When I arrived at my favorite sunrise location this a.m. the sky was quite clear; so clear that you could see Jupiter (bottom) and Venus (top) easily next to the silhouette of the tree.
D700 ISO 200 | f/7.1 | 25 seconds | 17 mm
January starts out with Venus shining above Jupiter in the morning sky, yet the month ends with Jupiter shining above Venus. Day by day, Jupiter climbs upward, away from the sunrise, while Venus sinks downward, toward the rising sun. The two will meet for a conjunction in the morning sky on January 22, 2019. ~EarthSky.org
As the morning progressed the clouds cooperated wonderfully even though a completely clear sky was in the forecast for this morning. This morning started out like most other mornings at this particular location, but the situation changed dramatically. The new perspective is courtesy of a DJI Mavic 2 Pro drone I received for Christmas from the best wife ever.
I am pretty happy with the results given this was my third flight and first ever attempt at shooting the sunrise with a drone. The shots are a titch grainy given ISO 400 . The vertical panorama is my favorite drone photo of the day. This morning without a doubt spawned an enthusiasm for drone photography that will not likely subside any time soon.
Horizontal Panorama
Mavic 2 Pro| ISO 400 | f/9 | 1/60 seconds | 10.26 mm | 7 Frames
Vertical Panorama
Mavic 2 Pro| ISO 400 | f/9 | 1/60 seconds | 10.26 mm | 12 Frames
I am finding that even though I am not experiencing ideal conditions for sunrise, nature always provides a beautiful canvas. When the pre-sunrise color isn’t there, the subtly of the clouds provides a focal point. The waning crescent moon was also shining bright this morning and added a nice touch to the frame.
EXTRA
On the drive home I ran into a herd of Wild Turkeys.
A landscape photographers constant wish is just the right amount of clouds to make the scene interesting. When that happens, consider yourself fortunate. Today was not one of those days. The scene that can unfold can still be beautiful…if you wait for it. The skies could not have been any more clear or bright.
Just like sunrises with the best color coming before hand, so goes sunsets with rich color happening after the set.
It took a few minutes after sunset for the color to change and pop.
There is nothing quite like the the palette of color nature displays prior to the sun rising above the horizon. Pre-sunrise color can be quite spectacular; as was the case this morning.
Don’t forget to look all around before the sun comes up and the vivid color is gone.
iPhone pano
Once the sun broke the horizon the pinks/reds disappeared; the blue and yellow became more defined.
Post-sunrise.
A constant stream of ducks doing flybys pre-sunrise; if you look close enough you can see them in one of the shots. There were lots of geese honking. A single pair a swans swam close by. Two eagles chattered on and on in a nearby Cottonwood Tree. What a great morning and start to the day.
There isn’t much hope for a sunrise when the fog sets in. When it is freezing fog, though, there is something to look forward to. The rime it creates is beautiful; not to be confused with hoar frost. I recently learned the difference between the two; this MPR article explains the difference. It was a spectacular morning for rime.
Fort Snelling State Park is a great place to go to photograph Whitetail deer. My wife Cyndie and I, along with our photog friend Linnae, made the chilly early November trip to in hopes of photographing deer.
In previous years, it seemed that we started out seeing smaller bucks and worked our way up. Not this year. When we arrived around 8 a.m., we found the big guy with a single doe in a ditch along side the road. We didn’t have much time with this guy. A truck pulled up shortly after we did and was a bit close for his comfort. The doe trotted off with him closely behind.
We never pass over the boat landing on Picnic Island. There is usually something interesting there to see.
It didn’t take long into our walk on Pike Island and my wife spotted another big fella laying down in the thick stuff. Another fine looking buck. He had a couple of does next to him.
There was just as much photographer activity as deer. Another photographer told us about a piebald spike buck he had seen earlier. It wasn’t too long after that and we have the fortune of seeing him as well.
Pike Island is pretty large, but not so large that you cannot cover the area at a leisurely pace. It seemed like we saw way more deer this trip compared to years past.
