Getting the Perfect Shot

You see pictures all the time. On the internet, on Facebook, in the newspaper and books, on TV... you get the picture (see what I did there?)  Did you ever think of what they went through to get those pictures?  Where they had to stand?  What conditions they had to be in?  Between the extreme heat and cold, rain and snow, wind... Pretty much everywhere postal workers go, but also in weirder places like water, the edge of cliffs, trees, and even in the sky these days with those weird remote controlled helicopter thingys.  I've been a few weird places myself.  

To get to the lake at sunrise, which is about a 30 minute drive (depending on where I want to go), I have to wake up about 4:00 am and rush out of the house as soon as the coffee is ready.

This shot took a little while to set-up in 90 degree and high humidity weather.  Luckily, I had to stand in this stream to get the shot, which was much cooler.

Here, I'm crossing a river to get the shot by standing on the rock bed in the middle.  This spot is actually deeper than it looks.  Probably about 2 feet deep, but I didn't want to get that wet this day.  

Photo courtesy of Amanda Clausen.

Burrrrr.... think about this.  It's almost 10 degrees below zero with wind chills about 35 degrees below zero.  I'm standing (again) in the middle of the stream for this shot.  Luckily, the water temps were just above freezing here, so it was actually warmer standing in the water than standing on the open land.  I love this place and wouldn't miss a sunrise photo opportunity with one of my best friends in the world for anything.  Especially when 3/4 of the family was there as well.

Here I am on New Year's Eve, first thing in the morning, standing in that river for that shot above.  

Photo courtesy of Val Ewing.

This shot, I was chilly.  It really was a nice day for this.  Temps were around 40 - 45 degrees.  Not too much wind.  Really, a nice day to hike and take a few pictures... for those who are dry.  Now, I was walking up the spring fed stream to take a picture of this dam, when I hit another underground spring in the middle of this innocent looking super-clear stream.  One step was fine, nice and solid.  The next step went just as good as the first.  I guess I was getting pretty cocky to think that I could make it all the way up this spring and get into position without incident.  The third step was right into a spring pocket!  My left leg went straight down, just about up to my hip, without even touching the bottom!  I wonder how deep that pocket really was?  I'm thinking a trip back there in the summer heat to find the depth of that hole might be in order.

This is what it looked like after I went in just before for the shot above.  I was told these boots were supposed to prevent you from getting wet.  Boy, they sure do hold the water!  Next time I'll try harder to keep the water on the outside. 

Photo courtesy of Amanda Clausen.

One of my favorite shots of all time is also one of my favorite spots of all time.  But, to get here, you have to hike either down a waterfall, or the other way is about a 2-1/2 hour hike through hills, plains and lowlands.  By the time you get here, the Ultra-cold water is a welcoming relief.  But standing in it for some time to get off several 20 second shots numbs your feet.  It's going from one extreme to the other in a matter of seconds!  I still wouldn't trade the experience for anything.

Can you guess the hazards in this picture?  Imagine 40 - 50 mph wind gusts, sustained around 30 mph.  It's about 37 degrees and it's drizzling.  It's hard to get the camera to stay dry, but it's impossible to keep myself dry.  That's alright with me, I like the challenge of it, shooting in all kinds of weather.  I'm "outdoorsy".  I can dress for weather like this.  It also helps that I'm going home after this shot to a warm house and a big hot cup of coffee to get the chill out of my bones.

This was me trying to get a shot of the waves exploding onto the pier.  I had to sit on the rail because the water (which was barely flowing down the ramp under me when I showed up minutes before this shot) was now a full blown 6" deep river cascading to the other side of the pier into the marina.

Photo courtesy of Amanda Clausen.

Here's the other end of this river, flowing into the marina.

I will continue to put myself in some precarious positions for the perfect shot.  It's something I have found to be "at the right place at the right time at the right angle".  It makes the picture.  I always practice safety though, I want to be doing this for a long time still, but if I get wet in the process, it's best that I at least save the camera instead of my pride!

Bird Nerds

Yes.  You read the title right.  We are bird nerds.  We go out to a lot of different places, especially in spring time during migration, to find new birds that we've never seen before.  We have a bird book.  We highlight in it and write the dates that we've seen different birds.  We're not really that hardcore about it though, we use the equipment that we've got and mostly stay in our area of the state.  Still, we're pretty nerdy when we find another species that we haven't seen before.  For instance, today (I'm writing this on Friday, April 13th 2018) we saw 6 different birds that we've never before seen.

Here's a few of the smaller birds that we saw.  These are the smaller variety (under 7"):

This is a White Breasted Nuthatch, one that we have seen before, but hadn't had photographed yet.

This is a Female Yellow Rumped Warbler (New)

Male Yellow Rumped Warbler (New)

Male Yellow Rumped Warbler in Flight (New)

This is a Ruby Crowned Kinglet (New)

 Male Golden Crowned Kinglet (New)

Eastern Pheobe (New)

It's fun to scout out the smaller birds.  They seem to want you to take their picture.  They're less elusive.  They're chock full of character and sing beautiful songs that call to you.  But what is birdwatching without some of the larger ones?   These few are between 9" and 16".

Male Red Bellied Woodpecker (seen before, but not photographed)

Lesser Yellowlegs, about 10" (New)

Greater Yellowlegs, about 14" (New)

Male Ring Necked Duck, about 16" (New)

These are just a few of the birds that we've seen this season.  We're always excited to see this time of year birds like Goldeneye Ducks, Hooded Mergansers, Buffleheads, Scaups, Shovelers and Teals.  Some of these are migratory birds, some stay in this area throughout the summer.

