Category Archives: Landscapes

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The Big Purge


It has been a long time coming now.  Backing up to the cloud takes time even with plenty of bandwidth.  My recent back up revelations have led to incessant purging of files.  It is a very long process.  2011, not a complete year (Aug – Dec), has been reduced to approximately 1000 shots retained; I am sure that could even be reduced further if I really had to.  I will leave some for a likely future last round of digital cleansing.  I guess when I first started to dig into photography I kept everything.  For the most part I am glad that I did.  When I look back it is very clear to me what worked and what didn’t.  I know a few more tricks in salvaging an image that was less than perfectly exposed, but that isn’t the ultimate goal.  Shoot and learn; shoot more and learn even more.

I am hoping with further review of subsequent years to see a style emerging; your style isn’t so readily apparent to you – at least it isn’t to me.  I have spent the last few years experimenting with many different things photographically.  It is interesting to look back at what you have shot. Remembering why you shot something is my biggest challenge (thankfully the memories are still fresh).  These are a few photos from 2011 that caught my eye while sifting through the nearly 4000 shots.

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Abandoned Hunting: The In-between
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Abandoned Hunting: The In-between


This is the sister-post to Abandoned Hunting – The Abandoned.  We were afforded quite a variety of scenery and subjects in our travels.  The wildlife was plentiful and spectacular.  The sheer number of geese that will congregate in one area can be quite the spectacle.  We were reminded how nature can often be raw and brutal.  We witnessed a bald eagle ripping away at a deer carcass and another that dispatched Fluffy on the side of a road and then proceeded to carry it away.  The Whitetail deer were seemingly as numerous as grains of sands.  There were three different occasions that we spotted entire herds milling about in the middle of the day.  I very much enjoyed the small towns we passed through.  I could have spent a lot of time photographing their character, but per usual, we were on a mission.

Doh…poor Fluffy
Eagle vs. Fluffy
Eagle won
Eagle on deer carcass
Just Dave’s
…I know the kitchen sink is in there somewhere
Geese Migration
Granite Gneiss
Whitetail Deer Herd
Whitetail Deer Herd
Whitetail Deer Herd
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Assorted Photos – 2013: Week #8


It was an eventful weather week.  It started out windy and cold and ended with lots of snow.  The wind really whipped down Lake Pepin on Tuesday; it was quite the sight.  The eagles were out in numbers fishing away in the wind.  There was a magnificent rainbow sherbet sunrise mid-week.  I spied a pile of discarded household crap on a country road.  What the hell are people thinking when they do that?  And to wrap it all up, Friday brought several inches of white-fluffy-commute-lengthening stuff.  Eventful week.

Lake Pepin
Lake Pepin
Minneiska
Minneiska
Rainbow Sherbet
Big Stupid Head
Refinery
St. Paul
Road I live on
Wabasha St Bridge
Halfsies
Plowed
Dead Ends
St. Paul Skyline Pano
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A familiar place – different season


The lovely hay and corn covered rolling hills I admired all Summer and Fall are all covered with snow and ice :-/

Hwy 50 Summer
Hwy 50 Winter

On another note, the snow and ice does provide for a very dramatic and contrasted scene which I very much enjoy.  Seasons change – change more than the scenery; sometime it changes your approach in how you compose and process your photographs.

Hwy 50 Farmscape
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PSB – Photographers in the Mist


The sunrise looking out over the Weaver bottoms was absolutely beautiful.  This wasn’t my first choice of locations for the shoot, but rather an afterthought – a quickly formulated audible to the morning playbook after looking out over the original destination 3 miles up the road on Cty Rd 26.

