Autumn in Wisconsin

 

The forecast for the weekend promised warm and dry weather, so we decided to pack the tent, throw the kayaks on top of the car, and go camping in Gov. Dodge State Park over in Wisconsin. The majority of the leaves is on the ground but little patches of yellow, red, and orange are still part of the landscape here in the Midwest.

Saturday morning thick fog covered Twin Lake Valley below the campground and every valley around. Pretty soon the fog lifted and left us with a clear blue sky for the rest of the day and into Sunday morning.

The water is a little chilly already but who says you have to go swimming? Joan and I paddled both days and as you can see our little dog Cooper didn’t mind it either. One of the reasons we like this state park so much is the variety of activities you can enjoy in and around this area. After yesterday’s paddle tour we went on a hike for a few hours and visited some old spring houses, Stevens Falls, and the Stevens homestead, the old farm of this pioneering family. Their life is described and documented on interpretive signs along a trail. Why do I mention this? Some of the photographs displayed on signs were made by a family member way back in the old days. Although none of the farm buildings exists anymore, except for the foundations, the photos of the old farm give us today, over 100 years later, a pretty good impression how this farm has grown and supported the life of this family. Photography at work! ;-)

Bare trees are hardly photogenic but if the light hits them just right, you can still make a photo that may have an impact on the viewer and tells the story about autumn. I tried this minutes before sunset and from the same location, a rocky bluff above the valley, as during the fog in the morning. The white stems of the trees stand out and even if the eye goes to the long shadows of the shrubs in the foreground for a few seconds, it will go back to the sunlit bare trees.

How does it look in the Green Island Wetlands...?

 

Usually you see photos of birds, amphibians, or the occasional mammal here in my blog when I talk about my favorite shooting location, the Green Island Wetlands. This area of lakes, marshes, and swampy forest right beside the Mississippi River is about 30 miles south from where we live and most of the time I go there during the day. Of course, I'm always looking for great natural light for my wildlife photography, and sometimes I can find it and other times a flash light is the  light source of choice. Friends have asked me, why don't we see the landscape itself more often and how does it look in the Green Island Wetlands? Well, most of the time I'm there during day time and that may work for a wildlife photo but is quite often useless for good landscape photography. Remember, I don't do photography for a living and have to use the time frame around my professional work, which means mostly during weekends.

This weekend was a little different. Joan and I opened our personal camping and kayaking season (We know, it's late!). We took the dog, some food, the boats, and the tent and went camping to Bellevue State Park, which is only six miles away from the Green Island Wetlands. When the light for wildlife is not sufficient anymore I usually drive home but last Friday night we were able to stay and watched the play of the clouds and the sun breaking through them in a dramatic manner. All what it takes is to put the camera on a tripod, set the white balance to cloudy, and dial in some negative exposure compensation. The question here is, what is the subject? It is not the grass in the foreground, nor is it the lake itself or the woods in the background. All settings are made for the opening in the sky, the sun rays that break through, and their reflection on the water. This is what I went for when I made the photo and even if none of the landscape elements is the subject of this image, it still answers the question, how does it look in the Green Island Wetlands...?

I go on a business trip again tomorrow but have a few more images from the wetlands to show here. So please stay tuned. I always enjoy your comments, messages, and emails about my posts and I'm very thankful for any of them! Have a wonderful week!