Tag Archives: Mavic 2 Pro

MUD LAKE – HWY 63 PUCKETVILLE

MUD LAKE

The recent rains have not made an impact on the water level on the Mississippi River.  The satellite image gives you a sense of where the water line typically is.  I haven’t seen the water this low ever.

Mud Lake

These image where captured August 23rd, 2021.

Views: 349

SUNRISE – BAY CITY, WI

SUNRISE – BAY CITY, WI

After consulting The Photographer’s Ephemeris and Skyfire app it appeared as though there would be a great chance for some color at sunrise this morning at one of my favorite locations – Bay City.

While driving from Red Wing to Bay City, my optimism for color was not increasing.  When I arrived at the Bay City campground, there was a bit of color on the horizon out over the bay.

iPhone photo

As you can see from the above photo, the cloud cover was dominating the scene.  Even though it was in the single digits and quite cold, I stuck around.  Clouds can shift and conditions can change rapidly.  I capture three different [mostly gray] panorama via my drone.Bay City Sunrise

Bay City Sunrise

Bay City Sunrise

I am always fascinated by the patterns in the snow and ice.
Bay City Sunrise

It didn’t look like the sunrise was going to amount to much.  I put my drone away, but hung around a little longer.  The sun tried a bit more to break through, but didn’t really completely.  I took a couple photos with my iPhone and then there was nothing but gray.

Bay City Sunrise
iPhone photo
Bay City Sunrise
iPhone photo

How Skyfire app works

skyfireSkyfire forecasts are displayed as a map overlay with varying colors to indicate the type of conditions and forecast probability of a colorful sunrise or sunset. Colorful conditions arise when there are clouds in the sky that are underlit by the sun when it is near the horizon.

Although it is possible to see colorful clear skies, these colors are typically associated with twilight conditions (such as the ‘Belt of Venus’ or the deep blue/orange colors of nautical twilight). Skyfire forecasts do not cover these phenomena.

Clear skies, that is, where there are expected to be no clouds to underlight, are not assigned a color. Cloudy, overcast conditions, where the extent of the clouds precludes the chance for underlighting, are shown as white.

When cloud cover is broken, or lies at the edge of a weather front, there is a chance of colorful underlighting. The probability of a colorful sunrise or sunset developing is indicated on a color spectrum ranging from blue/green to red, where the redder the color, the higher the probability, as shown in the table below:

Clear Clear skies forecast
Cloudy Overcast, with little chance of underlighting
50% (blue) Clouds with some chance of underlighting
70% (yellow) Clouds with a good chance of underlighting
90% (red) Clouds with a high chance of underlighting

Views: 267

SEASONAL HUES | BROWNS & BLUES – Pine Creek, Maiden Rock, WI

SEASONAL HUES | BROWNS & BLUES

Pine Creek, view from Lake Pepin

SEASONAL HUES | BLUES & BROWNS

Ice breaking up

SEASONAL HUES | BLUES & BROWNS

Railroad Trestle from above

SEASONAL HUES | BLUES & BROWNS

Pine Creek, Valley View

SEASONAL HUES | BLUES & BROWNS

Lake Pepin view from Pine Creek valley

SEASONAL HUES | BLUES & BROWNS

Views: 344

RED WING, MN – Mississippi Riverfront #aerialphotography

RED WING, MN – Mississippi Riverfront

This city was named after the early 19th-century Dakota Sioux chief, Red Wing (Shakea), or Hupahuduta (“Wing of the Wild Swan Dyed Red”).  He was one of a succession of Mdewakanton Dakota chiefs whose name “Red Wing” came from their use of a dyed swan’s wing as their symbol of rank. He was an ally of British soldiers during the War of 1812. After a vision in which he saw the Americans driving out the British, he declared neutrality. French Canadians referred to him as L’Aile Rouge. Later he took the name Shakea, or “The Man Who Paints Himself Red,” after passing the name Red Wing on to a successor chief. ~wikipedia

Red Wing is a city in Goodhue County, Minnesota, United States, along the upper Mississippi River.  Having lived near the river most of my life, it’s sometime easy to forgot the unique and picturesque features that draw others to the region.

