Blast Off!

 

I spent a day with snow geese and put this together. It started in the fog well before sunrise and ended at sunset.  I could still hear them singing when I went to bed that night. Their singing will either drive you nuts or make you forget the world for awhile. Multiple cameras and lenses were used with two cameras simultaneously recording in the fog sequence.

Explosion in the fog

I heard the geese in the dark as I drove into Loess Bluffs NWR.  The fog had a calming effect on them allowing me to make several trips from the car to set up two tripods and cameras. Another car coming into the Refuge spooked them and they headed off for the morning. This is a trailer for a one minute video that is in the works.

Morning Glow

Prairie color is getting scarce and the morning sun is now giving the best color. It can be rare to see, given recent overcast mornings and high temperatures. I closely watch the forecast and head out for ground fog and golden light if the dew point and morning temperatures are the same. If the wind is quiet an added benefit is dew covered spider webs.

Monarch Migration

The monarch butterflies are moving through southern Minnesota. It has been a few years since I have seen the numbers floating in the air like this year. This is a completely unscientific observation which may be due to me being on the prairie at the perfect time. Yesterday's morning fog and dew made it for prairie photography. Why am I using black and white instead of traditional color image? This rendition seems more "historical"  given the current plight of the monarch butterfly as a species.

Technical: frame from Canon 7D video, Infrared filter used in Lightroom 6

The Journey

With the new month I'm making the transition from graphic design to storytelling. November is one of the hardest months for me to find landscape images, March is the second hardest. With that being said, Wildlife photography takes over as my obsession. Last year I discovered gray squirrels, animals that are everywhere but difficult to record while going about their normal lives. The next few weeks will find me watching them every chance I can, perhaps even taking a shot or two.

In the Fog

It went from dark, gray, and wet to a beautiful fog yesterday. I spent the entire day wandering. A great way to end an incredible month! 

September Blazing Star

Frost was predicted and I had a shot in mind, then I overslept.  The sun waits for no one. How many times have I been reminded of that lesson?  Working in the shade with the temperature quickly rising I found a couple opportunities. This blazing star presented itself and then the lens fogged up.

Making the most of a good night's sleep.

Blue Dawn

I went to Namekagon Barrens for sunrise yesterday and instead had fantastic ground fog to play with. It seems ironic that an area almost devoid of trees needs one to create a landscape image. Technical: Daylight white balance, foreground lightened in Lightroom

Friday Harbor

One of the benefits of traveling is seeing new subjects and trying new processing techniques.  This early morning fog in the harbor seemed mystical so I enhanced the image to fit my mood. Later fog burned off, other tourists woke up, and the magic faded.