Vintage look

 

What have wildlife photography and shooting at a car show in common? Well, I don't really know but in both instances dealing with background issues would be on top of my list. But let me start with the event first. During the summer the owners of vintage cars meet ones a week over in East Dubuque across the Mississippi to show their cars and socialize with their friends and other car enthusiasts. The road going through the little downtown area is blocked for any other traffic and the cars are lined up on both sides of the street.

I have been there before and always wander slowly along the cars, look for the light, and for cars that are parked in front of buildings that make for a more natural setting and background. Quite often the car owners sit in their lawn chairs right behind the cars and this is usually a NO-NO for me. If the sun is out, the West side of the road is almost completely in the shade of the buildings and this is usually my preferred side to look for car details. For understandable reasons this is also the side where most people sit behind their cars.

All of the cars displayed in East Dubuque have  probably been photographed to death and I'm sure many pictures are technically perfect and good for any catalog, book, or brochure about vintage cars. That's good, because I don't have to walk in the same foot steps and ad another technically perfect image to the bunch out there ;-) .

Seriously, I thought giving the image of this old Plymouth a little bit of a vintage look would be worth the effort. I used NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 to produce a high dynamic range image, made from four exposures. As always with HDR images I'm staying on the more subtle side, keeping in mind the vintage look. The image got finished with a slight vignette and the usual spot cleaning and sharpening. I hope you like it. I may show a couple more sometimes soon, so please stay tuned...

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...

Another piece of summer

 

I present you just a few Yellow Coneflowers from a patch of prairie grass today. It is so nice to see that wildflowers and prairie grass have been re-seeded along many roads and other places here in Iowa during the last few years. This photo was made in Mud Lake State Park along the Mississippi River.

We look forward to be at the wedding of our niece Jessica and her future husband Jens this weekend. Means no posts here in the blog for a few days. Wishing all my visitors here in the blog a wonderful weekend!

Nature clicks #183 - "Bully" on the watch

 

After the House Wrens had two successful broods this year they are gone now and their chatter isn't my wake up call anymore. The male showed up this morning and checked on the "real estate" but he was quiet and flew away after a few minutes. But there are other seasonal subjects for wildlife photography around the house that draw our attention. The Ruby-throated Hummingbirds have their offspring usually in August and that can make for some interesting photos. At the moment "Bully", the male that tries to dominate the flower patches and hummingbird feeders, watches close over "his property" and chases every intruder away, even the lovely females. He sits either up in a tree or briefly on one of the perches I have set up for the birds near the feeders. I use the speedlight with the softbox again as a light source. As with the wrens, it is particular gestures I'm looking for to capture, not just the ordinary "sitting bird pose". I hope the hummingbirds will have a whole bunch of babies, which would make the place a lot busier and hopefully lead to some interesting images. I'll keep you posted as always here in the blog...

Signs of a great summer

 

I believe we have one of the loveliest summers so far, at least during the nine years since I live here in Iowa. Due to the rain in spring and early summer everything looks lush and green and wildflowers bloom wherever a piece of land is left in a natural state. I complained a little while ago that we didn't have many butterflies this year. It's true, some species have not shown up so far but now we have at least several swallowtails in the yard as soon the sun comes out. I hope you may agree, a Giant Swallowtail on top of a Purple Coneflower tells a great story about a wonderful summer...

The swallowtails are not the only insects that get attracted by the coneflowers. Bees, wasps, or Bumble Bees, like the one in this image, enjoy the food this flower provides. I use the Nikon SB600 speedlight together with my self-made softbox to fill in some light and overcome harsh shadows. The speedlight is mounted on a tripod and connected to the camera with a Nikon SC-28 spiral cable. (If you like to see how this softbox looks like, feel free to click HERE. The link opens in an older post where I introduced this useful piece of equipment.) In order to follow the fast moving insects the camera is handhold and I have of course to stay within the range of the cable. It is important to have the flash off camera because of the short distance between your lens and the subject. I usually concentrate on one group of flowers so I don't have to reposition the speedlight all the time. It spills enough light even if it is not always 100% directed to the flower with the insect of interest. Using the cable allows me to take full advantage of the TTL-capabilities of the flashlight. Are there better ways to shoot close-ups or macros? Of course, there is a lot of gear for macro photography available but for someone like me, who shoots it only occasionally, it doesn't make sense to invest in more expensive light solutions. The way I do it works for me and the important thing is anyway to go out, make the click, and have fun shooting the signs of a great summer...

Nature clicks #182 - House Wrens, intimate biology

 

I'm glad I made these pictures yesterday because today the young wrens left the nest in the gourd that is hanging from our porch. We didn't know how many young House Wrens were in the nest until I saw three little birds today. They were sitting together in another bird's nest that is hidden in a bush just a few yards away from the house. The parents had obviously called them out one after another and gathered them with them in the new place. I believe the nest belongs to the Chipping Sparrows that have raised their offspring and are seen now in the grass teaching them how to catch a bug. The wrens didn't stay very long in this place. A few minutes after I saw them in the second nest they had moved already on and we could hear them chatter somewhere in the woods nearby. We wish them save travels and hope to see some of them next year in late April or early May again. They might be here still for a little while but usually we don't see them again after the second brood left the nest.

