ROCKY SHORE AT EVANGOLA STATE PARK

October 12, 2026

Rocky shore, Evangola State Park, Lake Erie, New York

I like to go back to locations where I had some good photography before and try to approach it in a way that tells the story about a place maybe even a little better than the last time. We camped at Evangola State Park at Lake Erie in New York 13 years ago and the conditions where almost identical. A gorgeous sunset that illuminated the beach and rocky shore is hard to beat . It’s easy to fall for the colors again, but it is the structure and texture of the layered rocks that make this part of Lake Erie’s shore so attractive. Good texture goes very well in black & white and in order to predict the results better I set the camera to my stored monochrome mode, which includes a red filter applied to the scene. So, what if I don’t like the results of my presets that I can see already in camera? As always, I shoot in RAW mode and all the information, including the colors, are still in the resulting file. I can go back to any color setting if I want to. This time the anticipation met my story telling intend one hundred percent. The choice to be made was only between different compositions and how the elements of the landscape were put in the frame. I wanted the texture of the rocks but also give a sense how incredible big Lake Erie really is. Finally I love when it comes right out of camera…

Nikon Z6 II, Nikkor Z 24-70, f/4 S, GITZO tripod GT2931 Basalt, KIRK BH-3 ball head, @ 24 mm, 1/3200 s, f/11, ISO 200,

NATURE CLICKS #627 - FORSTER’S TERNS

October 10, 2026

Forster’s Tern, Lake Erie, East Harbor State Park, Ohio

Our second campsite on the way to the coast of Maine was in East Harbor State Park in the Sandusky Bay area of Lake Erie in Ohio. The beach there gets some protection by four artificial breakwater rock structures, made out of piled up boulders and rocks. These stretched out little islands were a perfect resting place for a good number of gulls and Forster’s Terns. While I was swimming there I realized that the birds didn’t seem to be bothered by my or other people’s presence. I went back to shore, picked up the camera with the 600 f/6,3 lens, and waded slowly back to the rocks. Standing in the water up to my hips I had a great time watching the birds and shooting pictures for twenty minutes. I just want to share some of my favorites today.

There were enough rocks to sit on but some terns had obviously a reason to chase the competition away.

I love the gesture of this Forster’s Tern, taking care of its feathers.

Many terns were in process of changing from their breeding to the non-breeding plumage.

Ring-billed Gulls are a bit larger than the terns and shared the same habitat.

MARBLEHEAD LIGHTHOUSE

October 8, 2026

Back from a 29-day trip to the coast of Maine I’m working my way through the photos that were created during this journey. We took some time to get to the Atlantic Ocean and camped at or near several interesting places along the route. In the next few weeks I like to share some of the pictures with you here in my blog and hope you may enjoy them.

We love lighthouses and since we traveled along the shores of three of the Great Lakes (Lake Michigan, Lake Erie, and Lake Ontario) we had the opportunity to visit at least one of them.

Nikon Z6 II, Carl Zeiss Distagon T* 2/35 ZF, @ 1/8000 s, f/2, ISO 100, I have neglected this lens with manual focus for a little bit recently. I know this is a mistake because the optical quality it can produce at f/2 is unmatched by any of my other, ”more modern” lenses. A good reminder to use it again more often…

Marblehead Lighthouse is at Lake Erie and located between Toledo and Cleveland in Ohio. It is a true beauty of a lighthouse and with the keeper’s house just next to it, it is one of Lake Erie’s most-photographed landmarks. It is the oldest lighthouse in continuous operation on the Great Lakes and has guided sailors safely along the rocky shores of Marblehead Peninsula since 1822.

WAVES, NO MATTER WHAT

September 28, 2026

It doesn’t need a Nor’easter as it crosses the east coast at the moment to produce some big waves and a beautiful surf as it was in Acadia National Park, Maine already a few days ago. The rugged shore has plenty of good spots to watch the waves crushing against the rocks any time. The big storm that followed wasn’t as devastating up here as it was further south. Yes, it rained the last couple days and shots in good sunlight were out of question, but tomorrow we may see an end.

OUT EAST AGAIN

September 17, 2026

Lobster boats in the harbor of Lubec, the easternmost town of the US

I wanted to go back to the coast of Maine, one of my favorite landscapes in the United States, since a long time. Ending the day with a good lobster dinner right at the wharf where the caught lobsters are delivered and watching the light of the setting sun touching the boats is priceless.

WITH PATIENCE

September 7, 2026

Great Egret, Green Island Wetlands, Mississippi Valley, Eastern Iowa

We look at this green cover of duck weed in the ditches of the wetlands and wonder what is left below the surface of the shallow water. The Great Egrets know this habitat better and they still find their spots where they can hunt for maybe a few small fish and definitely for some amphibians.

