NIGHT SHOT AT THE PORT

Port of Newport, Oregon, March 29, 2024

This photo is from the same night as yesterday’s sunset image, except it was shot after dinner. Ports and harbors had always a great fascination for me and I love to watch the business around ships, boats, or on the docks.

I guess it helped a little bit having a bottle of wine with our seafood dinner to handhold the camera and make a sharp picture at 1/13 of a second 😉.  And this still required an ISO setting of 12800. A few years ago this was unthinkable with any previous camera I owned, but the technology for noise reduction we have at our hands today, while shooting and in post process, is just amazing.

Nikon Z6II, Nikkor Z 24-70, f/4 S,   @ 62mm, 1/13 s, f/4, ISO 12,800

WAY TO END A DAY

Beach after sunset, Newport, Oregon, March 29, 2024

A minute earlier a small sliver of the sun was still visible. Of course, a few clicks were made with the sun above the horizon, but it was the glow that follows I was after. The people on the beach at low tide below our apartment give the scene a sense of scale.

What followed was a short drive to a restaurant at the harbor of Newport and a dinner with fresh seafood and wine. You can’t find a better way to end a great day at the Oregon coast…

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

HAVING AN EYE ON THE SKY

Thunderhead over farm, north of Guttenberg, Iowa

I spent a lot of time this week in my car, driving through the countryside for some business appointments far away. Sometimes it can be a little boring, but when puffy clouds show up in the sky I watch how they develop. There wasn’t much traffic when this thunderhead got some interesting light and when it was right behind this farm at the horizon I knew I had an opportunity for a picture. No distracting power lines in the foreground, no other cars around, just perfect for a brief stop. Two minutes later I was on the road again, this time with a smile in my face… 😊

Nikon Z6II, Nikkor Z 24-70, f/4 S,   @ 62mm, 1/500 s, f/8, ISO 160

A RARE AIRCRAFT - B-29 SUPERFORTRESS

B-29 Superfortress , part of the ”AirPower History Tour” by the Commemorative Air Force, Dubuque Regional Airport, 7/28/2024

The biggest attraction for most people that came to the Dubuque Airport last weekend was the B-29 Superfortress ”FIFI”. It is one of only two aircrafts that are still airworthy. The B-29 played an essential role in WWII in the Pacific to end the war with Japan.

”FIFI” underwent a restoration between 2006 and 2010 and has now four custom built hybrid engines.

Weather conditions prevented the morning flight on Sunday but finally mid afternoon I was able to watch a takeoff and later the safe landing of the aircraft. I shot from the same location as already a week ago, just outside the fence that surrounds the airfield and next to the terminal building. The biggest challenge was to keep the fence out of the frame whenever possible. I brought a little foldable stepping stool and used it for most of the pictures.

While taxiing between the ramp and the runway only the two inner engines are used and the outer props are at a standstill.

Having a once in a lifetime experience and flying with the B-29 is not a small expense. The “bombardier seat”, the one the gentleman in the white shirt is in, can be booked for $1,995. The CAF is a non-profit organization and the money is used to keep these historical airplanes flying. https://www.airpowersquadron.org/b-29-superfortress

A GORGEOUS AIRCRAFT, PT-13 STEARMAN

PT-13 Stearman taxiing to the runway at Dubuque Regional Airport during CAF AirPower History Tour

This weekend the Commemorative Air Force, a non-profit educational organization, brought the ”AirPower History Tour” to the Dubuque Regional Airport. People were able to to view three different historical WWII aircrafts up close and book rides. I’m still working through my images from the last two days at the airport but I will show some photos of one of the rarest and most remarkable airplanes in a later post next week.

Today I start with a picture of a Boeing PT-13, known as the Stearman. This plane is recognized as the quintessential primary trainer for American aviators in World War II.

The Stearman was on static display only (no rides), but when this gorgeous looking plane finally took off from the airport this afternoon, I was able to make this shot while it taxied to the runway.

Nikon Z6II, Nikon FTZ adapter, Nikon Nikkor AF-S 70-200mm, f/4,  @ 200mm, 1/60s, f/25, ISO 100, image cropped

LEAVING THE NEST, IT’S SCARY!

Young House Wrens leaving the nest

It has been already a week ago but I still like to share this little photo story with you. This is already the third brood of House Wrens that was a successful one this summer season in one of the nest boxes around the house. When the parents think it is time for the offspring to leave the nest they still bring food, like caterpillars, crickets, or bugs but they wait outside the nest box without feeding the little chicks inside. When the first one stuck more than its head out of the hole I knew the time was coming and made the camera ready. Number one didn’t hesitate very long and flew into the bushes nearby after about five minutes. Number two, the one on the right hand side in the picture, waited a few minutes longer, despite the parents called and tried to lure the little guy away from the nest. Well, the desire to eat made the chick finally jump, but only onto the little perch that sticks out of the nest box. There was fear about what’s coming next and he tried to climb back into the box. But no way, number three was already there and the entrance was blocked. Oh boy, after a few seconds of balancing on the wooden stick the young wren finally followed the parents into the woods. Number three didn’t hesitate very long and the nest box was empty.

It’s still early in the season and we hear again a couple male House Wrens around here sending calls out to attract another female. It has been a good breeding season so far, not just for the wrens. We see many young birds around here in the woods and that’s a good thing to write about and to capture it with our photos.

OPPORTUNITY FOR PRACTICE

Of course, I had to go back to the Dubuque Regional Airport. The weather conditions were good, a little hazy but nice puffy clouds made for a more interesting background. This year I found a new spot where the airplanes came by pretty close when they taxied back to their parking area in front of the hangars. I took a little stepping stool to stand on, so the fence that surrounds the airfield was not always in the picture. The runway wasn’t too far away either but a little crop was applied for the photos of the T6’s that show starts or landings because 600 mm focal length wasn’t enough to fill the frame.

I shot the whole time in shutter priority mode with 1/125 s and set the camera to Auto ISO. To get a full circle of the prop it needs about 1/60 s but this was beyond my current handholding capabilities due to the lack of practice.

There are two reasons why going back to the airport almost every year in July is important to me. First, I enjoy watching historic prop airplanes and when they train the weekend before the AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin for the airshows, it’s a great opportunity to see so many of them. And second, I use it as a practice for my wildlife photography, and in particular for birds in flight. Panning with a heavy long lens is not an easy task, but doing it right is the only way to get a sharp image when a slow shutter speed is required.

I hope you enjoy the little selection in the blog today. As always, a click on the photo delivers a larger image, at least if you read this on a computer screen…😊

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