Let's talk about the photos I show you toady. The first one doesn't need much explanation. Two of the three young wrens sticked their heads out, waiting for food (the third one was probably pushed to the back by the more powerful siblings) and seeing them with their bills closed was a rare moment. They made a lot of noise yesterday and again this morning right after sunrise. The parents came very frequently with new food and it was a joy for me to capture those moments.

My wildlife photography has a lot to do with showing the beauty of wild living animals but the avid reader of my blog knows that I always try to shed some light on some interesting biological facts about the animals I photograph. I have cleaned many bird houses after the breeding season in the past and it always impressed me how clean they are inside. You don't find much dirt beside the branches and grass of the nest. The wrens remove their excrements instantly and I'm sure other birds do too in order to keep the place healthy. And here is how it works. Raising three, four, or even more young birds requires a lot of insects to be caught and fed to the offspring. The last two pictures are shot within a few seconds. The young bird receives its meal, swallows, turns around immediately, and hangs its butt out of the hole of the nest box. The parent bird picks up the digested food from the backside and flies away with it. When the wrens are very young this happens obviously inside the nest box and we can't see it but we always see the parent birds coming out of the hole with trash. I also saw sometimes the young bird giving the excrements to the parents with its bill. This might not be the most pleasent thing to see for some people but I believe it is very interesting. Being intimate with a critter's biology is essential for making the click at the right moment or to predict when the action may happen that you are waiting for. This includes that someone shows you their butt sometimes... ;-)

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.

Trying to go beyond the ordinary pose

 

I wonder if you get bored by my little reports about some animals I follow with my camera throughout the season but at least I hope you enjoy the photos that sometimes can tell a story better than any words can do. One of the bird species I follow every year are the House Wrens that have their nest either in a bird box in our front yard or, like at the moment, in a gourd hanging from our porch. The young birds of the second brood are still in the nest and I was wondering why I saw suddenly four wrens sitting in the dead cedar branch that we use as a perch for the birds. The question was answered pretty fast when one of the adults started feeding one of them with an insect it just had caught. It was the offspring from their first brood that came "home" for a snack. Usually we never see them again after they left the nest but obviously they are still around here.

I have lots of photos from our wrens and the challenge is now to photograph them in a pose that is beyond the ordinary "sitting bird" pose. Some actions last only a couple seconds, like in the second image showing the bird scratching its neck. The other time to get the camera out is when a light situation looks promising. Early morning is a good time for it at our location.

The adult birds approach the nest every few minutes and always with food in their bills. The amount of food the young wrens eat is amazing. We still don't know how many juveniles are in the nest but I can tell you, they cry very loud as soon the adults bring another snack to the nest. Maybe that made their older siblings a little jealous and drew them back home, who knows... ;-)

Nature clicks #181 - Common Loon

 

I spent the weekend in Northern Wisconsin and worked on a project that I had in mind since a few years already. My plan was to photograph ospreys, also known as "fish hawks", at a location that I had bookmarked during previous visits. The nest can only be reached by boat and I used my kayak to get there. To make a long story short, I saw the ospreys but rain and other circumstances did not allow to claim victory and come home with some good images. With other words, I got skunked! Wildlife photography requires sometimes a lot of patience and so the project remains on the list for another try maybe next year.

It wasn't all bad, I saw Bald Eagles, a Belted Kingfisher, and just before I returned to the boat ramp a family of Common Loons came out of the reeds. The male positioned himself between me and the female with her two chicks and he made a hell of a noise. The call of a loon is very loud and impressive. The light situation was everything but good. Behind me were huge thunderstorm clouds moving in and the only chance to make the click was to shoot into the sun. In order to maintain a fast shutter speed I dialed in ISO400 (as you know not my preferred way to photograph wildlife). A fill flash would have been helpful but because I try to take as few items as possible into the kayak, the flash light was, of course, in the car... :-o It was the first time that I had the Common Loon during summer in front of my lens. The only pictures I had so far were made during the winter season in Southern California. Their plumage looks much nicer during the breeding season and just watching them was very exciting. Both images are not cropped and the low perspective and clean background make them good keepers in my books.

I wished I would have had more time with these beautiful birds but the thunder was already rolling and I just wanted to get off the lake. Playing it safe is mandatory and dying for a picture isn't worth it...

Nature clicks #180 - Red-spotted Purple

 

So far it has been a year with very few butterflies. I wonder if the draught last year plays a role in it. A few days ago one of my favorites showed up feeding in our yard, the Red-spotted Purple. They never sit still and it is a challenge to make a good click. It is always an act of balance what aperture to choose for this kind of an environmental image. If you open the lens all the way up to f/2.8 you may get a good shutter speed to freeze the action of the butterfly but depth of field is so shallow that only a small part of the insect is in focus. At the other hand if you stop down too much it's not just difficult to get a sharp image but also the background becomes way to distracting. If a butterfly moves around there are not too many choices for choosing the background. Now the technical geeks may say, why not pumping up the ISO into astronomical heights? Well, for me part of the challenge is to shoot in the basement between ISO100 and 200 in my wildlife photography. Of course, this doesn't work out always but on a sunny day I will stick with ISO100 for a maximum of detail. The alternative is not making the click at all, and this is not really an option... ;-)