LIGHTHOUSES (1)

Algoma Pierhead Light, Lake Michigan, Wisconsin

Visiting the lighthouses on the Door Peninsula in Lake Michigan is always a highlight of our trips up there. Most of them we have photographed before but every time it is different. Light and weather are never the same and looking at my older pictures reveals that some of the towers and buildings have undergone some reconstruction or maintenance.

We went as far south as Algoma, Wisconsin, to make a new photo of the Algoma Pierhead Light. Three years ago the pier had a nice ice cover but gray weather and fog didn’t lead to satisfying results. The lighthouse has a new paint and although this picture was shot in the early afternoon the light was just gorgeous.

Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal Lighthouse, Lake Michigan, Wisconsin

The photo of the Coast Guard Station was shot across the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal that was opened for large-scale watercraft in 1890. The canal connects the Green Bay with Lake Michigan. The Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal Lighthouse is located within the premises.

MORE THAN JUST A CLOUD

Lake Michigan, White Dunes State Park, Door County, Wisconsin --------   

About a week ago I wrote about how the light itself can become the subject in a photo.  http://www.exnerimages.net/blog/2017/11/20/when-light-becomes-the-subject  I wouldn’t argue if someone who looks at this picture says, the cloud is the subject. That was at least my intend, but when the water in front of me was shaded by some dark clouds right above us and the reflections of the cloud over the horizon created some magic on the waves, I knew there was more than just a cloud in this image.

SURF’S UP

Lake Michigan, White Dunes State Park, Door County, Wisconsin

When the waves crush into the shore of Lake Michigan it’s time to get the tripod out and have a great time behind the camera. Yesterday was without any doubt one of the best days for shooting the surf. As long as you manage to stay safe and keep the photo gear dry, there are no limits to try out techniques and experiment with exposure times and different camera settings. No photo will ever be the same, even if several shots were made within a second or two. The difficulty starts in front of the computer screen, where the decision needs to be made what images tell the story the best…

MERGING TO A PANORAMA

Click photo for a full view ------

I mentioned before the great vistas you may find if you travel through West Virginia or on the Blue Ridge in Virginia. This panorama image is from our last day in West Virginia. We visited the very interesting Droop Mountain State Park, which has seen some bloody battles during the civil war in 1863. The view to the east includes the Blue Ridge in Virginia on the horizon, which was our destination for the second half of this trip.

It is hard to catch it all in a single shot if there is an almost 180 degree view over the country. The image was made from six photos in portrait orientation, which were merged in Adobe Lightroom Classic CC to a single panorama. This sounds complicated but took less than two minutes in post process.

Nikon D750, Sigma 150mm / f2.8 APO EX DG HSM, @1/250 s, f6.3, ISO 100, Induro GIT 404XL tripod, KIRK BH-3 ball head;

WHEN LIGHT BECOMES THE SUBJECT

At Lewis Mountain campsite, Shenandoah National Park, Virginia

Ok, I’m jumping back and forth between actual photos, like the Tundra Swans from yesterday, and little stories and images from our tour through the mountains of West Virginia and Virginia in October.

Photography is all about light and how we use it to bring out the subject in our pictures. During an early morning walk around Lewis Mountain campsite in Shenandoah National Park I tried to work with backlit subjects, like ferns and grasses. With every minute more warm light from the low sun was pouring in and putting out some real magic. All the backlit plants are still in the frame but they play only a small role in the story. Suddenly the light itself, hitting the forest floor, became the subject. Not a bad way to start a day…

Nikon D750, Nikkor 16-35mm / f4, @ 35 mm, 1/25s, f/8, ISO400,

SHENANDOAH

At The Point Overlook, Shenandoah National Park, Virginia ------

Shenandoah National Park in Virginia and its Skyline Drive are liked by many people for the  views they can have from the top of the Blue Ridge. Other than in West Virginia the week before we were a little bit too early for the peak of the fall colors in Shenandoah, but the views, especially at the end of the day, were just magnificent. The price for having sunny and warm days was paid with the absence of dramatic clouds, another reason to look for photo opportunities around sunset.

Nikon D750, Nikkor 16-35mm / f4, @ 35 mm, 1/50s, f/10, ISO100, Induro GIT 404XL tripod, KIRK BH-3 ball head, VELLO wired remote switch,

 

WATOGA LAKE - EASY CLICK

Watoga Lake, Watoga State Park, Allegheny Mountains, West Virginia ————

The further south we went in West Virginia the less we saw fall colors. Some trees had already lost their leaves while others still showed a lush green. However, it didn’t deduct from the beauty this part of the country has to offer. Watoga State Park was our second base camp for exploring more of the Allegheny Mountain Range and Monongahela National Forest, a vast paradise of forest land and natural wilderness areas.

Just before the sun was about to set behind the mountain ridge the clouds opened a small gap and suddenly the texture of the forest across the lake came to life. The reflections on the lake had to be included. It was an easy click!...

MISSISSIPPI RIVER STORIES 2017 #10 - NOISE AFTER SUNSET

Deere Marsh after sunset, Mississippi River, Dubuque, Iowa

I interrupt my series of blog posts about our trip to West Virginia and Virginia for a more actual photo from right here at the Mississippi River. After a number of gray days it looked like the sun would come out this evening and so I took the dog, grabbed the photo bag, and drove down to the dyke behind the big John Deere works at the river. I got rewarded with a nice sunset but the clouds and light right after it were even more appealing.