Waterfalls

By definition, a waterfall is: a cascade of water falling from a height, formed when a river or stream flows over a precipice or steep incline.  It doesn't really matter how high it is, whether it's a few inches or a few hundred feet.  It is a mighty force.  It can carve and shape rock.  It demands attention.  This is why I like to photograph them.

French Canyon Falls

Wildcat Canyon Falls

Lasalle Canyon Upper Falls

Same Waterfall as above

Again, same as above, but shot from behind.

Most waterfalls that I like to shoot are much smaller than this though.  Only a few inches to about 2 feet high.  There's a lot of character to these mini's.  They're not as powerful, but in a way they're better.  Have you ever sat and just listened to one of these?  They lull you to a peaceful place inside.  They're calming.  They're refreshing on a hot summer day.  Thy're a new kind of wonder deep in the winter when they're encapsulated in ice.  There are many more of these than the massive kinds like Niagara, the Angel, and the Copper Falls of Northern Wisconsin.  This makes them more personal.  Exclusive.  Private.  Most people haven't laid eyes on these.

One of the falls on Reed's Creek in Vernon County

Another of the Reed Creek Falls

One of the Awesome Creek falls

Harrington Beach Quarry Falls

These I will keep shooting.  These are a treasure to find, similar to hunting morel mushrooms in the spring.  Also, different weather brings them out such as spring melts and floods.  These are made out of nowhere, which is a good time to go hunting these.

Awesome Creek courtesy of Val Ewing

Of course, there are always those magical times where the bigger ones just have to be shot too...

One of my favorite shots.  This is the water fall at the bottom of the Sylvan Lake flow in Custer State Park, South Dakota

Our first trip to Starved Rock State Park in Illinois - Part 1

I crave adventure.  I crave a great place to hike through and bring my camera.  I like finding places that I can use my tripod every now and then, mostly for longer exposures.  I found one. A new one where I didn't spend as much time as I'd like, but isn't that the fun of it?  Planning more trips back?  Taking my time in savoring the scenery slowly and then eventually going back for seconds, thirds...

Our first trip here.  We've only seen pictures.  All we knew was that it was free and about a 2.5 hour drive into Illinois (avoiding tolls).  We showed up at the flooded visitor center and drove uphill a ways to get to the lodge parking lot.  I did not get pictures of the lodge, but it's a beautifully crafted log structure, huge in scope inside and out.  I got a trail map from the gift shop and a few hiking stick medallions.  I asked the cashier what were the best trails to really make an great first impression.

The first trail we took was the French Canyon trail, which is a one way trail, not a loop, like most of them.

The first waterfall at the French Canyon entrance

 Walking up after the first waterfall in French Canyon

The main French Canyon waterfall

Ok, I'm impressed.  This is just the first and she circled 6 of them.  I spent so much time on just this first one, I don't thing I'm getting to all of them today.  I was taking upwards of 90 second exposures with all of my filters on and self timing them.  After the shot, it takes awhile for the camera to put all the information into picture form, which is about the same amount of time as the shot itself.  Anyway, off to the next Canyon, Wildcat.

Wildcat Canyon, the view from the top of the rim.

Walking into the canyon after the long climb down.

The waterfall at the back of Wildcat Canyon.  Not sure why there's a tire in there, but it adds a focal point for the camera.  Another 75 second exposure.

Anyway, these are just 2 of the 18 canyons that are here and 14 of them have waterfalls in them.  I will be exploring more of these later., that is for certain!

Camera Complications

So, I tried everything to clean my camera.  Swabs, lint-free cloth, different suggested cleaners... nothing worked.  I still had those annoying spots on every shot I took.  If you look closely, you can see some of these spots, the most noticeable of these is towards the left side of the picture and just above center.

30 second exposure at dusk capturing tail lights

I even opted to position my pictures so it wouldn't show the spots, but I still knew where they were... and they started getting worse!  I think I dislodged some kind of spot monster while trying to clean the camera myself, they seem to be multiplying!

The dragon ice at Lion's Den Gorge (2 second exposure)

I don't do well with this sort of thing, you know, not being able to fix my own things on my own.  I ultimately decided to bring it to a professional after much procrastination.  Time to take it to Rode's Camera to have the sensor cleaned.  I was worried.  I sent my old camera to them last year to be repaired and it took a month to get it back.  However, it was an older camera and couldn't be fixed, an Olympus E-420 (that I had gotten from one of my very best friends in the world).

One of the last pictures that I had taken with the Olympus

I love my camera and don't know what I'd do if I didn't have it with me when we take another adventure.  Over the past year I've been working with different cameras and have found that I really love photography.  Reluctantly, I handed it over to them wondering when I'll get it back.  To my surprise, I got a call the next day and it was all cleaned!  It just so happened that I got off work just a touch early, so after picking it up, I decided to see how well they cleaned it.

First Shot from Lincoln Park in Kenosha.

Another shot from the Kenosha Lakeshore.

A seagull on a lamppost overlooking the harbor

A duck admiring it's own reflection and company

A female Merganser swimming by herself

Now I can go back to shooting birds too, instead of just landscapes, without having to strategically place the subject matter.  I'm happy again.  Now I'm looking forward to go back to the Driftless and shooting the creeks during some spring melting.  THAT is fun!