OUT AT THE AIRPORT

Well, we are already deep into July and next week is the AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin again, the largest airshow in the world. As every year some airplanes use the Dubuque Airport as a stop on the way to Oshkosh. I counted 24 Texan T6’s parked in front of the hangars this evening. They are here for some practice for the airshows in Oshkosh and usually leave on Sunday. Unfortunately only two of them went out for a flight while I was there.

My best photo from today is this N133JF, a Bellanca 8KCAB Decathlon, built in 1973. The plane taxied to the runway for a takeoff. Despite the relativ slow speed it was still important to pan with the long lens to get some motion blur of the background. A slow shutter speed of 1/125s guaranteed also a little bit of blur on the propeller. Both elements in the photo are used to tell the story of a moving airplane. I hope I get some more shots from the Dubuque Airport later this upcoming weekend. It’s hot outside but I always enjoy spending time with the camera to get a few photos of prop planes.

Nikon Z6II, Nikon FTZ adapter, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S,   @ 600 mm, 1/125 s, f/10, ISO 100

NATURE CLICKS #583 - COMMON YELLOWTHROAT

Male Common Yellowthroat, Whitewater Canyon Wildlife Area, Dubuque County, Iowa

Yes, I made a picture of a Common Yellowthroat exactly a week ago but felt I still had some unfinished business. I wanted to get closer to this small but magnificent warbler and  really wanted a shot without any men-made items, like the wire cage around a young tree, in the frame. Well, I went back today to the Whitewater Canyon Wildlife Area to try my luck again.

The light situation was very similar than a week ago, with a slight overcast, perfect for photographing grassland birds. The difference was, it was much, much warmer than last week and the sweat poured out of every pore in the body. There were quite a few Yellowthroats making their calls in the prairie grass. The male’s wichety-wichety-wichety song, which they sing frequently during summer, is easy to recognize. It just takes some patience to get them out of their cover and in front of the lens. The Common Yellowthroats spend their winter in some of the southern states and in the tropics.

Nikon Z6II, Nikon FTZ adapter, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, Induro GIT 404XL tripod, Induro GHB2 gimbal head

NATURE CLICKS #582 - BROWN-SPOTTED YELLOW-WING

The Mississippi River is still flooding and the water level is about the same as last weekend. With many frequently visited nature areas here in eastern Iowa still under water I decided to go over to the Illinois side of the river for some bird photography and drove down south to the old Savanna Army Depot, now home to the Lost Mound Unit of the Upper Mississippi River Wildlife and Fish Refuge. Most of this area sits a little higher and is not effected by the flood. The Lost Mound Unit has the highest (70ft / 21.3m) and longest (7.5 miles / 12 km) sand dune along the Mississippi River in Illinois.

I saw a number of different woodpeckers but the light sucked and I didn’t even bother to aim the glass towards their locations. While looking with binoculars at the trees that grow on the sand dune and also in the opposite direction across the sand prairie, this dragonfly caught my attention. I haven’t seen a Brown-spotted Yellow-Wing for a while and being me, I could not pass this opportunity without making a few clicks with the camera. With the macro lens at home on the shelf, <sigh>, I tried my luck with the Sigma 150-600. It was clear that the image needed a crop since I wasn’t able to get much closer, but hey, it’s better than coming home without a picture…😉

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

NATURE CLICKS #581 - HOUSE WREN DELIVERS

It has been a successful breeding season for most of the birds here on the bluffs above the Little Maquoketa Valley so far. We have seen young birds from almost all species that call this area their home and also from some of the migrating birds.

As every year, several House Wrens had nests in the bird boxes we provide and the chicks of two successful broods have left the nests already. This male wren with a spider in its bill helps to feed another bunch of nestlings at the moment. I don’t know yet how many of the little guys are in the nest but hopefully will find out when they start to stick their heads out of the box in front of the house. The female flies in probably a little more often with food, but the male watches the nest and distracts potential predators with its loud melodious calls and chatters. The frequency of how often the House Wrens bring more food tells us that there is no lack of insects or spiders this year, with its wet and warm summer so far.

I shot this picture during a time with an overcast last weekend and used a little hint of soft flash to fill in on the bird while it approached carefully the nest.

Nikon Z6II, Nikon FTZ adapter, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, Induro GIT 404XL tripod, Induro GHB2 gimbal head, Westscott FJ80 II speed light, Westscott Magnetic diffusion dome

BIRDS AND WILDFLOWERS - A SHORT PRAIRIE EXCURSION

McCarthy Wildlife Area, Dubuque County, Iowa

We concluded the first weekend in July with a little excursion to a couple prairie and grassland areas here in Dubuque County. The first one, McCarthy Wildlife Area, located near Bernard IA, is a former cultivated row crop field and was planted with native grasses and flowers in 2023. Although quite new it had already developed a gorgeous habitat with lots of prairie flowers and we saw or heard Eastern Meadowlarks, Eastern Kingbirds, Dickcissels, of course a number of Red-winged Blackbirds, and others. A rain cloud moved eastwards south of the area and made for a nice background while I tried to capture the essence of this nature area.

