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.

Nature clicks #52 - Green Clearwing Dragonfly

Here is another one from last weekend's "dragonfly shooting". This Green Clearwing was sitting on a branch at the edge of the woods not far from the water. It didn't let me come as close as I liked to, but at least it was cooperative and came always back to the same perch.  I had enough time to try different exposure settings and to experiment with the depth of field. What you see here is one of the pictures taken at f/4. I like it better than other ones at f/5.6 or f/8 even if the abdomen is already outside of the DOF area. As you can see the background is still a little distracting but I like how it tells the story about the habitat of this beautiful dragonfly. The macro purists will probably say, this is not a real macro shot. I agree, but my goal as a wildlife photographer is to show the animal embedded in its natural habitat. This may not always be possible and sometimes not even desirable, but it is the direction I like to head for.

Nature clicks #51 - Giant Swallowtail

Nikon D200, SIGMA 150mm/2.8, 1/800s, f/5.6, -0.5 EV, ISO 100

I can hear your question already. Why did you cut the wings off? We have more Giant Swallowtails around the house this year than any other year before since we live here. I have many images showing the whole butterfly and I like most of them. Why this one? It is the light. It is all natural light and I really like how the background colors complement this image. This time I tried to make close-up shots of the Giant Swallowtails although the butterflies are moving very fast. They only stay about 2-5 seconds at each Purple Cone Flower and their wings beat all the time with high frequency. I have shots that are more dynamic than this one, but it is the light and the subtle background that make this image my favorite one.

Nature clicks #50 - Brown-spotted Yellow-wing Dragonfly

Nikon D200, SIGMA 150mm/2.8, 1/750s, f/4, -0.5 EV, ISO 100, tripod

I just realized that this one is already the 50th post filed under "Nature clicks". It is a coincidence that today's image is larger than usual. I just thought that my subject deserves a little more than the 620 pixel I use normally for the long side of the pictures I post here.

Despite the heat I couldn't resist to visit the Green Island Wetlands again today. The water is very low and except for a family of Pied-billed Grebes and a couple Killdeer I did not see any birds. One of my favorite ponds was even drained and I wonder what happened to the Moorhens, Yellow-headed Blackbirds, and other species I had found there during the last few months.

I put the long lens away and mounted the SIGMA 150 mm, f/2.8 Macro DG HSM to my camera. This lens has never disappointed me. It is ideal for shooting insects. The 150 mm gives me the extra distance that is sometimes necessary in order not to scare away an animal. The lens produces tack sharp images and if a picture is not sharp I have only to blame myself for.

When I shoot butterflies or other fast moving insects in our yard I handhold the camera with the 150/2.8. There is no way that you can follow one of the swallowtails with their fast movement from flower to flower if the camera sits on a tripod. It is a different story when it comes to Dragon- or Damselflies. They perch quite often on a twig or leaf. Even if they fly around for a little while, Dragonflies return often to the same or a place nearby. All what it needs is a slow and careful approach and of course some patience. Having the camera on a tripod helps definitely in this matter. Manual focus works sometimes better, especially if the insect is almost translucent.

The Brown-spotted Yellow-wing here was my first encounter of this beautiful dragonfly. What you don't see is the sweat dropping from my forehead and running down my back while kneeling in the dust beside the gravel road… But I enjoy it!

Flood in Dubuque County - part 2

Durango, IA 11:11AM, A layer of mud covers the highway

Heritage trail and surrounding fields were still flooded

A few more pictures from yesterday's flood. The images from yesterday were made between 8:30 and 8:50AM. At 11:11AM the water level was already lower and left the Highway covered with a layer of slick mud. The Heritage trail and the surrounding fields were still under water. It was raining again and there were concerns about more water.

Durango, IA at 4:42PM

At 4:42PM the water had retreated for the most part to the river bed but was still flowing with high speed. The rain had stopped and the people in Durango were already cleaning up the mess.

