Nature clicks #130 - Brown Creeper

 

The expected cold weather for the next few days drives obviously a few birds further south that we have not seen here lately. One of them is the Brown Creeper. This small, tree-clinging bird shows up only occasionally but so far we have seen it every winter here in our yard.

Let me warn you, this image is not really sharp but I like to show it anyway because it is the first time that I was able to make a picture of the Brown Creeper. They start at the bottom of a tree and work their way up pecking insects, fly down to the ground to the base of the next tree and do the same again. Unlike woodpeckers they do it much faster and therefore it is very difficult to get a sharp shot. They also blend very well into their environment and don't provide much contrast to focus on. I had to shoot ISO 400 and that did not help sharpness either. Despite the soft image I'm very happy about it and who knows, maybe I see this bird again during the weekend. I'll keep my eyes open.

At least I like to show you that I can do better. I thought this photo of an American Goldfinch and a House Finch sitting together on a branch was kinda cute. It looks like they were flirting with each other. It seems we have much more finches this year in the yard than other years, at least the high consumption of thistle seeds makes me believe it.

There was another bird here today that I haven't seen for a while, but this will be another "Nature Clicks" post tomorrow.

A great way to start a day

 

I travel a lot for my job and spend many nights in hotel rooms (more than 50 this year already). Whenever I can, I book my room on the upper floor. One reason is that the noise level is often a little less than on the lower floors but it also leads ones in a while to a good view over an interesting part of a city. Yesterday I went for a customer visit to St. Louis, Missouri and had a good view from my room to the famous Gateway Arch, which is located downtown St. Louis. Earlier this year I was in a hotel near the arch and was able to shoot right under the arch (Click HERE for the image). This time I was a little further away, but this morning, about 30 minutes before sunrise, I saw some great morning light coming up. I had the lens close to the glass of the window, the white balance was set to cloudy, focal length at 120 mm, and dialing in -2 EV led to 1/30s @ f/8. What a great way to start a day...!!  :-)

Not what I had in mind for today's post

 

I closed my last post about Sunday's driving-around-photo-shoot with the remark "More to come...". I continued my trip and went to Green Island, my favorite wetlands along the Mississippi for wildlife shooting. Well, after reviewing my images I decided not to post any because none of them meets my minimum quality standards. It does not mean I didn't have a good time there. It is still duck hunting season but I saw hundreds off geese and ten Sandhill Cranes in the sanctuary that is not accessible for hunters. It always makes me smile if I hear the sound of a crane. It is music in my ears...:-)

I got some shots of a hawk but it wasn't made in good light. After fiddling with one of the photos in Lightroom for some time and not getting a result, that was at least equal to my previously posted pictures of a Red-tailed Hawk, I decided to send it to the trash can.

Instead I show an image from the Little Maquoketa River down in the valley below our house. I made it mid morning while walking our dog on the Heritage trail. There isn't much real beauty in the landscape at this time, between fall colors and the snow cover of the winter, but I tried to work the triangle shape of this bend in the river and the light of the low sun that gave the grass some shape. The reflections on the water are a bonus... ;-)

The last time that I showed a picture of this river in my blog was during the flood last year. You can click the archive tab "July 2011" on the left hand side to see those photos. It was the day with by far the most clicks in the short history of my blog... I guess I need to shoot more catastrophes...!?

Down at the river

 

Unbelievable mild weather made for a very pleasant Sunday today. In addition it was slightly hazy and that put the "big diffuser" in front of our main light source, the sun. I call that great shooting conditions. I loaded our dog Cooper and all my camera gear in the car and we went to different places down at the Mississippi today. One of them was the Massey Marina, just south of Dubuque, Iowa. I wasn't the only one who enjoyed to be near or on the water. This trapper and his dog came back from checking his beaver traps and he made a good subject for exercising my panning technique. He didn't mind and we had a nice chat while our both dogs had their meet and great thing going on. I can tell I'm a little "rusty" with the long lens. I need to practice more in order to be ready for the Bald Eagles, who will hopefully be here in great numbers as soon the river freezes over.

The winter can be here any time and all boats have been taken out of the water in the marina. The empty boat slips created a nice pattern on the water and the low sun let the colors pop. As you already know, I like this kind of hunting for the light. More to come...

More from Door County Peninsula

 

I like to round up my little story about our trip to Door County last week with a few more images. Thanksgiving was relatively warm but very windy. Ideal conditions to visit the shoreline along Lake Michigan on the east side of the peninsula. I haven't used my Sigma 10-20 wide angle lens for a while but here it was a good choice to capture the beautiful rocks and waves pounding against shore.

