Category Archives: River-scapes

Drone, Panorama, Photography, River-scapes

BEFORE THE STORMS COME – Hager City, WI #lovelyafternoon

Image February 23, 2019 Dan Traun 1 Comment

BEFORE THE STORMS COME

Another finally Friday; the work week is done. I look forward to the weekends and photography sunrise/sunset. However, the forecast for this weekend looks like total crap. Freezing rain, snow, high winds – blizzard warning oh my. A recipe for a Netflix binge no doubt. I took advantage of the nice weather Friday afternoon before the storms come. It was nice to get out and fly.

First Stop

I didn’t venture too far; just across the Mississippi River from Red Wing into Wisconsin. My first stop was Pucketville right next to the Harbor Bar. There is a nice view of Red Wing from there and the Jamaican Jerk cuisine is fantastic.

Red Wing Riverfront

Red Wing Bridge Construction

Harbor Bar 360 Sphere

Red Wing Boat Houses

Second Stop

I wanted to get a shot of the Trimbelle River tail waters, but wasn’t able to get a close enough. It is a bit difficult to see, but it is out in the distance about center frame. You can see the bridge over the Trimbelle River on Hwy 35 or the right side of the frame. I will have to dress appropriately next time and go for a hike. The patches of evergreens are interesting. A few hundred feet up sure offers a different perspective.

Third Stop

I drove around a bit more until I found myself near the gravel pit on Cty Rd VV. This area looked pretty interesting while hovering over the bluff tops. The exposed rock from the gravel pit, the road through the valley and if you look closely, you’ll see the little town of Hager City, WI in the middle of the frame.

K Gravel Pit

K Gravel Pit 360 Sphere

I really love the bluff country where I live. I look forward to photographing it from the air in all seasons.

Drone, Nature, Panorama, Photography, River-scapes

LAKE PEPIN SUNRISE – Warrentown, WI #sunrise

Image February 8, 2019 Dan Traun 1 Comment

LAKE PEPIN SUNRISE

This beautiful lake in twenty-two miles long, varies in width from one to two and a half miles, and overs about thirty-eight square miles. It was caused by the delta of the Chippewa spreading across the gorge of the Mississippi at the southeastern end of the Lake. Because of its steeper grad, the smaller Chippewa was able to bring in more glacial debris than the Mississippi could carry away. This delta provided a natural dam and as the water was backed up, Lake Pepin was formed. State Highway 35 hugs Lake Pepin along most of its Wisconsin shore and has been called on of the most scenic drives in America.

Delta creating a natural dam

One of Lake Pepin’s admirers was William Cullen Bryant. He praised its natural scenery and declared the area “ought to be visited in the summer by every poet and painter in the land.” ~Geographical Marker, Hwy 35, Warrentown, WI.

I would add photographers to Bryant’s list as well. I would also argue all seasons; not just summer. Having grown up in the area, I’ve always known the lake as well as the rivers, streams, bluffs, beaches and views from many areas surrounding Lake Pepin. The more I photograph the area, the more I appreciate its beauty.

Change of plans

I was not able to [easily] reach my normal sunrise spot in Bay City this a.m. due to back to back 10″ snowfall days. I was actually stuck at one point and thankfully managed to maneuver my way out. It was plenty cold out too. I wasn’t really interesting in wading through huge snow banks to get to my normal spot.

I called an audible and headed further down the road to another spot with an excellent vantage point. There is a geographical marker along Hwy 35 not far past a wayside rest just before Warrentown. The view from there is expansive. I have hesitated in the past to photograph from here as the trees have grown up and block some of the view. This has limited the locations from which you can photograph from. This is no longer an issue now with drone capabilities.

A few overhead photos. I am growing more fond of this perspective.

Given the lack of clouds this a.m., I think this is my favorite shot of the morning. The color washing over the ripples in the snow drifts on the lake was pretty amazing.

LAKE PEPIN LEGACY ALLIANCE

There is a very important initiative in regards to Lake Pepin right now; please check out Lake Pepin Legacy Alliance to learn more. Please consider supporting this effort in whatever form you are able.

Drone, Nature, Panorama, Photography, River-scapes, Time-lapse

HAZY FEBRUARY SUNRISE – Bay City, WI #sunrise

Image February 2, 2019 Dan Traun 2 Comments

HAZY FEBRUARY SUNRISE

The huge temperature swing was refreshing this morning. No crazy sub-zero temps or windchill’s to contend with. Instead, we were in for a hazy February sunrise.

The crescent moon just above the horizon upon arrival was an unanticipated bonus.

Jupiter and Venus where still shining bright as were quite a few stars. It was a spectacular site.

The sunrise sequence was filled with a lot of color and wonderful clouds.

Begin Rise

Rising more

Rissen

Pre-sunrise time lapse

Sunrise time lapse

Drone Photos

Vertical Panoramas

Horizontal Panoramas

Drone Video

Drone, Nature, Panorama, Photography, River-scapes

SUBZERO SUNRISE – Bay City, Wi #sunrise

Image January 19, 2019 Dan Traun 3 Comments

SUBZERO SUNRISE

It was a subzero sunrise this a.m. Albeit only by a degree, it was enough to bite your exposed fingertips and slap you in the face. The camera bared most of the cold atop the tripod just outside my toasty warm car. You can see that Jupiter and Venus have ventured significantly closer to one another.

