Fine Art Gallery - "Thunderstorm moves out"

 

I had to make this image in black and white because that's what I really saw when I framed the scene in the viewfinder a few days ago. I love the absence of colors in a photo like this. I think it is a lot more dramatic and tells the story of the moving out thunderstorm a little better. The white on the weathered boards of the old barns doesn't overpower the clouds and the eye will always end up in the back.

One question I debated with myself for a while. Would it help this image to remove the power lines on the left hand side or not? I finally decided to keep them because they do not really cut across, they kind of lead into the picture. I don't like power lines and especially here in rural Iowa it is sometimes difficult to find a spot that isn't "polluted" by their presence. I may change my mind about this. I will make a print and look at it for a while... ;-)

Iowa storm chase

 

We were lucky this evening to get a local thunderstorms that brought some much needed rain. Not much, but better than nothing. When the rain slowed down I drove down to the valley, and up again to the plateau into open area. I didn't have to go very far to see where the dramatic of the light unfolded while the storm moved away.

Both images were made within six minutes from the same location and that's when landscape photography becomes real fun in Iowa.

I chased the storm at a couple more places but the drama diminished quickly. Old farm buildings can make for a nice picture but quite often a uniform blue sky or dull light make it less interesting and I don't even bother taking the camera out. Turning east the tall thunderheads gave this farm the background that I like to see in a photo like this. Will try this one in black & white sometime...

Wishing all of you here in the US a wonderful Labor Day weekend.

What's the subject?

 

It is hot and humid here in Eastern Iowa since a few days and because I don't like the heat it definitely slows down my desire to spend time outside. A couple evenings ago Joan made me aware of some great clouds in the sky that produced an interesting mood. Our house is completely surrounded by trees and we are usually the last ones who find out about a great sky :-( . Forget the heat, I grabbed the photo bag, we jumped in the car, and drove up to an open place with an unobstructed view over the landscape. It takes a few minutes to get there and it happened to me before that the clouds were gone before arrival on location.

OK, this is not what we saw from the house, the clouds had changed already, but it still wasn't bad. Just before the sun touched the horizon line it illuminated the higher clouds from underneath for a brief moment. I made several pictures before and some more after this moment, but this is the image that really gave my subject the look I like. You may ask, what is the subject in this photo? Is it the wooded hills in the background? Is it the hardly visible sun? Nope, they all may help to tell the story but it is clearly the cloud formation above, with the great light on it, that makes the difference for this image.

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...

Fine Art Gallery - "When the night comes"

 

This evening a few things came together down at the Mississippi River for a good photo opportunity and finally for my second post in the new segment "Fine Art Gallery". First, a wonderful sailboat was tied to the dock at the boat landing. Second, there was almost no wind blowing, making for a smooth surface on the river and in the marina. And third, big dark clouds moved in front of the sun and made for an early blue hour. It all came together the moment I arrived at Mud Lake Park. All what I had to do was to look for the right composition and make it work for my image. I had the Polarizer attached to the Nikkor 24-120/f4. It helped to get rid of some of the glare on the water. I shot wide open with f/4 in order to separate the boat from the background and dialed in -1EV exposure compensation for darker and more saturated colors. This is just my personal style but it works for this kind of photo very well. Could I get a look like this in post process? Maybe, but my goal is to get it right in camera. I hope you enjoy.

Clouds over the wetlands

 

There was no time for any blog post this week. I'm back from a business trip to Minneapolis and Southern California. Didn't even bother taking my camera with me... :-(

Sun, some rain showers, and great clouds made for a nice day to spend time in the Green Island Wetlands today. I was just happy to relax after a busy week and the mild temperatures (means not hot and humid :-)   ) made it even more pleasant. There is always some wildlife in the wetlands but today it was a no-brainer to focus on the landscape, which for my style of photography means paying attention to the clouds and fast changing light situations. I'll probably process the second image in Black & White but for now I hope you enjoy the color version. The first picture has the horizon line too close to the center, a mistake I still make way too often, but I like the mood created by the color contrast and light.

Wishing all visitors of my blog a wonderful Sunday!

More impressions from the wetlands

 

You may say, "Just one picture? We still like to see a little more from the wetlands!" Ok, here are a few more. The Mississippi has a pretty high water level at the moment and so have the Green Island Wetlands. All the little islands and big parts of the woods are submerged and it was a very interesting experience to paddle in places that are usually above the normal water level.

Taking pictures from the kayak is a totally different game. There is always a little fear to drop the gear into the water and of course holding the D300s with the Sigma 50-500 steady without shake is not easy at all. The wetlands are wide open for the most part and approaching ducks or coots undetected is nearly impossible. We had an encounter of a Barred Owl that got attacked by a number of blackbirds. Everything happened so fast that I wasn't even able to point the lens at the bird. However, it was exciting watching it.

Our dog Cooper isn't always sure about the whole kayaking experience but as you can see he is very relaxed most of the time. I think he just doesn't enjoy wearing his life vest. We put it on for him so we don't have to worry about him so much in case something happens.

We enjoyed paddling on a channel surrounded by large trees and somehow it reminded us of the mangrove forests of the South. There were lots of birds up in the trees and we tried to identify them by their calls. We saw a Prothonotary Warbler, a first sighting for Joan, but the photos I made did not deserve the attribute sharp :-(

Did we see some wildlife other than birds? Yes, we did, but this will be for another post here in the blog, so please stay tuned...

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!

Nature clicks #172 - Black-crowned Night-Heron

 

I realized today again that I still have a lot to discover and to learn about the wildlife here in Eastern Iowa where we live now since almost nine years. It wasn't until tonight that I found out that I made an image of a Black-crowned Night-Heron last Sunday in the Green Island Wetlands. For some reason I thought it was a different heron that I had seen before but this one was really a first sighting for me. It was actually a couple of them. Didn't see the second bird, which was hidden behind a tree stump, until something disturbed them and they flew away to a different location behind the trees in the background. They are primarily nocturnal but some may feed during the day as well. They are seen often standing still in the water for long periods of time and hunting for fish that swim by too close. I have to keep my eyes open. I like to see the Black-crowned Night-Heron again and maybe get a closer look at this wonderful bird.

Nature clicks #151 - Red Fox pups (again!)

 

This image is from yesterday morning. The little pup peeked out of the den, which has at least two entrances or escape holes. After that we haven't seen the young foxes for the rest of the day. It was a relative cold day without any sun and they preferred to stay warm inside. More to come...