The Frozen Bluffs on the Mississippi

I have been lucky enough to get to travel to Wisconsin in January and February.  I know there are a lot of people who would think there is nothing at all lucky about that.  However, when there was a work assignment to spend Jan-Mar in Wisconsin, I jumped at it.

Winter is such a fleeting season in Texas, I was looking forward to getting to experience some cold and to photograph snow that does not melt three hours after it falls.

Over those twelve weeks, I got to experience a cold winter and see plenty of snow.  I also got in some great photography.  Well, at least on the weekends.  With sunrise and sunset being about 8am and 5pm respectively, I did not see much daylight during the week.  On weekends though-I was out all day-every day.  I took my medium format camera for some of the trip but then traded out for the 4x5.


Toting the 4x5 around when it is 25 below zero is no easy task.  Focusing is certainly difficult too.  Never, ever breath out under the dark cloth.  Instant ice over your ground glass if you do.  Cold is that tough.  FWIW, I never had issues with the 4x5, however my medium format camera did have the shutter freeze one morning at -25.  Effectively ended the morning and I had to ziplock it and put it in the hotel for the afternoon until it thawed and was fine.

I found I was able to make quite a few images in my time up there.  I frequented several areas but the frozen marshes and bluffs along the Mississippi River were my favorite.

Here is a shot from an area I visited several times.

I like the view to the bluffs and while this particular day was fairly cloudless, I managed to photograph here on a variety of days including fog, clouds, and epic sunrises.

Winter on the Upper Mississippi

Winter on the Upper Mississippi River is a fantastic time to capture images in another little photographed location.  Wisconsin, with the possible exception of Door County, is not much of a vacation destination, let alone a photography destination.  However, do not let that fool you.  Here on the Upper Mississippi River south of the Twin Cities is a true gem of a photography destination.

Most people presume the Midwest is all flat, they are wrong.  The glaciers of the last ice age missed this area and the bluffs along the river here are around 500 feet tall.  It is like being in the hill country.

I was lucky enough to have to do a several week job assignment in the area and jumped at the chance to photograph this place in January and February.  Yes, it was cold.  Several mornings were minus 25 or so.  However that did not deter me from getting out early with the camera to chase the winter light.

Here is a set up and shot I made in the marshes along the Mississippi River near LaCrosse, Wisconsin.  It was below zero this morning as I hiked into the area in the dark.  I found a view of the bluffs and slowly began to set the camera up.  Slow and methodical being the key here.  Large Format is naturally slow, but the cold adds another layer to it.  You have to think about things and you have to be mindful of how you breath.  In other words do not exhale under the dark cloth as that will freeze on your ground glass and your day will be over very quickly.  

I took my time and then waited for the shot.  In the clear morning sky the moon hanging over the bluffs was the best composition I could see.

You may also notice the bag hanging from the tripod.  I stored my lightmeter and digital camera there and wanted to keep them out of the snow.  My large pack was sitting upright in the snow behind me in an area I had stamped down to keep the bag from sinking in the powder.  That helped keep things dry and the snow out.

Snow at Grand Canyon

Snowfall as seen from Hopi Point at the south rim of the Grand Canyon.

This was a fantastic sunset from what I think is the best sunset viewpoint in the park. Hopi offers up views both east and west. I went here for hopes of seeing the full moon rise over the length of the canyon. The weather you see here blocked that moonrise, but I think seeing it snowing on the north rim while I was in the sunshine was a good trade!

Mittens View

The Mittens and the famous "Ansel rocks" in Monument Valley.

The snow in the valley was a treat and made the photography even nicer than the normal amazing views.

BTW- the famous rocks are right next to the parking lot. I was standing in it to take this image. So if you go-you will not miss them!

Red Rocks in Monument Valley

Another view of the area around Artist Point in Monument Valley.

The big view is what the camera is looking at, but the rocks right there are neat and worthy of an image.

Ok, I did not actually use the 4x5 for them but I did burn a few pixels.

Same Place- Next Day

I got snowed on again at Monument Valley. This time I made my directly to Artist Point.

Wow!

The snow lingered. There were low hanging clouds. The red rock country was in full winter wonderland.

Wow, indeed!

I had three cameras working. I wanted this on sheet film and as many pixels as I could get. I also even went into movie mode with the LX-3 although I am really a still image kinda guy. Looking back at them now, the sheet film wins, although I must say a couple of stitched panoramas do look quite nice.

Here is that morning view. BTW, I was the only one here.

Looking South

After two fun and snow filled weeks in the north woods it is time to go south. I know this series of posts went for longer than two weeks, but I just got out enough to get a lot of images and it took me a while to post them all.

I enjoyed the change of pace, temp, and, actually seeing snow. It is now back to a Texas winter where the temp may be 38 at dawn but it is 65 and sunny in the afternoon.