To make my series of lighthouses complete, here is an image of North Pierhead Lighthouse. This is the point where the canal that connects Lake Michigan with the Green Bay begins (or ends, depending from what direction you approach it) and where the lights helps to find the entrance into the canal. Joan was with our little dog Cooper at the end of the pier and got a very nice close up shot of the red lighthouse in "killer light". I'm not unhappy with my perspective but I like her image a lot.

While hiking into the woods along the canal and trying to find a good perspective for the nearby Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal lighthouse I heard the noise of a boat engine. There are not many vessels on the water at this time of the year and I started running down the hill towards the canal in order to get a clear view for the boat. It was actually a real nice one and I was just able to make a few clicks before it disappeared behind the surrounding trees again.

Each evening of the four nights we spent in Sturgeon Bay the sky was different. I liked the last one on Saturday night the best. The color contrast after sunset was great. What a way to end a wonderful weekend... :-)

Looking for texture

 

I always look for special light, an interesting critter, or the big vista but it is sometimes easy to overlook texture and detail in a landscape. Going for a few days away from the daily routine seems to help me sharpening the view for those details in nature. We were hiking up a wooded hill on top of a big bluff that is part of the shore line in the Green Bay. It was nice to watch the waves deep down below and to listen to the sound of wind and water. The upper part of the hill was covered with this forest of Northern White Cedars, also known as American Arborvitae. The structures of roots and tree trunks, and with no other plants around them made for a picture that I had in mind since quite some time.

For Halvar

 

Rest in peace little Halvar, you live in our hearts.

Door County lighthouses, part 2

 

It was our third day in Door County, Wisconsin today. An almost uniform overcast made me pushing the shutter release button on the D300s much less than during the last two days before. However, here is part two of my little series of the Door County lighthouses. None of the pictures is from today's trip.

This is my favorite shot of the Cana Island Lighthouse. I really love how the light "kissed" the tower and the building.

Eagle Bluff Lighthouse was built in 1868 and became automated in 1926. The Door County Historical Society has restored this structure in Peninsula State Park and turned it into a living museum. (source: www.doorcounty.com)

On Thanksgiving Day we arrived just one hour before sunset at this lighthouse and the sun had already disappeared behind a thin layer of clouds. The clouds worked like a big diffuser in front of the sun and made for an even exposure of this wonderful landmark.

Making a photograph of Baileys Harbor Range Lights, two hours earlier than the one before, was a little more of a challenge. The white paint and strong sunlight bear the risk of blowing out the highlights on the white boards. Dialing in too much exposure compensation can make the shadows too dark in this high contrast image. I don't like either one of these effects and tried to find the balance here. It was important to me to include the building in the background, since it is an essential part of this navigation aid and contains the rear light of this system.

The Baileys Harbor Range Lights were built in 1869 and automated in 1972. For one hundred years, these lights were used to gain safe entry into Bailey's Harbor. When the upper and lower lights were lined up, sailors knew they were in safe waters. (source: www.doorcounty.com)

Door County lighthouses, part 1

 

It was a very windy day and much colder today in Door County. We continued exploring the state parks and tried to find more lighthouses. With fast moving clouds the light changed constantly all day long. Most of the time it was all gray but then suddenly a gap opened in the sky and "killer light" would strike the scenery. These moments are often very briefly and it was important to be ready and prepared for the shot. As you can see being patient paid back at almost every lighthouse we visited during the last two days. I hope you enjoy this little series of Door County's lighthouses. A second part may follow soon.

Ocean feeling

 

If you live in the Midwest of the United States chances are pretty good that you may book a flight if you like to spend some time along an ocean shore. A great way to experience the "ocean flair" without spending much time and money for a flight is to go to any of the Great Lakes. The only thing I'm missing here at Lake Michigan is the salty smell in the air that you can experience at the Atlantic or Pacific Ocean. We had great weather today with still mild temperatures, sun, and a stiff breeze that created some good size waves.

The sun is only at an elevation of about 25 degree above the horizon at midday, and in combination with a very thin layer of clouds it creates mostly very nice light conditions. We went on some short hikes today along the coast, enjoyed the landscape and visited three lighthouses. No, we didn't eat a big Thanksgiving turkey dinner today but after a wonderful day outdoors and lots of good photo opportunities we had no regrets of eating a big bowl of chili in our little cottage this evening... ;-) More to come...