HAYSTACK ROCK AT ANY WEATHER

Haystack Rock, Cannon Beach, Pacific North Coast of Oregon

The coast of Oregon is not a place that has sunshine all the time, especially at this time of the season. There were quite a few hours during our explorations and hikes along the shore when the colors were muted. But rain, fast moving clouds, and the surf on these stormy days created drama and the question I asked myself was, how can I make it visible in my photos? Seeing in black and white and envision how the final picture may look needs practice and I certainly could use some more of that.

The photo was made at low tide in the town of Cannon Beach. The iconic Haystack Rock attracts many people and it has been photographed probably several million times before. I did not go too low with my tripod because I wanted to have a bit more of the surf in the frame. To give the waves a sense of movement and keep the mist in the air visible I exposed 2 seconds at f/7.1. I tried longer and shorter times but this seemed to lead to the most harmonious results. The pattern in the sand changed quickly and it required reposition of the camera several times for some lines with reflections and shadows. Crushing waves broke frequently on this basalt sea stack and I was able to capture one of these moments. Who says you can’t make a photo on a stormy and rainy day…? 😉

Nikon Z6II, Nikkor Z 24-70, f/4 S, GITZO tripod GT2931 Basalt, KIRK BH-3 ball head,   @ 52 mm, 2 s, f/7.1, ISO 100

YAQUINA HEAD

Yaquina Head Lighthouse, Newport, Oregon

One of my favorite locations we visited at the Oregon coast last week was Yaquina Head with its lighthouse and rocky sea stacks all around. It is a great place for bird watching and offers many different angles for having some photography fun.

Colony Rock is a great habitat for thousands of seabirds. We saw Common Murres, Pelagic Cormorants, lots of Western Gulls, and some other species.

Western Gull on a rocky cliff

The lighthouse guides ships and their supplies along the west coast since the light was first lit on August 20, 1873.

View to the North Coast from Yaquina Head

NATURE CLICKS #571 - COMMON MURRE (FIRST SIGHTING)

Common Murres, Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area, near Newport, Oregon

Our trip to the coast of Oregon was still a little too early for a big deal of bird photography. Nevertheless, we had a few good encounters and some of them were first sightings for us. The Common Murre nests on sea cliffs above the ocean and we found them on the cliffs at Yaquina Head Light, north of Newport, OR. During breeding season they lay one egg directly on a ledge without adding nesting material. The Common Murres feed mostly on fish, squid, or octopus and catch their prey in the bill during deep dives. They use their wings for propelling themselves and can remain underwater for up to one minute. These birds look a little bit like penguins with their tuxedoed look, but they are relatives of auks and puffins.

I had plenty of images already on the memory card when suddenly this flock took off and moved to a different cliff below the lighthouse in the Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area.

Nikon Z6II, Nikon FTZ adapter, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, Sigma APO Teleconverter 1.4x EX DG, GITZO tripod GT2931 Basalt, Induro GHB2 gimbal head,   @ 850 mm, 1/5000 s, f/9, ISO 1250

TEMPERATE RAINFOREST, GOOD FOR THE SOUL

Nikon Z6II, Nikon FTZ adapter, Nikon Nikkor AF-S 70-200mm, f/4, GITZO tripod GT2931 Basalt, KIRK BH-3 ball head  @ 70 mm, 0.5 s, f/14, ISO 100

The landscapes along the coast of the Pacific Northwest have many things to offer for nature lovers and photographers in particular. From sandy beaches to sea stacks, the big rocks standing in the water, to a great variety of birds and sea animals. I’m always fascinated by the temperate rainforests along the coast with their gigantic trees and lush vegetation, including ferns, moss, and lichens that cover much of the forest. After a winter in the Midwest this green environment is good for the soul!

Munson Creek Waterfall, near Tillamook, Oregon

Nikon Z6II, Nikon FTZ adapter, Nikon Nikkor AF-S 70-200mm, f/4, GITZO tripod GT2931 Basalt, KIRK BH-3 ball head  @ 70 mm, 1/30 s, f/13, ISO 100

We drove a few miles inwards to see Munson Creek Falls, the tallest waterfall along the Oregon coast range (319 feet / 97 m), which is surrounded by beautiful forest. Due to a road closure we hiked a little longer as planned to get to this waterfall but every bend in the trail revealed new and interesting views. Very little light hits the bottom of the valley and it doesn’t require a neutral density filter to show some motion in the flowing water of the waterfall or Munson Creek. A tripod is of course recommended for such photos.

A CLASSIC VIEW

Cannon Beach with Haystack Rock, Ecola State Park, Oregon

This classic view from Ecola Point down to Cannon Beach, with the iconic Haystack Rock in the back, has been on my list of locations I like to visit since a long time. I’m glad we did it in the afternoon a couple days ago because the evening sky was filled with nothing but gray clouds again later in the day.