There is quite an abundance of other wildlife and nature to behold in the park. Here are a few other things that caught my eye.
Another great visit to a wonder Minnesota State Park. If you have never been, I highly recommend this experience.
Theodore Roosevelt National Park (TRNP) – The Wild Horses
Viewing and photographing the wild horses was the primary goal of the trip in early October 2018. We had the good fortune of a prior consultation with Deb Lee Carson before our trip. Deb has spent a lot of time with the Wild Horses of TRNP. Having never been to TRNP, her insights were very helpful and greatly appreciated.
“It is difficult to explain one’s love for horses, it cannot be explained, it is simply felt.” ~ Deb Lee Carson
The Wild Horses of TRNP are majestic animals to say the least. Their unbridled beauty roaming free was amazing to witness in person and photograph. Three days total time in the park didn’t seem near long enough. I was grateful for the exposure and the time I had with the horses.
The 46000 acre South Unit of TRNP is an incredible backdrop for these beautiful creatures. All that space does make for a lot of places to roam out of sight. Tuesday afternoon when we arrived we did not see a single horse. The next morning we had a dusting of snow and it was cold and windy. We managed to find a few horses.
Our luck turned around on Thursday. After photographing sunrise from Badlands Overlook we continued on the loop counter-clockwise and found Grey Ghost grazing by himself.
Grey Ghost
We encountered Flax and his band a few different times on Thursday. He is a handsome stallion. Dolly and Kat are two of his mares.
Flax
Dolly
Kat
We saw quite a few more on Thursday just after sunrise. Lots of horses snoozing in the warm early morning sunlight.
Bad weather in Wyoming brought Deb Lee Carson to Medora late Thursday evening. She accompanied us in the morning to photograph. A sunrise opportunity didn’t really present itself, but the light was pretty amazing that Friday morning regardless. The clear skies and the bright sunlight back-lit the horses and illuminated their surroundings. What a great end to a terrific photo trip to TRNP. We saw a nice large group of horses that morning and spend a good amount of time photographing and observing them.
Theodore Roosevelt National Park (TRNP) – The Wildlife
Wildlife – South Unit
Locating wildlife in TRNP – South Unit was challenging the first few days. All the critters hunkered down in the cool and windy weather. As the weather improved, so did the wildlife viewing. We saw a Coyote hunting prairie dogs in the early a.m.; must to dark for a photograph. We also met a porcupine in the early morning hours crossing the road. Plenty of Cottontail Rabbits in the early a.m. too.
Bison
Bison roam around all over the place; there are plenty to see throughout the park. Large herds congregated by the campground by the river on the West side of the park.
Prairie Dogs
Prairie Dogs were plentiful as well. There are three really large towns right along side the road. They are fun to watch.
Pronghorns
Pronghorns in park were sparse. We happened upon two bucks that had just finished a battle. They were noticeably fatigued and bloody.
Mule Deer
Mule Deer are plentiful. They were everywhere and ran around like squirrels in the park. We saw mostly does, but did manage to locate two nice bucks and one spike buck.
Whitetail Deer
The Whitetail Deer were very elusive. Most of the sightings were along the river by the campground. We did spot a nice buck by the Jones Creek Trail Head. I was shooting out the passenger window and the temp different between the vehicle and the outside was significant which softens the image considerably.
ELK
We saw two different bull Elk just outside of Medora the first afternoon when we arrived, but did not stop to photograph. I was surprised to see them so close to the road, but thought photographing them would be a snap – WRONG. ELK in the park are very elusive. We didn’t see a single Elk – cow or bull – until the last morning we were there. Two full days of exploring the park and not even a glimpse. When we did manage to find them, they were a good 1/2 mile off on top of a butte. The light was low and the photos grainy. I was just happy to see them and hear them. There were three different bulls bugling at one point; it was pretty fantastic.
Theodore Roosevelt National Park (TRNP) – The Landscape
Roosevelt first came to the North Dakota badlands to hunt bison in September 1883. During that first short trip, he got his bison and fell in love with the rugged lifestyle and the “perfect freedom” of the West.