A small congregation of six birds gave me some hope to get a nice shot. Despite a very slow and careful approach my presence wasn’t appreciated by at least one of the egrets. He called alarm and the bunch took off and landed at a different spot and it all started all over again. Patience is the main ingredient for success in wildlife photography. It took a lot last weekend…😉

All images: Nikon Z6 III, Nikon NIKKOR Z 600 f/6.3 VR S, Nikon Z TC-1.4x, @ 840mm

PURE GRACE

August 29, 2026

My expectations weren’t very high during a visit this week in the Green Island Wetlands but mother nature is always good for a surprise. At this time of the year water levels are commonly low and most of the birds have finished their breeding activities and do not much of a display.

While cruising slowly on the dyke towards Fish Lake I spotted a pair of Sandhill Cranes next to the road. It’s pure grace when these beautiful birds move through the fields or marsh land in search for food. They are not picky eaters and their diet includes grains, berries, small mammals, insects, snails, reptiles, and amphibians.

The distance of the critter to the road dictates what you may or may not have in the frame. By knowing this I had the teleconverter on the Z 600 f/6.3, giving me 840 mm focal length. The crop left and right in this photo was made finally for aesthetic reasons, not for the lack of focal length.

I hate to make up my mind when people ask me in the field about what my favorite bird is, but the Sandhill Cranes are at least among the top ten. I hope the photo puts as much of a smile in your face as it did for me 😊

NATURE CLICKS #626 - HUMMINGBIRD MOTH

August 27, 2026

They are slightly smaller than a hummingbird but they sip the nectar from deep, tubular flowers and hover mid-air almost the same way like the birds. We are very happy to see one or two every summer in our yard. The Hummingbird Moth would not go to a hummingbird feeder, at least I have never seen one doing it. Unlike most other moths they are day-flying insects and mimic the hovering flight and appearance of hummingbirds.

All images: Nikon Z6 III, Nikon NIKKOR Z 100-400 mm f/4.5-5.6 VR S,

THE ANNUAL BATTLE

August 25, 2026

No summer without hummingbird photography. While the early summer was a little slow and it seemed we didn’t have as many hummers as other years, right now many birds participate in the annual battle about who ”owns” one of the three hummingbird feeders. Quite often adult males dominate but the young immatures stand their ground already. It is such a great fun to watch the merciless battles for the best spot. Each bird has its own character. It starts each day with the first daylight and doesn’t end until dusk. I have been out on the porch with the ”small bird rig” during the last few days and tried to capture some of the action. Everything happens fast and as you probably can imagine, there are quite a few missed shots.

All images: Nikon Z6 III, Nikon NIKKOR Z 100-400 mm f/4.5-5.6 VR S, Benro MSDPL46C SupaDupa Monopod, Monopod Gimbal Head, Westscott FJ80 II speed light, Westcott FJ-X3 M Universal wireless flash trigger, and self built flash bracket,

LONELY SAILOR

August 4, 2026

American White Pelican, Upper Mississippi Valley, Green Island Wildlife Area

American White Pelicans are pretty common in the Mississippi Valley and mostly we can see them acting together in small or larger flocks, catching fish or soar overhead. When a lonely bird quietly swims by and there is a reflection on the water, and finally the light is just right, I can’t resist and have to make the click. It’s such a majestic bird.

Nikon Z6 III, Nikon NIKKOR Z 600 f/6.3 VR S, Nikon Z TC-1.4x

AMAZING APPETITE

August 3, 2026

Last Sunday I came across this little story that is told by today’s photos. I just love to see nature taking its course and we as humans can only stand by and watch in awe.

I entered the scene in the Green Island Wetlands and witnessed what you can see in the picture below. A Great Blue Heron had just speared a bowfin, also known as a dogfish in our area, with its long bill. It took the bird some efforts to wade through the mud and weeds to carry the fish to shore. I spare you the pictures where the fish got tossed around and punctured some more, making sure there was no life in it anymore.

Suddenly a shadow entered the scene in my viewfinder. I looked up and saw this Bald Eagle circling a couple times overhead. Stealing a fish from another bird isn’t new for an eagle but it obviously had learned a lesson before and knew the heron wouldn’t let him have it. The eagle turned away.

So, how does a Great Blue Heron brag about its catch? Well, this one shook his feathers several times and gave me a great show while the bowfin was laying dead in the water.

Time to eat. The heron shook the fish a few more times and finally gobbled it down, head first.

