Tag Archives: Mississippi River

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2013: Week #17 Photography


I am happy to report that we appear to be done with snow for the season…finally.  We’ve had a few nice days of warmer weather (70′s)…finally.  Looking ahead to next week though, it appears the mercury is recoiling to a lower stance on the thermometer.  This is one of the crazier Springs I can recall in my almost 40 years of existence.  I have been very busy with Spring cleaning this last week - digitally speaking anyway – since my recent epiphany.  It has been a slow photography week in the sense of acquiring more, but very active in reviewing what I have and purging a large amount of files.  I am not sure why I held on to so many shots.  I have reduced albums of 200+ shots to 20-30 total retain.  This bodes well for the backup schedule.

I did take a few minutes away from culling bad photos to capture the Pelican’s that were in my area last week.  Once 40 degrees went to 70 degrees in one day they were as good as gone.

2013 Week 16 006 2013 Week 16 017

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Shooting Swans
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Shooting Swans


Last February I posted information regarding the swans in Monticello, MN:  Feb/Mar Trumpeter Swan Mating Rituals

Cyndie and I didn’t make it last year to this spectacle, but this year we did.  This is an absolute site to see.  The $10/hr./photographer for private deck access just off the water was more than worth it.

View from the Private Observation Deck

View from the Private Observation Deck

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For reservations:

Rich Thurman
201 Mississippi Drive
Monticello, MN. 55362
richthurman@fnmmail.com.

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There is a public area to observe the swans adjacent to the residence with the private deck if you would rather go that route – Monticello Swan Park.  Either way, please consider making a donation to carry on what Sheila Lawrence stared.

Between my two camera’s I have a little bit over 1000 frames to look through.  I’ve gotten better at trashing the obvious non-winners.  Here are the 41 frames I kept.

Public observation area
private observation desk – 4 slots for photographers
Feeding Time
private observation deck
Looking for a snack in advance of feeding time…nom nom nom nom nom
Bright Orange Feet – somewhat rare.
View from the Private Observation Deck
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Weekend Afternoon Drive


This Winter weather is holding fast even though we have had a couple of warm-ish snaps.  Any day now the big melt will begin; I can’t wait.  I’ve had enough of Winter, snow, cold, ice, shoveling, lengthy commutes, etc.

Despite all I listed above, Winter is one of my favorites times of year to shoot.  Creating black and white images during this time of year can be both challenging and rewarding.  It is a time of the year to really focus on composition, detail and light.  Some days, like today, the light is really flat.  Overcast skies and no glint of sunlight poking through anywhere.

Cyn and I went for an afternoon drive last weekend.  We did a loop from Red Wing to Lake City and back again.  Frontenac State Park has some wonderful views of the bluffs in Wisconsin towering over Hwy 35.  I really like the detail in the trees against the snow-covered bluff as a backdrop.  You can really make out the contours of the valley slopes.

River Buoy
lone ice fisherman
WI Bluffs from Frontenac State Park
Maiden Rock Sand Mine Pano
Maiden Rock Sand Mine – Single Frame
Rush River Valley, Maiden Rock, WI
Village of Maiden Rock, WI
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The American Queen 3


Up and at ‘em early to shoot the queen on its way to Red Wing.  That was the plan anyway.  I thought it would be interesting to see her in low light coming down river a lit up.  I didn’t have a clue how I would approach shooting that, but I just wanted to give it a whirl.  As we drove across the bridge to Wisconsin it became evident that our plans needed to change.  Instead of arriving at 8 a.m. this morning, it apparently arrived at 10:30 p.m. last night.  Bugger.  What are you gonna do?  Oh yes, I complained about it considerably before shutting up.  We had a nice sunrise shoot around our beautiful town’s waterfront.

Upcoming Red Wing riverboat schedule:

American Queen
October 18—Dock at 10AM, Depart at 5PM
October 21—Dock at 8AM, Depart at 5 PM  <- apparently it docked on 10/20 around 10:30 p.m.
October 23—Dock at 10AM, Depart at 5PM
November 4—Dock at 8AM, Depart at TBD
November 6—Dock at 10AM, Depart at 5PM

Queen of the Mississippi
October 26, Dock at 2AM, Depart at Noon
October 27, Dock at 7PM, Stay Overnight
October 28—Depart at Noon
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!@#$ not responsible for the accuracy of this schedule as it is subject to change and is likely not even remotely close to being accurate !@#$
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The American Queen 2


The American Queen was back in town again yesterday.  I grabbed a few more shots as she made her way up-river to St. Paul.

Upcoming Red Wing riverboat schedule:

American Queen
October 18—Dock at 10AM, Depart at 5PM
October 21—Dock at 8AM, Depart at 5 PM
October 23—Dock at 10AM, Depart at 5PM
November 4—Dock at 8AM, Depart at TBD
November 6—Dock at 10AM, Depart at 5PM

Queen of the Mississippi
October 26, Dock at 2AM, Depart at Noon
October 27, Dock at 7PM, Stay Overnight
October 28—Depart at Noon
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The American Queen


American Queen

There was another reason for going to the farmer’s market the other weekend.  The American Queen is said to be the largest river steamboat ever built and it was docked at Levee Park.  It is always fun to see these riverboats come to town.  These boats usually draw a pretty good crowd.  That can make it a bit challenging to shoot with people everywhere.  They are grand floating structures to say the least.  I have only had the pleasure of being one of  these paddle boats once - The Mississippi Queen; that was back in the last 1990′s.