The arrival of riverboats in late Summer

Red Wing Yacht Club Boathouses

Red Wing

Bay Point Park

Red Wing

The Big Turn on the Mississippi River

Barn Bluff (He Mni Can) [L] & Sorins Bluff (Memorial Park) [R]

Red Wing

Mud Lake

Mud Lake

Trenton Island Yacht Club

Trenton Island Yacht Club

Having a drone has re-peaked my interest to photograph the beautiful area where I live.

Red Wing is connected to Wisconsin by the Eisenhower Bridge); it carries U.S. Route 63 over the Mississippi River and its backwaters. ~wikipedia

Construction on the bridge that will replace the Eisenhower Bridge is slated to be complete August 2020.  Based on a Minnesota state statute, the name must remain the Eisenhower Memorial Bridge.

Red Wing

Views: 344

RETURN TO PINE CREEK – Maiden Rock, WI #aerialphotography

RETURN TO PINE CREEK

A return to Pine Creek this last Thursday evening produced some nice light.  I have hoped to capture a decent sunset panorama in the valley – a mix of color and clouds, but no luck yet.  The weekends in March haven’t yielded such a situation.  It was better than total gray like previous visits.  The melt has been on and the water is high again.

Pine Creek meets the Mississippi River

2019-03-17

Panoramas from a previous trip; you can see how high the water was.

2019-03-02

PINE CREEK PANOS – Maiden Rock, WI #aerialphotography | 

Views: 209

HIGH BRIDGE AND LEVEE, Red Wing, MN #construction

HIGH BRIDGE AND LEVEE

The high bridge and levee are both under construction at the moment.  This will be interesting given the rising water from the Spring snow melt.

Levee Construction

HIGH BRIDGE AND LEVEE
Levee Construction
Levee Construction

Bridge Constructions

HIGH BRIDGE AND LEVEE
Closing the Gap – Bridge Construction
HIGH BRIDGE AND LEVEE
Bridge Construction
HIGH BRIDGE AND LEVEE
Bridge Construction
HIGH BRIDGE AND LEVEE
Bridge Construction

Views: 258

HIGHWAY 61, Red Wing, MN #sunrise

HIGHWAY 61 – Red Wing, MN

I witnessed a nice sunrise along Highway 61 in Red Wing adjacent to Barn Bluff.

Highway 16

The launch Pad

Pre-sunrise over Red Wing looking upstream
Highway 61
Pre-sunrise looking downstream
Highway 61
Pre-sunrise vertical pano view of Hwy 61 south out of Red Wing
Highway 61
Sunrise

 

Views: 216

PINE CREEK PANOS – Maiden Rock, WI #aerialphotography

PINE CREEK PANOS

I’ve been waiting for the month of March to get here to create some Pine Creek Panos.  The sun sets for the entire month over Frontenac State Park; it lines up perfectly with the valley that Pine Creek emanates from.

PINE CREEK PANOS

The first attempt at capturing an aerial sunset from this valley was cloudy unfortunately.  Hopefully one weekend  this March will yield some amazing color.

PINE CREEK PANOS
Pine Creek East View
PINE CREEK PANOS
Pine Creek West View
PINE CREEK PANOS
360 Sphere

This is a really beautiful spot.  A very picturesque valley.  I am looking forward to capturing more seasons from here.

PINE CREEK PANOS

Views: 280

LAKE PEPIN SUNRISE – Warrentown, WI #sunrise

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.

LAKE PEPIN SUNRISE
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 SUNRISE

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.

Views: 279

SUBZERO SUNRISE – Bay City, Wi #sunrise

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.

Subzero Sunrise
Nikon D700 | ISO 200 | 16mm | f/7.1 | 6 seconds

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

Subzero Sunrise
Critter Trails

Panoramas.

360 converted to sphere

 

Views: 175