Category: “monochrome”

Fountain Bluff Petroglyphs – Part One

"monochrome", location spotlight

Technical details: Canon EOS 7D camera, EF-S10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM lens @ 10mm, ISO 100,  f/16, 0.4 sec

Today we are taking a trip to the eastern Shawnee region of southern Illinois.  A un-glaciated area of tall limestone bluffs, hilltop pine and deciduous forests, riparian forests and woodlands and swamps all created and arranged by the vision of the Father of Waters, our mighty Mississippi River.  Underneath an overhang at the bottom of a particularly beautiful bluff called Fountain Bluff lies an ancient art gallery, in which the aborigines of the Archaic/Woodland/Mississippian cultures carved their art into the tough sandstone.

Technical details: Canon EOS 7D camera, EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens @ 24mm, ISO 160,  f/4, 1/25 sec

These petroglyphs lead one to ask all sorts of questions.  I’d say we know very little of the meaning of these images and the people who created them, although it is fun to speculate on the who, why and how these works were made.  Instead of rehashing the information we do know from another source, I will point you to the following location to find out more about this site: http://www.naturealmanac.com/archive/fountain_bluff_sta/fountain_bluff.html

Technical details: Canon EOS 7D camera, EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens @ 24mm, ISO 160,  f/4, 1/25 sec

I find this to be one of the more interesting petroglyphs at this particular location.  From what I’ve read, some experts on this subject matter  think this is a spirit or deity while others believe it is simply an artistic representation of a bird in perched repose.  Whatever the truth, it is a gem of this type of feature in this too-often overlooked region.

Technical details: Canon EOS 7D camera, EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens @ 24mm, ISO 160,  f/4, 1/25 sec

This is another of the more famous scenes at this spot.  It looks to be a white-tailed deer and a dog or wolf on either side of a crossed/quartered circle.  I find the quartered circle very interesting.  Reading a bit on the subject of pre-columbian art work, I discovered that petroglyph analysis is a very subjective science.  There are numerous theories as to what exactly the quartered circle represents.  These theories range from representations of stars, the directions of the compass, the earth itself, the earth-wind-fire-water elements, the four seasons, directional markers that depict spiritual locations, and even symbols depicting an early form of Christianity.  It seems to me we have no idea what these symbols represented in these cultures.  What really fascinates me about these forms is that they were found across North America in time and space.  Seemingly unrelated cultures from northern Canada to southern Mexico were known to use the quartered circle in petroglyphs and pictographs.  This may be coincidental, or as the Cahokia Mounds metropolis location shows, the trade routes of the Mississippian culture were quite large.  Cultural icons, along with trade goods were likely exchanged across surprisingly large distances.

Forgive me if I seem to know nothing of what I am discussing.  It’s only because I don’t!

Technical details: Canon EOS 7D camera, EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens @ 28mm, ISO 160,  f/5, 1/30 sec

The petroglyph in the image above might be my favorite.  I am of the opinion, I think, that the face seen on the head of this bird is likely do to the changes in time that this spot has seen.  However, once you see the the face, looking down and to the left of the frame, it is impossible to not wonder if this was a deliberate carving.  If so, this is one intimidating form.

I want to give my unlimited thanks to Taylor Reed, a fantastic landscape photographer from the Shawnee region, for providing me directions to this location.  Please visit Taylor’s web site and consider buying several prints of his to decorate your walls.

I will not respond to email to provide directions to this location from people I do not know.  This site is relatively well known and can be found with enough research.  There are other petroglyph spots along this same bluff that I have not yet found.  It is a gorgeous set of bluffs with other geological features and I can’t wait to get down there again to do some more exploring.

Location Spotlight: Devil’s Shadowbox

"monochrome", landscape, location spotlight

Early European settlers and pioneers of the Missouri Ozarks were said to be tough, rugged and individualistic.  The Ozarks were and still are a difficult place to “make a living”, especially  based on traditional agricultural methods.  I will suggest that these settlers had little imagination when it came to naming the geologic and other natural features of their newly found homeland.  In “The Geologic Wonders and Curiosities of Missouri”, Beveridge lists no fewer than 80 features with Devil in the title.  This includes 25 “Devil’s Backbones” and close to ten “Devil’s Den’s”.  Beveridge makes the interesting comparison of the Missouri Ozarks naming conventions to those of the south-western United States which use Angel in a large number of their names for geological features and rarely use Devil.  This is likely due to the cultural differences between the settlers of the Ozarks, largely Scots-Irish, and the Latin/Spanish influences of the American south-west.  Beveridge accounts for no named surface feature in Missouri with Angel in the monicker.

Technical details: Canon EOS 7D camera, EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens @ 24mm, ISO 160,  f/14, 1/3 sec

My goal for this particular winter’s morning was to find a “Devil’s Den Hollow” purported to be found in Warren County in the northern Ozark area.  I believe I was pretty close to finding the location, with several runs of rapids and waterfalls so excellently described in Beveridge’s book, but ultimately gave up because it seemed to be surrounded by private property.  I was able to find this little feature presented in this post.  I am unsure whether it has an existing name of its own, but I am calling it Devil’s Shadowbox to continue our Ozark naming convention.