On my last few days in Wisconsin, I went back to some of my old favorite places in the marsh. With a temp in the high teens it was almost a heat wave compared to what it had been. I wandered around looking for the right location and the right image. I found a large clump of cattails and reeds rising above the ice. There were rocks from marsh edge that ran away along the show. The bluffs were in the distance. The sky was gray and overcast. I thought it all looked about right. I used those as my compositional elements and framed the image looking south down the river.

Down river there was no ice. There was no snow. There was none of this. The river flows south and it was about time for me to go south. South to home, to family, and to the thought of the rapidly approaching spring in the desert.

Three Trees

The snowy days in the north woods are leaving their mark. The snow is a lot heavier and more of it is sticking around than in past years. Even I the occasional business traveler notice that, but it is also something the locals have pointed out too.

The area here has taken three good wallops in my few weeks here. I really like getting out in it too. As I am quick to suggest to my friends, the best images and best light are around the worst weather conditions.

In the woods on a hike I liked the way the snow was clinging to the branches in the rather monochromatic landscape. The occasional green or yellowish leaf stand out from the winter. These three trees drew my eye. The bright tan leaves (comparatively), the evergreens and the snow that covered them looked pleasing.

I was about 20 feet away and thought I would try going wide open at f5.6 and seeing how much if any the trees would "pop" from the wintery background. That runs pretty contrary to my usual f/45 and get every last blade of grass in focus style. It must be the cold :-)

I put the long lens on (my trusty 210mm) and left it all wide open. Put on a one stop grad to hold back a bit of sky. Metered. Make the image.

Looking at it on the light table I did not get much of a pop and it is surprisingly deep focus. I guess that means more practice. And practice means I get to take more images. Lucky me.

The Sound of Ice

Winter is a quiet season. The leaves have fallen. The geese have flown south. The blanket of snow silents the landscape.

Along the river though I heard the sound of ice. In the spring you can hear it creak and groan but I heard an entirely different sound. as small sheets of ices would float down the river they would slide by, spin, and collide with the thin ice layer that hemmed the water in. The sound that sliding by made was almost eerie.

It was a small noise. It was not a crunch or crash or grinding. It was almost a "slushing"as the ice edges slid past each other. It was an interesting and totally different sound. One that one can only hear a few times a year. It was one I first observed the prior year. I arrived in Wisconsin right after Thanksgiving and got to watch the rivers freeze. I first observed that slushy grinding then and saw it again this day.

The image here is of the semi frozen Trempealeau River. Mount Trempealeau rises in the distance and is where this river flows into the mighty Mississippi. It was yet another day of having the entire park to myself.

Me and the quiet sounds of ice on the river.

Keep Going Back

One of the best traits a photographer can have is to keep going back to a location. It would be easy to think that would be boring and repetitive but it actually is the opposite. The weather changes, seasons change, or the light is different every time. I am amazed at the very different images I have made at the exact same location.

When business takes me to Wisconsin, I visit the same wildlife refuge several times on each trip. I often revisit the same location two or three times over a trip and have been to my favorite locations several times, on several trips over different seasons. Each trip yields me good yet different images. Some may have spotted that a few of my prior posts were taken at the same area in the marsh, yet I think those images were also very different.

Take this image here-it is a slough along the Trempealeau River. It is nothing special. There is no overlook. There is no sign. I don't know if anyone else has ever even considered photographing it. But as you can see by the guardrail, it is right on a bridge embankment. The first time I drove into this refuge, I took a snapshot out the window of the car and then looked for a place I could park and walk back to it. That was five trips ago and I go back every time. I have photographed this scene from late summer, through fall, to the cold snowless early winter, to the frozen depths of a snowy winter.

I enjoy each and every time here and look forward to my next visit. I wonder what the light will hold, how the cattails will have grown, or the trees will shine. From green, to red, to brown, to snowy white-every time is different.

I could do a portfolio of the seasons at this spot. And at many others.

Get out. Get out often. Keep going back. Who knows you might just finally find the perfect scene.

Tracks in the Snow

As I wander through the winter woods I found some trails were also being used be cross country skiers. The park I was in had dedicated trails that were groomed for cross country but the skiers often stuck out onto the hiking trails and you would see ski tracks, showshoe tracks, and boot prints all going through the woods. It was on one of these multi-use trails I made this photograph

I liked the idea of the ski tracks as an image and found a location where the tree branches were thick overhead and the trail curved over a small rise. Since I had the whole park to myself I sat up the tripod right in the middle of the trail and proceded to work the location

I do enjoy this area and having a place, in essence, to myself is fantastic. It is quite different than some of the famous overlooks in Yosemite or Grand Canyon where you are part of a cast of thousands whenever you try to stop to make an image

Here it is just me and the quiet forest. There is just the crunch of the snow under your boots and seeing your breath in the cold air. I took my time and fiddled with trying two lenses to get the image right. Focused the camera and had the picture. Just one. I had all the time I needed to get it so I trust I am doing it right (and hoping I did not forget a step or read the meter wrong, or set the lens wrong-all common errors with a view camera) and I will only find out several days after I get home

But that is all ok, and I pick up the pack and start to walk again, I am out following tracks in the winter woods and it is a good day.

