Clouds, finally!

The summer can be very hot and humid in Iowa and I can tell you, we had our share already this year. The humidity makes it very hazy and landscape photography sucks. It really sucks in July and August here! But some days are different, like everywhere, and today was one of them. There were great cumulus clouds in the sky and although it was still very warm, it wasn't as hazy as the weeks before. I had to go out and remember some of the places I always wanted to shoot with some nice clouds in the background. Like this little church in the countryside of Eastern Iowa, between corn fields and the road.

Update and book recommendation

Even if I'm not able to post anything on my blog, there are people and friends that check it almost every day. I want to tell you, I'm very thankful for this fact. I guess I owe you an update about what's going on. I have been on the road or in the air during the last four weeks, mainly related to my job, and with very little time for photography.

Last weekend I spent a few hours with some German friends in Chicago, made some clicks, and was hoping to post them here, while I'm still on a business trip in Indiana. To make a long story short, I didn't bring all my gear as usual and one of the things I left at home is the CF-card reader. Means, my latest pics are still in the camera and I have to wait until I come back home. :-(

Thank you again to all of you who stop here regularly or even just ones in a while! You guys rock and your comments and emails encourage me to continue with the challenge to write this blog!

Above image was made in Norfolk, Nebraska. It is a trial with HDR photography and was created from five handheld pictures. I just finished reading Raphael Conception's  "The HDR Book" and can't wait to apply the new knowledge to my photography. If you don't know yet what photography book to take on your next business or vacation trip, that's the one I like to recommend. RC's writing style is straight forward and even for someone like me, who is not a native English speaker, this book is easy to understand and a great source of photography education.

Iowa's Green Island Wetlands

 

A friend of mine from Germany asked me recently "How do the Green Island Wetlands look like?". I didn't realize until then that I never posted any landscape image from the wetlands. So, finally here are a couple that were made last Saturday. As I mentioned in an earlier post, the water is currently very high and even some of the surrounding fields are flooded. The different parts of the landscape allow many animals to find food and a place to raise their young ones. I hope you enjoy!

San Rafael Swell - part 2

Nikon D200, Sigma 10-20 mm f/4.0-5.6, 20 mm (30 mm FX), 1/160s, f/8, -0.5 EV, ISO 100

Sometimes it is tempting to keep the wide angle lens on the camera all the time, especially when dramatic clouds frame the landscape. During our stay in the San Rafael Swell I wanted to try things a little different than the first time I have been there. I have never done much with my Sigma 150, f/2.8 when it came to landscape photography, but I like the results I have seen from other photographers with their 70-200 mm lenses at 200 mm focal length.

The first image of Temple Mountain was made from our second campsite. A strong, very cold wind was blowing and the appearance of the clouds changed constantly. The wide angle lens catches the scene very good, although the branches are a little blurry because of the wind.

Nikon D200, Sigma 150 mm f/2.8, 1/320s, f/8, -0.5 EV, ISO 100

The second image was made from about the same location, just ten minutes earlier. I really like how the light brings out the structure of the foreground and how each level of rocks up to the snowy mountains in the background has a different color. Both pictures reflect the mood of this stormy evening in a slightly different manner, but my favorite is the shot with the 150, f/2.8. I guess it will not be the last landscape image I will make with this lens.

Weekend in the San Rafael Swell

 

A week ago my wife Joan joined me on my business trip in Utah and we spent the weekend in the San Rafael Swell, about three hours southeast of Salt Lake City. I have been there before and was happy to go back again. This area has everything you may expect in Utah, mountains, desert, canyons, and rocks and it is geologically very interesting. It is off the beaten path and you may not meet very many people. My daughter Anke, who studies geology in Germany, would really get a kick out of it and we hope she can visit the San Rafael Swell together with us soon.

We camped at the bottom of the Buckhorn Wash, a canyon that ends near the San Rafael River hanging bridge.

