behind.

During our visit at Bear Head Lake State Park in 2019 I saw an otter near our campsite one early morning coming out of the water for a few seconds. The otter looked at me, and jumped right back into the lake. I was able to take a couple shots and of course this time I had high hopes to see another River Otter again. It’s a big lake and looking for an otter feels like searching for a needle in a haystack.

But luck was on our side again this time. On a very windy day we paddled the East Bay of Bear Head Lake since it seemed to be a little less effected by the wind. We had already watched a Great Blue Heron and a number of Common Mergansers while paddling along the shore, when suddenly two otters just appeared in front of my kayak and lifted their upper body out of the water. It looked like they were just checking us out as we paddled slowly into this part of the lake. Joan didn’t see them and I felt bad for her. We waited a few minutes, looked around, and suddenly she discovered three North American River Otters sitting on a dead log. The wind was pushing us towards them and I knew I had only a few seconds to line up the boat, lift the lens, focus, and let the camera rip out a few shots. As we drifted too close all three jumped simultaneously back into the water and were not seen again. The light was a little too harsh for my taste but at least I came back with a handful sharp photos of these interesting and beautiful animals. Moments like that are unforgettable!

Nikon Z6II, Nikon FTZ adapter, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S,   @ 600 mm, 1/5000 s, f/6.3, ISO 1600, image cropped

MINNESOTA NORTHWOODS - #7

Ruffed Grouse, Bear Head Lake State Park, Minnesota

The first morning after we moved from Savanna Portage State Park to Bear Head Lake I went out early to the lake in search for a critter I have seen there before in 2019 (more about this one in a later blog post). The camp sites are nicely separated from each other by thickets consisting of spruce, pine, birch, and other trees. I heard a quiet, hen-like cluck in the bushes and decided just to wait and see what happens, Sure enough, a Ruffed Grouse came out of the thicket and balanced slowly on top of a fallen log towards me. There were about half a dozen more birds but this one posed nicely for about three minutes. Later we found out that they were hanging out in the campground most of the time. Like White-tailed Deer, they figured out that the presence of people is not really a threat to them and a campground is a place that potential predators more likely would avoid.

Since it wasn’t mating time we did not hear the rapid-fire drumming sound of a male, but watching these birds, who blend in with there plumage to their environment so well, was worth to get out of the sleeping bag early.

Nikon Z6II, Nikon FTZ adapter, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, Induro GIT 404XL tripod, Induro GHB2 gimbal head. @ 600mm, 1/320 s, f/6.3, ISO 2500

MINNESOTA NORTHWOODS - #6

Common Loon, Eagles Nest Lake No. 3, Bear Head Lake State Park, Minnesota

It is always a thrill to hear the call of the Common Loon, mostly early in the morning, and finally watching them while paddling the lakes up in northern Minnesota. The lady at the ranger station at Savanna Portage State Park wasn’t sure if they had started migration already but we found loons on all of the bigger lakes we paddled. Common Loons spend the winter along the ocean coasts of North America.

They are such cool birds to watch and for me it’s always worth the risk taking the camera with long lens in the kayak and being rewarded with some good photography. This bird is not always shy and it may happen that they pop up right next to the boat after diving for fish.

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