Many days were spent exploring and photographing Iowa’s driftless
region - trout streams, trickling waterfalls, lookout points over the Mississippi
River, and the Effigy Mounds. But as I checked off all these locations on my
list, it was the bucolic farm country landscape that remained unchecked. It was
everywhere, but it eluded me photographically. I wished to capture it only under
certain conditions - early morning fog over the hilly landscape or a dramatic
afternoon storm rolling across the uninterrupted sky.
 |
| Our home in Iowa farm country |
I located a roadside lookout that provided a panoramic view
of farm country without a road interrupting it. But the atmospheric conditions
that bring out the best of the landscape never materialized, until our final
day in Iowa. I woke up before sunrise and sat drinking my coffee when I rolled
up the window blinds to peer outside into the pitch dark. Despite the darkness,
the heavy fog was obvious. This is it! I quickly gathered up my gear and drove to
the lookout point only 3 miles away.
 |
| Click to enlarge |
I set up the tripod and had the 70-400mm lens attached to
the camera. At first, I faced the east where the sun’s predawn light began to appear.
It was a glorious site unfolding, miles of undulating hills covered with
flowing veils of fog. The sky awakened in colors and the fluid fog created an
ever-changing view. Facing the sun, I worked the scene only to turn around and
see an equally beautiful one. For well over an hour, I ran back and forth
between two designated points of view.
 |
| Click to enlarge |
An abstraction of celestial light, the fog covers the earth in
soft transitions over the ghostly silhouettes of trees, granting a blend of ethereal
impressions. The sun’s light through the aerosol offers variations in tones and
hues - red, blue, orange, yellow. All this became a playful game of
continuously changing light and color. Better yet, fog removes clutter by
covering it with an intangible blanket of light that varies in thickness. These
scenes are fitting to a photographer that favors abstraction or minimalism.
 |
| Click to enlarge |
The long zoom lens gives an infinite number of compositions
to choose from. It compresses the hills together which gives the composition a
repeating pattern of fog and land, bright and dark. Because of this effect and
lack of distortion that is seen through a wide-angle lens, the angle of the long
lens can be changed to capture multiple images horizontally that later can be
stitched into one image. From the high vantage point, I studied the landscape
and discovered ‘pieces’ to capture by zooming in to 100mm or greater. The
closest foreground was at least a few hundred feet away. Starting there, I
could zoom out to include much of the sky or zoom in to tighten the scene. I
could position the lens horizontally or vertically. And I could pan across for
multiple shots.
 |
| Click to enlarge |
 |
| Click to enlarge |
Traveling presents its own challenges when attempting to
photograph on location, especially when limited in time. The best conditions
will mostly elude you, so it comes down to luck or simply making the best of
what you have. In the case of Iowa’s driftless farm country, I got lucky.
“Where to next?” she asked.
 |
| Click to enlarge |
No comments:
Post a Comment