One of the best vistas in the San Rafael Swell is from the Wedge Overlook. From there you have a great view over the Grand Canyon of Utah. It is not as big as the Grand Canyon in Arizona but still quite impressive. Unfortunately we chose the "wrong" time to be there. Boring blue sky didn't deliver much dramatic for my landscape photography. But it was very clear and so I tried to work with the structure of the canyon, carved out by the San Rafael River since thousands of years. I can't be get really sad about weather issues. I have enjoyed being there despite the clean sky.

What difference clouds can make shows the next image. It was taken the same day from our campsite, just minutes before sunset. It has all the dramatic I was hoping for earlier in the day. Wonderful final of a great day...

Antelope Island - Following my goals

Nikon D200, Sigma 10-20 mm f/4.0-5.6, 18 mm (27 mm FX), 1/250s, f/8, -1 EV, ISO 100

Yesterday I talked about some goals I set for myself for the next visit to Antelope Island in the Great Salt Lake in Utah. The storm moving through the area was definitely helpful to get better landscape images. But how about  wildlife photography? Antelope Island State Park bears great opportunities to shoot birds, bisons, or pronghorns. Not all my dreams came true. I was hoping to put my glass on some Chukars. I saw this colorful bird last year for the first time and felt in love with it immediately. Please have a look in my post from last year HERE if you want. I saw two of them but direction of light and circumstances were not in my favor.

Nikon D200, Sigma 50-500 mm f/4.0-6.3, 500 mm (750 mm FX), 1/1000s, f/6.3, -1 EV, ISO 100

Another goal I had was to get a better image of the Western Meadowlark. They are not difficult to find on the island at this time of the year because of their distinctive song performance. I used my little rental car as a blind for this image.

Nikon D200, Sigma 50-500 mm f/4.0-6.3, 500 mm (750 mm FX), 1/1500s, f/6.3, -1 EV, ISO 200

A day later the weather was not quite as interesting as the evening before. While looking out for some Chukars I discovered this Horned Lark, sitting on a rock, instead. Direction of light wasn't as good as for the Meadowlark, but nevertheless, I got some images of this wonderful bird.

Thank you for stopping by! Please stay tuned for more…

Stormy Great Salt Lake

14 mm (21 mm FX), 1/1000s, f/8, -1.5 EV, ISO100

It has been quiet in my blog for a while. I had to travel for business during the last ten days. Yes, I made time for photography but I was unable to post anything due to a very tight schedule and very limited internet access over the weekend.

My first stop was Salt Lake City in Utah. Two evenings in a row I was able to head north onto Antelope Island in the Great Salt Lake. I have been there last year already and this time I had set some goals for myself. One of it was to come back with much better landscape images than last year.

11.5 mm (17 mm FX), 1/250s, f/8, -1 EV, ISO100

I couldn't ask for better weather on Tuesday night last week. A winter storm moved through the area and created some very dramatic clouds and fresh snow in the mountains. The changes took place very quickly and I worked with the SIGMA 10-20 mm, f/4.0-5.6 for most of the pictures. In the past I did not always like how pale my colors turned out and quite often the highlights in the clouds were blown out. This time I dialed in at least  -1 EV and this made all the difference. More to come…

Nature in transition

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Here are a few images from a recent walk down in the valley of the Little Maquoketa River. I tried to capture the essence of the transition between winter and spring. The colors were still very dull. Last year's plants and grasses are in a state of fast decay but they create patterns and structures that I thought would make good B&W Images. I gave them a slight cool color tint, because I like it this way. All pictures were made with the Nikon D200 and the SIGMA 150 mm, f2.8 lens.

NIK Silver Efex Pro – next steps

I couldn't resist to browse through my archive and look for pictures that would make good B&W images. I really like how easy it is to use Silver Efex Pro. The presets on the left hand side provide good starting points for different styles you may want to apply.

This photo was taken already in 2008 during a hike in Glacier National Park. The magic of this landscape is incredible and I believe this picture tells the story.

Nikon D200, Sigma 10-20mm, f4-5.6

Happy New Year

I wish all of you a new year of peace and happiness.