Dickcissel, Whitewater Canyon Wildlife Area, Dubuque County, Iowa

Not far away is Whitewater Canyon Wildlife area, which we have visited many times before. This time we hiked only on the upper part between prairie and grassland and didn’t walk down into the woods and the canyon. It didn’t take very long to get a male Dickcissel, one of the beautiful grassland birds, in front of the lens. We came at the right time to enjoy big patches of Wild Bergamot in full bloom and at the end of the walk a Common Yellowthroat posed nicely on the metal cage that protects a young oak tree that had been planted near the parking area.

Wild Bergamot, Whitewater Canyon Wildlife Area, Dubuque County, Iowa

Common Yellowthroat, Whitewater Canyon Wildlife Area, Dubuque County, Iowa

BACK IN TIME, OREGON COAST

View from Cape Meares, Pacific Coast, Oregon

Unfortunately I didn’t spent time behind the camera last week but still like to share a photo from our trip to the Oregon coast three months ago. Fast changing weather and light make it such a great place for landscape photography. If you miss a shot, you can’t repeat it exactly the same way.

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

NATURE CLICKS #580 - INDIGO BUNTING

Indigo Bunting, Green Island Wetlands, Iowa

Yesterday in the wetlands I tried to capture some beautiful yellow American Golfinches, eating seeds from the plants that line the dykes between the lakes. It wasn’t a very successful effort. The goldfinches didn’t like my presence and moved on to another spot any time I stopped the car. But to my surprise another finch species posed nicely for a while in front of the camera. This was the first time I ever saw an Indigo Bunting in the grass and between the flowers on the dyke. This little guy was singing its heart out and I heard a second one nearby.Their feathers are actually black but the diffraction of light through their feathers make them look blue. One reason we can see them in many shades between turquoise and black.

Nikon Z6II, Nikon FTZ adapter, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, Sigma APO Teleconverter 1.4x EX DG

CRAYFISH DINNER

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

This was a tricky shot of this Great Egret in the wetlands along the Mississippi River today. I navigated my car (the well known mobile blind!) carefully in a position where I hoped to have an unobstructed view at this bird. The size of the vegetation is enormous after the rain we had lately and there was a lot of grass and other wild plants swaying in the wind between the bird and me. Luck was on my side and just where I had anticipated a possible shot, the egret caught a crayfish and ate it right away.

It is quiet on the lakes and between the reeds at this time of the year in the backwaters of the mighty Mississippi River and it takes some efforts to get a bird in front of the camera. However, I enjoyed being back again after some busy weeks and nothing can beat the time spending in the Great Outdoors!

By the way, the neck of this Great Egret seems to show some impact and it makes me wonder, if the bird had a hard time with a predator or if it just is the result of a fight with another egret about the right to mate…?

Nikon Z6II, Nikon FTZ adapter, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, Sigma APO Teleconverter 1.4x EX DG,   @ 850 mm, 1/1250 s, f/9, ISO 400

ENEMIES OF CONFUSION

Enemies of Confusion, at Smokestack, downtown Dubuque, Iowa

Last Friday the Enemies of Confusion, a local band from Dubuque, Iowa, had a record release party in the ”Smokestack”, an event bar downtown Dubuque. Their new album PUBLIC ADDRESS is now officially out and their well-crafted, garage rock and blues infused Rock ’n’ Roll, with a great guitar sound, rocked the house that night. I know two members of the band and wanted to see them since a long time.

Brandon Duccini, vocals, guitar

I shot part of the band already in 2007, when they were the All-Night-Riders and backing band of acclaimed blues player James Kind. It was only my second concert photography shooting ever and I had fun looking at some of the old pictures. My style today is much different and people that know only my wildlife and landscape work may ask, what the heck is he doing here…?

Ray Otis, drums, backing vocals

I don’t make images of people very often, but I enjoy shooting photos of artists, and in particular musicians. I asked myself, why is that, and I guess it is because they come back with an expression in their face, or a certain gesture during their performance without being asked for it. The picture comes to you, if you just wait for the right moments…

Bryan Freisinger, vocals, guitar

My technical approach for that night was simple. The camera was set to monochrome so I see already in the viewfinder the outcome of a desired picture. If I would later change my mind and want still a color version of a particular image, no problem, the RAW data of the picture still hold all color information. My monochrome pre-setting in camera includes also a high contrast setting, a look I like in concert photography. I came with only one lens, the Nikon Nikkor AFS 70-200, f/4, and I shot the whole night wide open with f/4. Almost all pictures that night were shot between ISO 4000 and 10000, a few images even at ISO 32000. Sure, with the limited light in a concert venue there is digital noise introduced to each image with such high ISO settings. Thanks to camera technology and Topaz De-Noise reduction this is all manageable, something I would have never written a few years ago. Alright, let’s forget all the technical blah-blah and I hope you get a kick out of this selection of some of my favorite photos from the ENEMIES OF CONFUSION record release party.