Cyndie & Linnae on the RipRap

Cyndie and I shot the queen from Levee Park, across the river, from the Eisenhower Bridge and also just down stream [and wind] of the waste water treatment plant.  That is where the last seven shots where from as it backed its way under the bridge and then swung around to head downstream.  The smoke stacks where still down at this point and only one was completely up as it passed by Colvill Park*.

We should have just called it a day from there, but we didn’t.  I really wanted a photo of the American Queen on the river and away from the levee with both smoke stacks up.  Not sure why, I just did.  We headed down river to a favorite location in Old Frontenac to wait for her to paddle by.

My Double Knee

Old Frontenac has a nice public boat landing to park at and you can walk along the beach for a pretty good stretch.  This stretch of beach leads out to a point; that’s where we were going to wait.  At this point, there is a pretty good size rock pile.  Nothing insurmountable; not even close to what we walked down at the waste water treatment plant (pictured above; our photo friend Linnae joined us).  The rocks weren’t as big either, but my oh my did they leave a mark.  I am not even completely sure how it happened, but I took a bit of a spill.  I had a camera in each hand at the time of the tumble.  There were no hands breaking my fall.  Cameras came through mostly unscathed and one lens hood was broken.  It probably would have been two lens hoods, but I already broke the other one earlier in the day :-/  Bad day for lens hoods.

My Double Knee
Cyndie & Linnae

Upcoming Red Wing riverboat schedule:

American Queen
October 18—Dock at 10AM, Depart at 5PM
October 21—Dock at 8AM, Depart at 5 PM
October 23—Dock at 10AM, Depart at 5PM
November 4—Dock at 8AM, Depart at TBD
November 6—Dock at 10AM, Depart at 5PM

Queen of the Mississippi
October 26, Dock at 2AM, Depart at Noon
October 27, Dock at 7PM, Stay Overnight
October 28—Depart at Noon
aa
*Colvill Park in Red Wing, Minnesota is named for Colvill, and he is represented by a statue in the Minnesota State Capitol. In addition, a section of Minnesota State Highway 19 from Gaylord to Red Wing is named in his honor.
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Mississippi Sunrise – Weaver Bottoms


Another gorgeous morning for a sunrise on the Mississippi River.  This Saturday’s location was the Weaver Bottoms where the Whitewater River flows into the Mississippi River.  There were just enough clouds to add some substance to the sky and the fog was an extra bonus…as was the train streaking through the scene :-) .

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Water & Wieners


Double-good weekend; x2 for kayaking.  Cyndie and I took the wieners for a paddle on Saturday.  Strong swimmers they are not, but they ride mostly fine once they get that jumping out idea out of their heads.  Tindra and Audrey were all eyes on the shorelines of the WI Mississippi back channel, all ears for every bird tweet and call and nostrils flaring at all those interesting river smells.  It was a great couple-hours paddle and the girls certainly enjoyed their time on and off the water.  We had a short 10 minutes ride home afterward; I don’t think their eyes were open after the first five.  Lots of excitement makes the wieners tired.

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Kayaking Cannon River – Hwy 61 to Hwy 35


With a wonderful Friday afternoon out in front of us – Doug and I decided to explore the Cannon, down-river from the Hwy 61 bridge.

Several kingfisher were darting about the river banks and there was a bald eagle perched in a tree around every bend.  Well…it was the same one that we kept moving along as we came into sight.  For the most part the only sounds were song birds, insects, the waters current as it cleared an obstacle and the occasional oar paddling.  We only ran into a couple of people fishing and that was early in the stretch.  It was absolutely gorgeous weather.

 Lots of trees down along this stretch and in the water.  There are many just below the surface that sneak up on you.  The driftwood and trash rafts were plentiful here.  We stumbled upon the usual artifacts – sunglasses and flip flops, but to my surprise…we even found the kitchen sink.  Even with the amount of trees in the water this was a great paddle.  The trees gave you something to paddle around and play with.  FYI – it isn’t a good idea to do the limbo with tree branches in your kayak.  I didn’t roll, but I listed enough to take on a very refreshing bit of water that stayed with me for the rest of the ride.  Oh yeah…see those orange dots on the map towards the top – that channel isn’t connected and there are sandbars throughout that track.  That section is mostly knee-deep mud with 6″ – 1′ of water on top.  It looks like some downed trees cut off the current on the one end and filled it in.  Next time I will head out to the main Mississippi channel at that point.

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Mississippi Backwaters


From the backroads to backwaters.  Kayaking is great; I can’t believe it took me 37 years before I tried it.

The Mississippi backwaters are immense; especially in the area we live.  There are so many aquatic avenues to paddle.  Here are some shots from our weekend trek from Bay City to Goose Lake.  It is a lovely stretch of water with a gentle current.  Although I liked these in color, I think black and white was a better choice to showcase the scenery of this perfect morning of paddling.