Technical details: Canon EOS 7D camera, EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens @ 65mm, ISO 100,  f/14, 0.8 sec

Devil’s Shadowbox was also on private property but was literally feet from the road.  I decided to beg forgiveness if necessary and spent an hour working the scene.  I didn’t see another person the entire time I was there.  The water level was low enough that I could stroll through the creek with my Gortex-lined hiking boots.  My feet did stay dry but the water had to have been close to the freezing mark and my feet where painful and numb by the end.

Technical details: Canon EOS 7D camera, EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens @ 32mm, ISO 100,  f/16, 0.8 sec

This relatively un-flashy feature actually had a few small pieces that came together nicely.  Above you can see a short (4-6″) shelf that crosses the stream.  This shelf lies just downstream from the hole/natural arch.  There may be some potential here depending on what the spring foliage looks like.  Too much water, however may take something away from the geology that is visible under these conditions.

Technical details: Canon EOS 7D camera, EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens @ 24mm, ISO 160,  f/14, 1/5 sec

I really do try and respect the rights of the property owners while out on my expeditions.  The problem is finding out who owns the property in question and how to contact them to ask permission.  From what I’ve read, in most circumstances the owners of the property have no problems allowing hikers, photographers and explorer types access to their property.  If you have any familiarity with this feature or have any knowledge concerning Devil’s Den Hollow in Warren County, Missouri please let me know.  I will be forever grateful to find out anything else that would help me find and make a lawful visit to the waterfalls and other features this place promises.

Bill Duncan: ceibatree@gmail.com

Ice Is Nice (When You Can FIND It)

"monochrome", landscape, macro

Technical details: Canon EOS 7D camera, EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens @ 60mm, ISO 100,  f/13, 1/20 sec

Photographing ice is a nice challenge for the nature photographer.  Negotiating the landscape itself when covered in snow and ice is the first obstacle and finding safe passage in both transporting yourself to the scene and then within the scene is obviously critical.  Nailing the exposure in camera is crucial in making an ice image that works compared to one that falls short – ice and snow have their obvious challenges as being bright subjects that can confuse the camera in automatic exposure modes.  Composition is a challenge, as many ice shots are all about pattern and flow through the rectangle and may not be focused on an apparent subject.  Finally, color and white balance of the image needs to be carefully scrutinized.  There are lots of options here.  Will you leave the scene cold?  This is a popular choice for winter images, or is there reason to warm it up?  Will it be in color or will you convert to B&W?  If you do go monochrome, color toning leaves you with more potential options.

Technical details: Canon EOS 7D camera, EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM lens, ISO 320,  f/14, 1/6 sec

I naturally tend to process the winter images I’ve been able to produce toward the cool end, either through white balance decisions or in monochrome toning.  The image presented above is a more neutral or even warm image.  These leaves, which had fallen weeks earlier in mid-autumn were approximately two feet under the surface of this stream which runs through Hawn State Park in the beautiful St. Francois Mountains.  A layer of ice about one inch thick provided the first layer of texture and the warm mosaic the fallen leaves of the stream bottom provided another.

Technical details: Canon EOS 7D camera, EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM lens, ISO 100,  f/18, 1.6 sec

The crystalofolia.  Ive blogged about these once before.  This particular beauty was quite intricate.  I tried to convey a sense of three-dimensionality and capture the detail one can only really see through the magnification of a lens.

Technical details: Canon EOS 7D camera, EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM lens, ISO 100,  f/11, 1 sec

You don’t have to read the title of this post to know that winter is MIA this year across much of North America.  This past spring I purchased my all wheel drive-all the time Subaru Forester, replacing a good vehicle but one of the worst winter vehicles to drive you can imagine.  For years, I had to either stay home or borrow the wife’s front-wheel drive vehicle if I wanted to make an outing into the snow and ice.  My anticipation for this winter season has been growing ever since.  Nothing was going to stop me now from the winter image making opportunities I dreamed about finding in some of my favorite places in the Ozarks and northern Missouri.  Never did I imagine the Mother Nature would play a cruel prank and give me what is to date the mildest winter that I can recall.   I have been able to make a few winter photographs this year, including the ones in this post.  But come on, I bought a pair of ice cleats for my hiking boots!  If February continues the way it started here in Missouri, I’ll be the first to sign the “Let’s eat Punxsutawney Phil in a stew of his own juices” petition.

Happy Groundhog Day.