We started our day extra-double-super-duper early (that’s a titch before 4 a.m.).  We readied ourselves and packed our gear whilst guzzling our barely morning brew.  After meeting up with a fellow RWPC photography, Jeff Marcus, at 4:45 a.m. our course was set for Weaver, MN.  We arrived at the overlook on Cty Rd 26 – just a bit East of the river and Hwy 61 – plenty early.  The first morning’s light was arriving and the view of the fog in the valley was epic.  The angle just wasn’t optimal for sunrise and the fog would likely be more of a hindrance as this level.  We all agreed that this would be the place for some hopefully fantastic post-sunrise shots.  We were correct.  It was PSB, a.k.a Post Sunrise Bliss!

This is the same location of a pano I did back in March.

This area is one of my favorites in Southeast Minnesota.  The Whitewater river valley is very picturesque.   Hwy 74 from Weaver to Elba parallels the Whitewater River the whole distance.  The scenery is fantastic and the opportunities to see wildlife are almost guaranteed.   How much wildlife you see depends greatly on the amount of vehicle traffic.  This morning was busy for some reason or other, but we saw a good bit.  The Sandhill’s are in the area now and the waterfowl will be moving into this sanctuary very soon.

A great sunrise and epic fog; the day was just beginning!  After making our way to Elba and a quick pit stop at the local convenience store, we were on our way to Forestville/Mystery Cave State Park.  A few other RWPC photographers were taking part in the photography cave tour this same morning.

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Memorial Day Drive


The Memorial Day Holiday was another nice break from work-work and yard work (getting close to done; can see a sliver of light at the end of the tunnel now).  It was a gorgeous day with lots of big poofys in the sky.  The sun was shinning, the temperature mild, wieners hanging out the back windows and it felt great to get out for a backroadin’ shoot.  No misadventures this time around (well one minor one*); only harsh light and deep shadows to contend with.  We have exchanged the dingy browns of late Winter/early Spring for the lush greens of late Spring / early Summer.  There was lots of livestock, rolling hills and a few barns to shoot.  We stumbled upon what must be the most character-rich goat ever.  I didn’t capture him mid-chew or anything; that was his natural look.  He was a handsome fellow :-)

And true to form, Cyndie and I ran across another abandoned farmstead.  I explored the outbuildings and barn while she shot up the house.  It wasn’t as old and decrepit as I would like to see, but it was still interesting.

*Not once, but twice a wiener got into the snack stash.  Tindra ate almost 1/2 lb of the driest beef jerky I have every tasted – no loss there, except she was awful thirsty afterwards and eventually hurled it all up…in the car.  While at the farmstead she decided to tear into a bag of animal crackers – lil piggy she is.  Both times, Audrey, the angel she is, was just sitting there watching when I returned to the car.

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April 2012 Revisited


Another month well past and a review of photos long overdue.  Such is the Spring time when there is so much to see and do.  With the onset of this colorful blooming time of year I have done an all black and white review to showcase some of the wonderful detail in these images that the Spring colors can sometimes masks.  Here are my favorites from April.

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Driftless Area Weekend – Vernon County, Wisconsin – Day 2


This is the fourth and final post of the Driftless Area Weekend (finally :-) ).

Vernon County, similar to Monroe County, is full of rolling hills and deep valleys.  It reminded me of a continuous roller coaster ride.  It was an extremely lovely Spring day, although the scenery reminded us both of Fall with the color of the trees budding out.  The entire Autumn pallet was present and accounted for – the yellows, oranges and reds were extremely vibrant.

Our primary goal for the trip was to seek out the round barns in the area;  I think we were able to shoot most of the 13 round barns 1 of the 2 covered bridges.  It was a great 2 day trip and I look forward to a return trip soon.

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Leon Valley & Justin Trails B&B


The days are getting longer and the “to do” list is mounting fast.  I’ve been picking away at my photos from the driftless weekend (Apr 21-22).  I processed a few that were shot at and around Justin Trails B&B.  I wish we would have had more time at Justin Trails to take in the entire 200+ acre property, but after the morning debacle we were running a bit behind schedule.  After playing in the mud and getting cleaned up we did finally sit down and had a fabulous breakfast.  The “adventurous” scrambled eggs (a must),  homemade granola with a sweetened yogurt, Donna’s muffins,  fruit compote and bacon were all wonderfully delicious.  The granola is also for sale so you can bring a bit of your experience home with you.