A few seconds later the bird stood at the edge of the water like nothing had happened. I was just wondering how the heron’s ability to fly was affected with such a heavy meal in its belly…?

I shot all pictures with the Z600 / f6.3 with the Z1.4 teleconverter attached, giving me 840mm focal length. However, the distance between me and the bird was still too wide and so I cropped the photos a bit.

NATURE CLICKS #625 - EASTERN KINGBIRD

August 2, 2026

Eastern Kingbird, Mississippi River, Green Island Wetlands, Iowa

The Eastern Kingbird is one of the larger flycatchers we can find here in the Upper Mississippi Valley but they have a big range and can be found in most of North America as well in Central America and much of South America. Eastern Kingbirds can be highly aggressive toward nest predators and they don’t hesitate to attack a much larger bird, like a crow or even a hawk.

They have no problems to find enough insects during the summer along the edges of a field and along roadsides, or like here, at the water of the lakes in the Green Island Wetlands. I saw three kingbirds today and they all perched on plants or stems, dove for insects to the ground, and quite often returned to the same perch after.

It wasn’t as quiet as it looks in these pictures. The perch plants swayed in the wind and so the birds were in constant motion and tried to hang on. Normally a shutter speed of 1/1000s is not always necessary for a sitting bird but in this matter it was required to freeze the action and get a sharp image.

Nikon Z6 III, Nikon NIKKOR Z 600 f/6.3 VR S, Nikon Z TC-1.4x, @ 840mm, 1/1000s, f/9

RAGBRAI 2026, LAST MILES

July 27, 2026

RAGBRAI 2026, the annual bicycle ride across Iowa is history. The weeklong journey started this year in Onawa, near the border to Nebraska, on July 19 and ended last Saturday in Dubuque, Iowa. Roughly 20,000 registered cyclists completed the tour but I read that including day-pass riders and unregistered participants the numbers fluctuated between 25,000 and 40,000 on any given day. 391.4 miles (630 km) were behind those riders who made it to the Mississippi River in Dubuque and could happily dip the tires of their bicycles into the river. It was very hot and humid, especially the first couple days, and I think everybody was happy to have an overcast on the last day.

I positioned myself with the camera near the small town of Centralia, just a few miles west of Dubuque, Iowa, and tried to capture the joy, pain, and determination I saw in the faces of the riders not far from the finish.

Even a family member made it to the finish line. Congratulations Evan!!

NO SUMMER WITHOUT

July 24, 2026

No summer is complete without the appearance of butterflies in the yard. After some much needed rain earlier this week the numbers suddenly went up and it wasn’t difficult to spot quite a few. The master of the show for me is often the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail. The female in the photo above took a little time on each purple cone flower and gave me some good opportunities to point the lens at her. Other than the Giant Swallowtails. Three of them were feeding in the flower bed in front of the house erratically with fast beating wings. A fast shutter speed is key for freezing the action and getting a sharp shot.

I’m not a real macro photographer but still like some storytelling about summer with butterflies or other insects and often try to include a bit of their habitat.

For the first time I used the Nikon Nikkor Z 100-400 f/4.5-5.6 VR S lens for this kind of shooting. Very little or no cropping is a big benefit for me. The zoom range of the lens allows to go wider quickly if a scene requires it, while 400mm gives you enough distance to stay away and not disturb the insect.

All images: Nikon Z6 III, Nikon NIKKOR Z 100-400 mm f/4.5-5.6 VR S

AS EVERY YEAR…

July 19, 2026

North American T-6G Texan and AT-6D Texan waiting for take-off.
@ 600mm, 1/50s, f/22, ISO100

Socata TB30 Epsilon, a light military trainer aircraft produced in France during the Eighties
@ 600mm, 1/80s, f/32, ISO100

This week is the EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, the largest airshow and fly-in convention in the world by number of participating aircraft and attendees. It draws approximately 10,000 aircraft and over 600,000 to 700,000 aviation enthusiasts each summer. As every year the Regional Airport in Dubuque, Iowa hosted a number of pilots and their planes for their preparation and training for the air shows the week before.

Every year I try to spend some time at the airport to practice my handholding technique of a long lens and simply enjoy watching the mostly historic airplanes. I was out on Saturday and didn’t come back with a lot of pictures this time. The shooting conditions were just miserable. The heat and very high humidity made for strong heat shimmer on the ground and it was almost impossible to get a sharp shot of an airplane taxiing to the runway. In addition a lot of haze in the air from many wildfires added to the problem. Well, you can’t set really a better schedule, the pilots have their own, and if you like to watch the aircrafts you need to be there when they take off or land…