Following Theodore Roosevelt’s death in 1919, the Little Missouri Badlands were explored to determine possible park sites. Civilian Conservation Corps camps were established in both of the future park units from 1934 to 1941, and they developed roads and other structures in use today. President Truman established the Theodore Roosevelt National Memorial Park on April 25, 1947, the only National Memorial Park ever established. In 1978, in addition to boundary adjustments and the establishment of 29,920 acres of the Theodore Roosevelt Wilderness, the park’s designation was changed to Theodore Roosevelt National Park. -wikipedia
I recently had the pleasure of spending 3 nights/4 days in TRNP with two other photog friends. My goal was to photograph the wild horses in the park as well as capture a sunrise and sunset. I also wanted to photograph the Elk and Bison in the park. We accomplished all of that an more.
Sunset along East River Road, South of Wind Canyon Trail Head
Sunrise at Badlands Overlook
We arrived late afternoon on a Tuesday in early October. It was windy and cold. Watching the forecast leading up to the trip was interesting to say the least. Weather, though, can change at any moment; it did. There was no freezing rain to speak of and only a dusting of snow on the first and last morning we were there – all of which added to the already incredible beauty around us. The frost on the second morning was epic. At 19 degrees in the a.m., it stuck around for a long while even after sunrise.
A truly rugged and beautiful landscape awaits you at TRNP. The vast open expanses of land inspire awe and wonder to those that gaze upon it. Looking out across the land today it is hard to imagine the forests and swamps that used to be there. [More on the geologic formations]
TRNP – South Unit
We spent the majority of our time in the South Unit looking for the wild horses. There was plenty of time between sightings given the weather to take in the scenery. So much beauty; so many acres.
There are coal veins burning in the park. They were hard to detect the first few days because of the wind. Once things calmed down some, the smoke was easy to see. We first noticed it at sunrise on day 3 when it was 19 degrees. We didn’t realize what it was until we got closer and could smell it; then we saw exactly where it was coming from.
I saw a smaller coal vein burning pretty close to the road
TRNP – North Unit
We took a short [long] break from the South Unit and headed to the North Unit. It’s a quick one-hour jaunt one-way through the grasslands. We did find an old cabin along the road to photography along with two dandy longhorn cattle. The pronghorn’s were laying in the field until sensed I was stopping – off they ran.
The North Unit landscape if very pretty. It is much like the South Unit, but seemingly with more trees; especially along the river. The road is out and back; not a loop like the North Unit.
Cannonballs
The North Unit is home to bizarre cannonball rock formations.
Mineral-rich water deposits minerals as it seeps through porous sediment layers. The minerals act like glue, binding the sediments together and forming concretions. Concretions form in many different shapes and sizes. Those that are spherical are called “cannonballs.” For now, scientists can only guess why some concretions take on such a spherical shapes.
Barn Bluff is a bluff along the Mississippi River in Red Wing, Minnesota, United States. The bluff is associated with Dakota legend from hundreds of years ago. During the 19th century, the bluff functioned as a visual reference for explorers and travelers. The bluff overlooks the downtown area and towers about 400 feet above the Mississippi River with an extensive view of Lake Pepin to the south. It is one of hundreds of bluffs in the Driftless Area, which covers parts of Wisconsin, Iowa, and Illinois, in addition to the southeastern toe of Minnesota. -wikipedia
Barn Bluff aka Mount La Grange and He Mni Can, is 3100′ long, 800′ wide, 334′ above the river and 1001′ above sea level. There are two main lookouts (red dots) on either end of the bluff; both equally spectacular. The main trailhead can be accessed on the East side; off of East 5th Street (blue dot). See Map for trail details. More info on Barn Bluff here. If you even find yourself in Red Wing, plan on spending a couple of hours hiking the bluff; you won’t be disappointed.
The West (Red Wing ) Overlook
East (Lake Pepin) Overlook
Extra
Old Post Cards
Stairway to Mount La Grange Red WingAbove High Bridge on Barn Bluff, Mount La Grange Red Wing