What you don’t see, and so it is not really a part of my visual story telling, is ten thousands of Red-winged Blackbirds resting in the reeds and cattails right in front of my lens. The noise was incredible but I love to see their big gatherings during migration.

FALLEN BIRCHES

Fallen birches, Cranberry Wilderness, West Virginia ---------------

It’s easy to get lost and post , write, or reflect only on the great vistas and “standard views” the travel and photography websites suggest for a particular area. Sure, story telling is always important, but sometimes it is the subtle view of a detail that extracts the essence of a landscape and makes it finally a fine art print. This photo of fallen birches merges into these thoughts…

DOLLY SODS WILDERNESS

Dolly Sods Wilderness, West Virginia --------

If there is one area that surprised Joan and me with its beauty much more than we expected during our trip in West Virginia, it is the Dolly Sods Wilderness, short Dolly Sods, . Let me quote from a sign that we found up on the plateau. Dolly Sods is a broad plateau atop the Allegheny Front. The area around Bear Rocks supports subalpine heathlands dominated by shrubs such as blueberries, huckleberries, mountain laurel, azalea, and rhododendron. The site is marked by groves of stunted red spruce, flagged by ice and wind, outcrops of sandstone, grassy meadows, and cranberry bogs also occur.

This beautiful plateau is actually one of the most abused pieces of land in history, logging and being a practice artillery and mortar range and maneuver area before troops were sent to Europe to fight in World War II, took their toll. Recovery came mostly by the activities of the Nature Conservancy, who played a major role in preserving the area. If you are interested in reading all the facts, please click the link to Wikipedia’s site: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolly_Sods_Wilderness

What makes the Dolly Sods so interesting is that the flora creates impressions of areas much farther north. Many plant communities are indeed similar to those of sea-level eastern Canada. Many species found here are near their southernmost range. For example, the Snowshoe Hare found in Dolly Sods is usually found in Canada and Alaska.

I know I haven’t exploited all the possibilities this area offers to a photographer. Time was simply too short. Reason to come back sometime...

AFTER THE RAIN

Blackwater Falls, Blackwater Falls State Park, West Virginia -------

19 meters tall Blackwater Falls in the Allegheny Mountains is named for the amber waters of the falls. The water is tinted by the tannic acid of fallen hemlock and red spruce needles. Here is another photo of the same waterfall I showed you already twice this weekend. After a night of heavy rain it was expected that things had changed down in the Canyon of the Blackwater River. Working three days in a row with the same waterfall from different vantage points, with different light, and the subject itself changing dramatically was a lot of photography fun. For shots like this I employ the polarizer for having the glare on the rocks under control. I use the multiple exposure mode in the D750, which can combine up to three shots into one image right in camera. Using a stabile tripod is an absolute must for this technique and a remote shutter release helps to keep the surroundings of the waterfall sharp.

Nikon D750, Nikkor 16-35mm / f4, @ 26 mm, 1/5s, f/6.3, ISO200, B+W F-PRO Kaesemann High Transmission Circular Polarizer MRC filter, Induro GIT 404XL tripod, KIRK BH-3 ball head, VELLO wired remote switch,

RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME

Blackwater Falls (partly), Blackwater Falls State Park, West Virginia

The evening at our arrival in Blackwater Falls State Park, West Virginia the left hand part of Blackwater Falls made for a nice appearance. When the setting sun over the canyon sent a shaft of light into the rocks next to the waterfall I knew we were at the right place at the right time… How a change in weather can make a big difference and create a totally different challenge for the photographer you will see in tomorrow’s blog post.

COMBINING THE ELEMENTS

Blackwater Falls (partly), Blackwater Falls State Park, West Virginia

I showed you an image of a waterfall and another one of the fall colors in a canyon this week but how about combining the two elements? Blackwater Falls in West Virginia is the perfect subject for doing so. During this weekend I will post three photos from the same falls and they all will tell the story of the season, just in a different way. Please stay tuned…

Nikon D750, Sigma 150mm / f2.8 APO EX DG HSM, @1/5 s, f/18, ISO 100, B+W F-PRO Kaesemann High Transmission Circular Polarizer MRC filter, Induro GIT 404XL tripod, KIRK BH-3 ball head,

 

KEEPING THE SKY OUT OF THE FRAME

Canyon of the Blackwater River, Blackwater Falls State Park, West Virginia

In search for fall colors we came across many different situations and they all raised the question, how to tell the story with one photo? At Pendleton Point, overlooking the Canyon of the Blackwater River, it was clear that the gray sky had to stay out of the frame. After a rainy night and a day with heavy overcast the saturation in the leaves was perfect. The polarizer helped to minimize glare on leaves and the water of the river. A light fog from low moving clouds in the canyon made for a great autumn mood. I focused on the bottom of the canyon and shot relative wide open (f/4) to keep the speed within a range I can handhold with the Sigma 150, f/2.8. Depth of field was no concern without a foreground in the frame.

Nikon D750, Sigma 150mm / f2.8 APO EX DG HSM, @1/200 s, f/4, ISO 400,   B+W F-PRO Kaesemann High Transmission Circular Polarizer MRC filter,