Flood in Dubuque County

Little Maquoketa River in Durango, Iowa

My blog has never been as actual as at this moment. What you see here is still going on while I'm writing this. We had heavy thunderstorms with a lot of rain all night long rolling over Dubuque County. As a result the Little Maquoketa River and probably all other creeks and rivers around are flooded. That puts us on an island since all roads to Dubuque are blocked. I feel bad for the farmers down in the valley. Their crops are just washed away or drowned. The Heritage trail, a very nice recreation trail in the valley, will probably be damaged again as we have already seen it two years ago. Stay tuned...

At the bridge on Clay Hill road

Highway 52 between Sageville and Durango, Iowa

Little Maquoketa River near Durango, Iowa

Nature clicks #49 - Hummingbird Moth

Nikon D200, Sigma 150 mm f/2.8

As the summer proceeds and the birds are not as much present as during the months before my attention gets drawn a little more to all kinds of insects. One that I have seen before, but never was able to obtain a good image from, is the Hummingbird Moth. This moth hovers over flowers and its wings produce a soft buzz similar to that of a humming bird. Their wingspan reaches up to 2 inch (50 mm). They are not quite as fast as a hummingbird and it was easier to get the autofocus sensor where I wanted it. Thanks to Joan's flower bed in front of the house I can find them right here at home.

Every new species I find in Iowa will make it into my gallery WILDLIFE IN IOWA. For a larger version of this picture feel free to click HERE.

Stop at the local airport

Nikon D200, Sigma 50-500 mm f/4.0-6.3

On my way to some of the places I visit frequently for wildlife shooting I drive by at the Dubuque airport. It is a small local airport and unfortunately served only by one commercial airline with flights to Chicago. Most of the time there is not much going on.

Nikon D200, Sigma 50-500 mm f/4.0-6.3

This weekend was different. Many small World War II aircrafts were there in preparation for the air show in Oshkosh, Wisconsin next week. They were flying in formations of four and I had fun to watch the starts and landings for quite some time. Not that I want to switch my focus towards aviation photography but the aircrafts provided a great opportunity to practice shooting technique that is also essential for wildlife photography.

Nikon D200, Sigma 50-500 mm f/4.0-6.3

In order to get sharp images of a moving subject it is important to know how to pan with your camera, with or without tripod. It sounds easy but it isn't, and the number of blurred images this weekend showed me that I still have a long way to go....

Nature clicks #48 - Four weeks old

Nikon D200, Sigma 50-500 mm f/4.0-6.3, 420 mm (630 mm FX), 1/180s, f/6.3, -1 EV, ISO 100

I checked on the Trumpeter Swans again today. The cygnet is now four weeks old. Time seems to fly. The first step is always to locate them by driving very slowly along the Mill Creek ponds. After I did that four times I still could not find them at all and started to worry about them. I decided to hike to the backside of the ponds to see if I had better luck. It had rained last night and so it was like entering a jungle. With other words it was hot, very humid, and mosquito infested. It paid back that I carry bug spray in my photo backpack during the summer. And there I found them. The reeds are now so tall that it was impossible to see the swans from the gravel road. The cygnet had grown again and all three seemed to be in good condition.

It was the closest I have been so far to the young swan and this time I didn't have to crop any of my pictures. Getting closer leads also to more sharper images because it is easier to place the AF sensor.

Hot Rods in the heat

Nikon D200, Sigma 10-20 mm, f/4.0-5.6

As everybody knows who stops by at this blog regularly, I focus on wildlife and landscape photography.  But sometimes I like to do something totally different. Last weekend I brought some good friends from Germany back to Chicago. Despite the awful heat here in the Midwest we stopped in Galena, Illinois for some sightseeing. I didn't know that Galena had their 34th Annual Pre-49er Car Show and Rod Run this weekend. The cars were parked along the Galena River. Many had a lot of distracting "junk", like coolers, lawn chairs, and all kinds of signs around, but a few were in a nice setting with just the beautiful city in the background. I hope you enjoy!

Nikon D200, Sigma 10-20 mm, F/4.0-5.6