Tony Moline, bass, backing vocals

This young man, the nephew of one of the band members, had his chance during the first break the band took after about an hour. His solo on the drums got him some big applause   by the audience.

Brandon and Bryan

Is that the manager behind the band, thinking, I can do that better…? 😉

ALONG THE TRAIL

Black-veined White / German: Baum-Weißling

During a hike with family in the nature reserve of Königsbrücker Heide, northeast of Dresden, Saxony, we came across these two butterflies that were very busy with each other. I believe these are Aporia crataegi (Black-veined White / German: Baum-Weißling).

I didn’t take any other lens than the Nikkor Z 24-70mm f4 S with me, so I shot this at 70mm und cropped it quite a bit in post process.

ZOOMING OUT, BETTER STORYTELLING

Elbe River, Dresden, Saxony, Germany, May 26, 2024

We had met with a dear friend in one of the lovely beer gardens along the Elbe River in Dresden, Saxony and enjoyed a great time together. On the way back to the apartment we watched mighty thunderheads developing around us and with them the low sitting sun created some spectacular light in the sky and on the river.

I took a few pictures of the scene, zooming in on the clouds, with the sun beams as my subject, but wasn’t really happy with the results. I realized that it was more about where to place the different elements in the frame, the river with reflections, the steam boat, the silhouette of the building, and of course the position of the sun in the cloud. Zooming slightly further out made finally for better storytelling about location and time.

Nikon Z6II, Nikkor Z 24-70, f/4 S,   @ 43mm, 1/500 s, f/8, ISO 100

MORITZBURG CASTLE

Moritzburg Castle near Dresden, Saxony, Germany, May 21, 2024

After a nice hike with family in the area north of Dresden we stopped at Moritzburg Castle, a Baroque palace in the German state of Saxony. It was built from 1542 to 1546 and was extended several times. It was used as a hunting lodge and country seat by the dukes and emperors of Saxony over the years.

Six days after this photo was created the French President Emmanuel Macron visited Dresden and Moritzburg Castle together with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeyer. It put a smile in my face when I saw on the web that they posed with their wives for an official photo with the Minister President of Saxony Michael Kretschmer almost at the same spot where I took this picture of the beautiful castle. Well, they didn’t have such great rain clouds that made for a nice color contrast with the castle and its surrounding park…

Nikon Z6II, Nikkor Z 24-70, f/4 S,   @ 44mm, 1/800 s, f/8, ISO 200

GREENLAND - AN AERIAL VIEW

A dream came true a couple days ago during my return from Europe to the American continent. I have seen Greenland from an airplane before but never actually flew across it during day light. When I saw on the screen in front of me that our route was north of Iceland, I knew there was a chance to see the world’s largest island. Luckily there were no clouds. The mighty glacier below is flowing slowly to the North Atlantic Ocean, somewhere in the haze at the horizon.

The photo was shot through through the blue tinted window of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner. This aircraft has electronically dimmable windows to keep the UV light out, but even if set to maximum opacity, a blue color cast is still inevitable. I didn’t want to miss this gorgeous view and quickly used the camera in my phone and tried to remove some of the color cast in Adobe Lightroom Classic. Not perfect, but good enough for a memorable moment.

NATURE CLICKS #579 - ORCHARD ORIOLES

Male Orchard Oriole

Here is the other oriole we are lucky enough to have in our woods this year again, the Orchard Oriole. They are a bit smaller than the Baltimore Orioles and the males are very easy to identify. The females not so much, there are sometimes similarities to other birds, like warblers or immature Baltimore Orioles. They are not so noisy as the Baltimore Orioles and the male often surprises me when it suddenly shows up right in front of my lens.

All photos: 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, Westscott FJ80 II speed light, Westscott Magnetic diffusion dome

Female Orchard Oriole

BREAKING THE RULES, EXCEEDING THE VISION

Baltimore Oriole, defying the rain

It’s usually a no-no to employ a speed light in the rain if you aim your lens at birds, but I did it anyway. As you already may know, I use the flash for color enhancement, and not as my main light source. It lead finally to a photo from being just a static portrait of a Baltimore Oriole to a much more dynamic picture. So where is the story? That splash on the branch made all the difference between a static image and how we can capture the dynamic of a particular moment. I thought it was a way to go, so break the rules and embrace the results if the final version of your photo exceeds your vision…