After breakfast Donna gave us a tour of the barn.  Her husband Don has lived there his entire life.  They are in the process of renovating the structure using reclaimed lumber from the 135 acres of woodland on their property.  The lower level of the barn is loaded with wood drying in stacks; the different varieties smell amazing as they are drying.  They plan to have the barn project completed for Memorial weekend 2013.  I can’t wait to see it.

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When life gives you mud – make a mud pie


Or just get stuck in it…

This past weekend I had the distinct privilege of getting acquainted with some good ‘ol Wisconsin country field road mud.

The morning started out by dragging our butts out of bed at 5:30 a.m. in anticipation of a great sunrise shoot in the Leon Valley just South of Sparta, WI.  We arrived the evening before at the Justin Trails B&B and after dinner we heard the sand hill cranes across the way in the farmer’s marsh singing their songs.  After speaking with Donna (innkeeper) and being informed that the neighbor didn’t mind visitors our plan was quickly formulated.  The car was all set, camera gear – check; so with mugs of coffee in-hand we set off.  Our destination was only two short miles or so away.  Drive right to the marsh, find the cranes, catch the sunrise reflection off the water; maybe catch the cranes in the background or silhouetted - Easy-peasy right?  A well hatched plan took a different course when I made a poor decision that a.m. in the early light.  There are no signs that say “Puddles may be deeper than they appear” or “This mud is unbelievably squishy” because that is common sense; of which I exercised none.  I knew the moment just after we entered the puddle that it was a bad idea.  Hindsight is so wonderfully brilliant.  It would have been a more solid plan to stick to the farmer’s driveway rather than his field road.

Stuck we were.  We made an attempt at installing larger limbs in the tires path in an effort to get the tires to grab something, but the mud’s grip was too much.  At one point while trying to free the car, someone might have receive a free all-natural spa treatment – sorry honey for that mud bath – from a spinning wheel :-)

All the commotion had pretty much driven away all wildlife in our immediate area.  Our sunrise options were rather limited now and the clock was ticking.  We left the car behind and walked back out on that muddy field road to more solid ground.  Our setup for sunrise was in a rolling pasture instead .  It wasn’t quite what I had envisioned but it was a colorful vision non-the-less.

Leon Valley Sunrise

After sunrise we made our way [on foot] back to the B&B.  Our shoes and pants thoroughly covered in mud.  I met Donna in the lodge and confessed by poor choice of the morning whilst the aroma of bacon and freshly brewed coffee wafted about.  She advised that the neighbor was an early riser and I would likely find him up around 7:30.

View on the way to the farmer’s house

I took a nice long walk back to house.  The neighbor’s home is nicely situated part way up and on a carved out portion of a hillside.  There is a spectacular view of Leon Valley from his doorstep.  A view I took the opportunity to capture.  You can get a sense for how long the driveway is from the image below.

Joe Schaitel is one of the nicest farmers you could ever hope to meet.  After apologizing for my early morning intrusion I briefly explained my situation.  He very kindly and generously offered to help me out without the slightest hesitation or question.

He towed me out of that mud hole and then a bit farther down that field road just to be sure.  I offered up an appreciative sum to which he quickly declined.  His tractor made short work of my dilemma.  I can’t say enough about the kindness afforded me – the complete stranger – by this farmer – in this beautiful area of Wisconsin.  It is great to meet wonderful people like Joe along your travels.

After several “thank you’s” and appreciative chat I was on my way back to the B&B to have breakfast with my sweetie.  I could smell the bacon and taste the coffee.  Cyndie just happened to be right there at the driveway to capture my muddy blunder.  It was an eventful morning and the details of it all provided for a day’s worth of jokes.  If you can’t laugh at the stupid things you do from time to time…well, laugh at the stupid things other people do.  I prefer the latter.