Nikon Z6II, Nikkor Z 24-70, f/4 S, GITZO tripod GT2931 Basalt, KIRK BH-3 ball head,   @ 36 mm, 1,6 s, f/10, ISO 100

REFLECTIONS AT LOW TIDE

Reflections at low tide in Rockaway Beach, Oregon

On our first day traveling along the coast of Oregon we scouted and explored the northern part and finally unpacked our luggage in Rockaway Beach, a small but somehow charming community. During a short walk at low tide on the beach we finally saw the sun and lots of color replaced the gray that made most of the day. What a photo can’t transmit is the smell of the ocean, but I hope you get the idea that we had a marvelous time. Fresh cod and other seafood, combined with a local India Pale Ale, are hard to beat for a dinner that followed this walk on the beach… 😊

Nikon Z6II, Nikkor Z 24-70, f/4 S,   @ 40 mm, 1/400 s, f/10, ISO 200

MEMORABLE MOMENT

Double rainbow above North Portland Harbor, Columbia River between Washington and Oregon

There is no better way to start a spring vacation at the coast of Oregon than with a photo of a double rainbow and some killer light on the house boats across the Columbia River in Portland, OR. We were eating dinner and enjoyed a good West Coast beer in the restaurant of our hotel last night when this act of nature unfolded, just outside of the window. We dropped fork and knife immediately and ran out onto the hotel terrace with the camera in hand. Other people saw obviously the potential for a good shot with their cell phones and followed us shortly after, and even our waitress stepped outside and enjoyed the play of light.

The warm colors of the houses in the setting sun on Tomahawk Island in the Columbia River would have been a great subject by themselves, but the two rainbows after a mostly rainy gray day made it a memorable moment… More to come, so please stay tuned.

HOW MUCH POST PROCESSING?

Buildings right to left: partly only Marina City (architect: Bertrand Goldberg), IBM Building (architect: Mies Van der Rohe), Trump International Hotel & Tower

Tonight I gave a little presentation at the meeting of the Dubuque Camera Club about how I process most of my wildlife photos. Beside necessary adjustments, like noise reduction, RAW sharpening, spot removal, or maybe sometimes some cropping, only small tweaks are applied to get the best out of the RAW file. I don’t change much at all on the wildlife. If the picture is not sharp or totally wrong exposed, the photo lands in the trash can or will never be published if I want to keep it for documentary reasons in the picture library.

A lot more efforts can go into a photo like this shot from last week in downtown Chicago. The photo was made through the glass of the hotel window (we were only on the 9th floor but you can’t open these windows) and it took some efforts to overcome all the challenges. From the distortion of the glass and the dust on the window, to the perspective that you can’t really change much while shooting from a hotel room, I may use all the great tools of Adobe Lightroom or Adobe Camera RAW to end up with a usable image.

”Transform” was used to correct perspective problems created by the lens, ”Dehaze” for eliminating the effect of a not so clean window, and other adjustments to enhance contrast or color contrast. The limits are only set by your own vision for the final image.

LESS IS MORE…

I can’t deny that I love architecture that is comprised by the use of glass and steel. Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, a German-American architect and pioneer of modern architecture has created several iconic buildings in Chicago after his emigration from the Nazi regime in Germany to the United States. I do not know who designed this modern apartment complex in downtown Chicago, but the design was maybe influenced by Mies van der Rohe’s architectural mission and principles. I loved what I saw when I had the building in the viewfinder of my camera and in particular the reflections of the clouds on the glass surfaces and the contrasty appearance overall. I admit, it was a ”shot from the hip” while walking from the hotel to a favorite dinner restaurant yesterday evening. There was a lot of blue in the frame, from the sky and bounced back from the glass surfaces. Mies van der Rohe is often associated with the fondness of the aphorism "less is more” (source: Wikipedia), and that’s what I remembered when I decided to render the image in B&W. It just reflects my own vision of modern architecture photography.

I know, some friends and followers of my blog asked, what’s going on, where are your latest photos about nature at spring time? Well, the duties of my regular job keep me very busy at the moment and a home improvement project took the rest of the time during the last couple weeks. Some new things will come soon, so please stay tuned…

PORT WASHINGTON BREAKWATER LIGHTHOUSE, FIRST TRY

Port Washington Breakwater Lighthouse, Lake Michigan, Wisconsin

During business trips in the eastern part of Wisconsin I always enjoy a stop somewhere along the shore of Lake Michigan and especially if there is a lighthouse nearby. Port Washington Breakwater Lighthouse has been long on my radar but this week was the first time I was able to visit it. While heading east I started worrying long before I even saw the lake, due to the fact that I didn’t see a single cloud in the sky. Just a blue sky seems always a bit boring and it takes some thoughts to find a way to overcome what the ”beautiful” weather may present.