I forgot my spotlight this a.m. that I use to aid in obtaining a focal point. I ended up with a short and out-of-focus time lapse sequence. It is still a bit interesting; especially the steam rising off the opening in the ice.

Drone Video

Drone Photos

Panoramas.

360 converted to sphere

Drone, Nature, Panorama, Photography, River-scapes, Time-lapse

MIDWEEK SUNSET – Maiden Rock, WI #sunset

Image January 17, 2019 Dan Traun

MIDWEEK SUNSET

The conditions were favorable and I was able to get home at a reasonable enough time to get out and enjoy a midweek sunset. Maiden Rock, WI is another favorite spot; mostly for sunsets given the angle of sunrise throughout the year not being as favorable in this location. There are typically large ice heaves just off the shore, but not this year. Plenty of cracks and other interesting designs in the ice though.

Fellow photog, Jeff Marcus, joined me this beautiful afternoon. We had the beach all to ourselves this fine January afternoon.

The ice on Lake Pepin was smooth and had no snow cover. There were a handful of ice fishermen trying their and people ice skating too all over the bay.

Drone Photos

Drone Video

D700 Time lapse Video Clip

Drone, Nature, Photography, River-scapes

A FLEETING MOMENT – Bay City, Wi #sunrise

Image January 13, 2019 Dan Traun 5 Comments

A FLEETING MOMENT

That was definitely the case this cold January morning. It was just under 30 degrees, but the 5 mph breeze out of the east (across a huge sheet of ice) made it seem significantly colder. It was mostly cloudy upon arrival and after a bit, there was only a hint of color on the horizon; them boom! The color came. And just like that the color was gone just as quickly as it appeared. It was a fleeting moment of spectacular color.

Some moments are nice, some are nicer, some are even worth photographing in the cold January weather.

Here are three frames captured 40 minutes apart.

D700 | ISO 200 | f/7.1 | 4 seconds | 16 mm

D700 | ISO 200 | f/7.1 | 1/20 second | 16 mm

D700 | ISO 200 | f/7.1 | 1/30 second | 16 mm

A 4 second clip that encompasses those 40 minutes.

I am really happy with both the vertical and horizontal panorama shots.

Mavic 2 Pro | ISO 100 | f/3.5 | 1/20 seconds | 10.26 mm | 7 Frames

I shot my first automated drone 360 sphere this morning. The images looks interesting.

After a bit of manipulation in Photoshop – viola. Sunrise-o-sphere.

EXTRA

Out low across the ice and back high

Here is an aerial view of Bay City Campground.

A shot of two fellow photog friends capturing the sunrise this a.m.

Drone, Nature, Panorama, Photography, River-scapes

RISING SUN – Maiden Rock, WI #sunrise

Image January 12, 2019 Dan Traun

RISING SUN

After shooting sunrise in Bay City Friday morning, I headed further down river to Maiden Rock. I made it there just in time to see the sun rising over the bluffs. The sunlight warmed up the blue-cold landscape instantly creating a lovely scene.

Maiden Rock Panoramas

The ice is pretty fascinating as seen from above.

Ice

Downtown Maiden Rock

Drone, Nature, Photography, River-scapes

BAY CITY BEAUTY – Bay City, WI #sunrise

Image January 11, 2019 Dan Traun 1 Comment

BAY CITY BEAUTY

Bay City Beauty – I never tire of the beauty of this shoreline, this bay, the bluffs and the sunrises that happen here. Another work gone and an early morning spent marveling at the palette of colors mother nature painted the sky with today.

D700 ISO 200 | f/10 | 4 seconds | 16 mm

D700 ISO 200 | f/10 | 1 seconds | 16 mm

D700 ISO 200 | f/10 | 1/160 seconds | 16 mm

It was also another opportunity to practice drone photography. I’ve always leaned toward portrait orientation in my photography, but I am really liking the result of the vertical [portrait orientation] panoramic images from the drone.

Two more panoramas.

And a few more single frame shots.

Drone, Nature, Panorama, Photography, River-scapes

ELEVATED GOLDEN HOUR – Lake City, MN #sunset

Image January 5, 2019 Dan Traun

ELEVATED GOLDEN HOUR

Having had so much fun this a.m. shooting sunrise, I decided to head out this afternoon and see what I could do with the afternoon golden hour. I brought the best wife ever along so she could see how much fun this is. Here she is standing next to me for a selfie.

The light was wonderful. The limestone faces of the bluffs on the Wisconsin side of Lake Pepin glowed orange as the sun went down.

Panoramas

The practice continues on drone panorama photography. It’s all completely manual at this point as I have not delved into the automated features of the Mavic 2 Pro.

The wayside rest next to Hansen’s Harbor between Frontenac and Lake City was an interesting location. I was a nice wide open expanse to practice flying around. The ice on the lake was very interesting, colorful and full of texture.

A few more single shots

Drone, Nature, Panorama, Photography, River-scapes

A NEW PERSPECTIVE – Bay City, WI #sunrise

Image January 5, 2019 Dan Traun 2 Comments

A NEW PERSPECTIVE

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.

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.