Iowa landscape: Loess Hills

 

I’m almost sure you like to see something different than little birds and I’m absolutely OK with that. Mother’s Day weekend we went to Cherokee in northwest Iowa to visit Joan’s parents. A little further west, right along the Iowa border, is an interesting landscape, the Loess Hills. I don’t need to repeat what other knowledgable people already have written down about the hills. You know how to use a search engine in your browser and here is a link that tells you everything about the Loess Hills (Click HERE)

I have been there once before and always wanted to come back to try some bird photography in spring. Well, this year I thought it’s time to do it, but it was very, very windy that Saturday and so I really didn’t have much luck with getting birds in front of my lens. However, there is always something to point the lens at and this time the clouds east of the Loess Hills made for a great subject. The Loess Hills are some of the last remaining stands of prairie grass in the region and have an interesting flora and fauna. Using the lines of the landscape was the key for both photos. A lot has changed since the white men has stolen the land from the Indians but including some prairie grass and the clouds in the photo may give us a sense about how the Native Americans and early European settlers may have seen the scene before all the changes took place (although the Red Cedar in the second photo is not native to the Loess Hills.…).

2013 - Looking back, part 3

 

One of the goals I had set for myself for this year was to work on my landscape photography and try to make some improvements. Sometimes life gets in the way and it wasn’t really until September before I was able to pursue my goal more seriously. No, it wasn’t that I didn’t do anything before September, and my blog may proof this, but the majority of the time behind the lens was dedicated to wildlife photography.

However, the image above was made the weekend of Easter in late March near Lost Island Lake here in Iowa. What I like about it, is the presence of a great sky above this small strip of prairie-like grass. There isn’t much prairie left in the Midwest but the image fires up my imagination how it must have been before this land was taken by the settlers. There isn’t really a subject in the image except for the sky. The group of trees? No, the trees are more like a rest point for the eye. The eye wants to go to this sky and then makes you want to walk over this ridge and see some bisons roaming … just kidding… ;-)

What I like about this photo is its simplicity and drama in a landscape that is not famous for landscape photography. I’m the only one who needs to like the image but maybe you can comprehend my thoughts…

A pic and thoughts about Iowa

 

On our way home from Northwest Iowa back to the Mississippi River a big rain and thunderstorm cloud moved eastwards parallel to us. I had an eye on it for more than an hour without getting really excited. I couldn't find a landscape element that would tell a story beyond the existence of the cloud. When the sun reached the edge of the dark cloud and the turbines of a wind park came in sight we pulled off the highway. We searched for a spot that would have a foreground and would allow to stitch it all together, some foreground, the windmills, and the clouds.

Joan giggled after we finally pulled off the road and I realized the corn in front of us was so high (lucky farmers!), that we couldn't see the wind turbines anymore (poor photographer!) ;-) A few hundred yards down the road we found the spot that allowed me to make the image that tells a story about Iowa.

My friends in Germany, or maybe some people from Nevada or Florida, may ask, what the hell is the story? For me the story is that farmers can make a good living here from planting corn and soybeans in probably one of the most fertile lands in the world. The story is also about the downside from a mono culture of planting corn and soybeans. The aspiration for profit leaves very little room for protection of wildlife and natural habitats. At the other hand part of the story is about progressive thinking in Iowa. Yes, corn is still used to produce  fuel (ethanol) but other renewable energies, like wind energy, are not out of the equation. Maybe this picture transmits the message that Iowa is a state that can play a big role in America's future energy policy. At least the photo may tell you that the people here are not just talking about it...

However, maybe you can't see anything of the above that I can see in this image but you definitely can't ignore the great sky. I came to the US in 1996 for the first time and had plenty of opportunities to travel all around the country since. I always thought that the sky here seems twice as big as it appears over in my home country Germany. I know this is an illusion but I haven't found the answer yet why this has never changed for me while framing an image with more than just a blue sky...

IOWA WILDLIFE gallery now online!

 

I finally finished the first part of a new Iowa wildlife gallery I have worked on since several months. The "Birds" went online today (thanks to the rainy weather we had so far during this Memorial Day weekend ;-)  ). This gallery is intended for education and I will be very happy if it helps you to identify a critter you have seen yourself out in nature. If you don't agree with some of my identifications of a species please click on the "share link" at the bottom of the galleries and send me an email or write directly in the comment box.

Not all species I have watched in Eastern Iowa so far are shown here but this gallery will hopefully grow and any time I can make a better photo of a critter it will replace the previous one.

For now, click on the link in the sidebar and hopefully enjoy browsing the Iowa bird gallery.