Walking on a pier didn’t leave many choices about getting lower or higher above the sea level. Putting the horizon line and the lighthouse on the left in places that go along with the ”rule of thirds” was a way to start this composition intent. So, now what? I saw a few gulls flying around over the entrance to the marina of Port Washington and waited until two of them filled the spot above the pier on the left and right. The birds don’t become the subject of this photo but the triangle between the two lighthouse points and the gulls make the eye go around in the photo. It’s definitely a picture that wants me to come back again during the hour before sunset and maybe we can see then a little more drama in the frame…

GREAT LIGHT FOR QUICK SHOT WITH MANUAL FOCUS

Despite a busy life at the moment I try to take a few minutes for photography whenever I can. Spring is early this year and reveals beautiful things in nature and all what it takes is to have an eye on the light. I think it is important to have a vision for what would make a good subject already ahead of time, but wait until the light finally makes the difference between just a documentary shot and a photo that may please our senses.

I made this picture with my old macro lens, the SIGMA 150 f/2.8G. I haven’t used this piece of glass since quite a while, although the sharpness of this lens has always impressed. Since eye sight is not getting better with age I rely most of the time on the autofocus system of my NIKON Z6II camera. Older lenses that do not have their own autofocus motor, like the SIGMA 150, can only be used in manual focus mode on Nikon’s mirrorless cameras. The sharpness and rendering of this lens is still great but it takes a little bit longer, especially in an awkward position while lying on the ground. Sure, we can employ a low tripod for this kind of a shot. We can do focus stacking and all kinds of macro-voodoo these days, but I’m always afraid the great light is gone before the camera is even mounted on the tripod…😉

SWANS, SWANS, AND MORE SWANS

Migrating Tundra Swans, Mississippi Valley, Green Island, Iowa

I wasn’t able to count all the swans I found yesterday at Blakes Lake in the Green Island Wetlands. I think it’s safe to say there were at least 400, but probably more, feeding in the shallow waters of the lake. Heat shimmer above the water surface made it kinda difficult to  see details of the birds in the viewfinder of the camera. While standing on the dyke there were quite a few more swans moving in and this was the chance to make a few clicks from a shorter distance. It wasn’t until I had a closer look at the birds on the screen of my computer that I realized that there were quite a few Tundra Swans among the Trumpeter Swans, which latter I had seen during the last few weeks already. This also explained the considerable increase in numbers of swans present on the lake.

While the Trumpeter Swans may stay here in eastern Iowa during the winter, the Tundra Swans spent the winter at the Mid-Atlantic coast. They are back now and on the way to their breeding grounds in the arctic region of Canada and Alaska. Trumpeter Swans are slightly bigger but this is not always a safe indicator for identification. It is the yellow spot that adult Tundra Swans show at the base of their bill that leaves no doubt about what species we see.

The yellow spot is at least very good visible in the full size photo of these two Tundra Swans flying overhead. The size reduced picture you see here in the blog makes it a little more difficult to see this important feature.

QUICK LENS CHANGE

Sunset at the Green Island Wetlands , Mississippi Valley, Iowa

My ambitions to get some good results with wildlife in front of the camera were not rewarded today. This is not unusual for this time of the year and I don’t get too much frustrated. Yes, I saw a couple Sandhill Cranes, some hawks, eagles, lots of geese, and finally large numbers of Red-winged Blackbirds have started to claim their territories in the Green Island Wetlands. I made the usual documentary shots for myself, but nothing was close enough for a serious try to make a photo that stands out.

While waiting and hoping for something to happen I had an eye on the western horizon, where, what I call, a ”dirty sunset” unfolded. Suddenly the clouds started loosing their ”muddy” appearance and I saw the chance for a photo. A quick lens change from the Sigma 150-600 S to the Nikkor Z 24-70, f/4 S and dialing in a different white balance setting in camera to a warmer tone was all what it took to work with another subject, this time the light and clouds above the horizon.

Nikon Z6II, Nikkor Z 24-70, f/4 S,   @ 32 mm, 1/640s, f/8, ISO 400

WAITING FOR SPRING

Black-capped Chickadee

It is the time of the year when we start to hear the ”fee-bee” calls of the Black-capped Chickadees more frequently. The snow bells are out in the front yard and also a couple small crocus flowers. While driving to town this morning I saw a pair of Sandhill Cranes flying across the road. All sure signs that spring is right around the corner or at least not far away anymore.

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

ANOTHER CHANCE WITHOUT WIRE

American Kestrel, Green Island Wetlands, Iowa

More than once I have complained about that the kestrels mostly perch on utility wires along the road, which isn’t my preferred location for a wildlife shot. Well, the solution seems to be to drive along roads that do not have power lines next to them. Not easy to find here in Iowa! This female American Kestrel used the dead trees at the edge of a marsh for her hunting efforts. During the summer these small falcons often eat insects, like grasshoppers. Since this is not an available option right now, they are on the outlook for small mammals and birds.

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