Melt Water

There was a warm spell one day when I was in Wisconsin. Yes the temps actually got to the mid 30's for a high. That little bit of "warmth" caused this section of a little stream to start to melt and water was begining to show.

Now my guess would be that the stream had enough flow to only have marginal ice with snow on top. The warm sunny morning had caused the snow to melt over the stream.

I know from a prior trip here that in March this stream will flow before the ice on the river breaks up. Although it's current condition will refreeze in the coming weeks as snow falls and the temp drops again. It is, after all, still deep winter here in the north woods. I will not be here to see that this season as my short time here draws to a close and I will soon be heading south.

However, on this day it made a fine photograph as I stood in slushy snow to make the image.

Old Man River

The mighty Mississippi is a big river and I am at it's best part.

The bluff country south of St. Paul is spectacular. The river is big, but also full of islands, backwaters, sloughs, marshes, etc. The bluffs rise some 500' out of the river. Most of this part of the river is protected as the Upper Mississippi National Wildlife Refuge.

There are state parks, more wildlife refuges and even a National Monument in Iowa (Effigy Mounds). Add in historic towns and the wildlife that frequents the area and you have a very special place.

Here is a view of that big river from the top of Brady's Bluff in Perrot State Park, Wisconsin. I really like this view and visit it every time I am in the area. The hike starts down by the river and slowly winds up through forest and then meadows and back to forest before a final large and steep sided meadow to reach the summit.

From there you take in the views up and down the river. You can see into the hills and streams of Minnesota. You can look across the farmland in Wisconsin. It is a very nice view.

They may call this old man river, but here in bluff country it seems youthful and vigorous.

Quiet

One morning after a fresh snowfall I went out to the woods for a walk. The fresh newfallen powder made it very quiet in the winter woods.

I moved along breaking trail in the several inches of powdery snow. Snowshoes would have been nice this morning, but I do not have any, so I walk and break trail.

I found this wooden bridge covered in new snow and thought it was worth an image. A wooden bridge in the wintry woods reminds me of something Currier and Ives would have done.

As I set up the camera the woods seem even quieter. All this new snow is dampening all the sound. There is not even a breeze. It is a perfect morning to be in the woods. Every little sound I make with the camera seems loud, even the click of the shutter. I make the image and I take a moment in quiet to listen to the silence. It is a very serene morning.

I smile knowing I have the whole park to myself. Just me and the big quiet woods.

Slush Ponds

Slush pond sounds like something a corrupt polititican would have, but it was the first term that came to mind when I found them in the marsh. They were not solid ice, but not unfrozen water either. They were almost slushie like in their quality. They were surrounded solid ice and several inches of snow. I am sure that there is a proper term for them, but my geology lingo escapes me and I more interested in making an image anyway

Regardless, that slush added a certain quality to the landscape of the marsh. The frosted branches, the soft snow, distant bluffs, and the light all draw my interest and frame up nicely on the ground glass.

I think for a second about getting low and right up on top of them, but I am neither sure how thick the ice is there nor wanting to disturb them too much. So, I just stay back with a moderate angle lens (125mm) and take the whole scene in.

I make the image, still cannot think of a proper name for the slush, decide that slush pond sounds official enough. Then it is time to start moving and looking again.

Morning Light

After being out in the snow for over an hour the sun is finally up. The light is bright and all the snow, ice, and frost seems to make it brighter.

I spot a point of trees that stick out into the frozen marsh and think there might be an image, so I walk out and take a few digital snaps to confirm it will work before I move the Arca. As I am walking back across the ice I see the view to the northwest with the moon still there in the sky and a hint of clouds.

The view is across the frozen marshes along the Mississippi looking toward Minnesota. I liked the image and made a couple more, just to be sure.

The sky the white snow and (yes even the) camera all looked right. The location, conditions, and the light made it. Out on the snow in the bright light of morning the images happen, even when the lack of good cloud cover early made it seem like a less than ideal day. The light still had some magical qualities to it and with a little luck I have an image that I keep going back to looking at.

The setting is similar to my moonset taken at twilight (just 30 minutes later) but the direct bright light of the morning make this image even better to me.

Light matters, and morning light makes all the difference.