Location Spotlight: Piney Creek Nature Preserve – Part Two

"monochrome", landscape, location spotlight

Technical details: Canon EOS 7D camera, EF-S10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM lens @ 12mm, ISO 100,  f/16, 0.6 sec

Ten days following my first visit and hike into Piney Creek Nature Preserve I arose early and left the house during one of the two appreciable snowfalls we’ve had this winter in our region so far (I was very sick on the second snowfall and could not enjoy it).  Prior to the temperature drop we had inches of rain during the previous day and I realized that places such as this should have a significant amount of water flowing through their streams and intermittent waterfalls.  Following a careful drive through the snow, I arrived two hours later almost the exact second the snowfall stopped.  This makes photographing a little easier without worrying about the equipment getting wet, but it would have been nice to hike in the falling white stuff for a while.

Technical details: Canon EOS 7D camera, EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens @ 24mm, ISO 200,  f/13, 0.8 sec

The image above was the first waterfall I heard.  To get here required a short bushwhack off trail and down into the ravine.  A hiking pole and crampon/spikes on your boots are definitely helpful in doing this.  The rock in this area was extremely slick, with ice on top of algae/slime.  I was very cautious moving on the rocks to set up this shot, realizing that the rock sloped toward the stream and loosing my footing would prove disastrous. Because of the higher water and treacherous footing the available compositions were somewhat limited.  Considering how poorly I function with too many options, this was not exactly a bad thing!

Technical details: Canon EOS 7D camera, EF-S10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM lens @ 21mm, ISO 100,  f/16, 0.3 sec

This cascade pictured above is a section of a longer series of twists and drops found closer to the back side of the hiking loop.  The water here skips shallowly over rock shelves and narrow chutes and takes occasional breaks in what appear to be quite deep pools.  When I made it to this section of the reserve the cloud cover was almost completely gone and blue skies were above.  The sun that would completely melt this fresh snow by the time I drove home this day was just beginning to peak over the bluff.  I realized that I would soon be faced with high-contrast shadows and harsh glare off the landscape scenery and I needed to grab every capture I could in the limited time available.  Sometimes it is also best to work with a deadline.  😉

Technical details: Canon EOS 7D camera, EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens @ 24mm, ISO 200,  f/14, 1 sec

You can see that the previous one to two day rain brought a lot of soil into the stream.  Because of this, I felt most of the images would be presented best in monochrome.  I did want to present what one of these scenes looks like in color, however.  This one had some greens and reds to provide a little contrast between the browns of the water and rocks and white snow.

Technical details: Canon EOS 7D camera, EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens @ 24mm, ISO 160,  f/16, 0.8 sec

This place has a lot more to offer than what I present here.  There were at least two other significant waterfalls that I could see or hear, but the terrain with the snow and ice on precipitous ravine sides caused me to think wisely against trying to get within good photography distance.  Definitely something to try during better weather this spring.  I’ll be looking forward to my next visit to Piney Creek Nature Reserve.  Maybe I’ll even plan on paying a visit to the Popeye museum along the way in the town of Chester.

Location Spotlight: Rock Between Two Soft Places

"monochrome", landscape, location spotlight

The Pinnacles, also known as “Boone County Pinnacles Youth Park” is a Missouri State Designated Natural Area located approximately 12 miles north of Columbia.  The geologic structures know as The Pinnacles formed between two parallel Ozark streams, Silver Fork and Rocky Fork.  These streams running closer and closer to one another have formed this erosional structure (senile ridge) that is approximately 75′ high and 1000′ in length.

Technical details: Canon EOS 7D camera, EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens @ 60mm, ISO 160,  f/13, 1/4 sec

The Pinnacles are composed primarily of Burlington Limestone, with a small amount of sandstone to act as a “cement” in some places.  This fact was the inspiration of the title of this post.  These two streams are quite quickly, in a geological perspective, eroding this separation between them.  Limestones are very easily eroded by forces of weather and flowing water.  On this visit I easily found fossil crinoids in the rock, a feature Burlington limestone is known for.

Technical details: Canon EOS 7D camera, EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens @ 24mm, ISO 160,  f/18, 1/4 sec

The most recent time I visited here the weather was quite poor.  During one of the sporadic sleet and freezing rain showers I took shelter under one of the windows, or natural arches, that erosion has carved in the rock.  While I was waiting out the weather I was able to take a close look at the composing rock.  The amount of cracks and other signs of erosion was eye-opening.  While I was sitting there, bits and pieces of rock were literally falling off the overhanging arch and landing around me.  It takes little imagination to realize the effects that changing mid-western seasons along with ebbing flows of the streams are having on this feature.  Geologists reckon this rock feature has only a couple thousand years left, so if you plan on visiting, do it soon!

Technical details: Canon EOS 7D camera, EFS10-22mm f/3.5-4.5L IS USM lens @ 13mm, ISO 160,  f/16, HDR blend of two images

If you do plan on visiting and bushwhacking your way across the stream and up onto the rocks, take care!  There are numerous spots that one wrong step could potentially be your last.  On top of the risks of being swept away by high water in crossing the stream and falling from the top of one these spires, there is the usual risk associated with the Northern Missouri Ozarks – private property.  Apparently one side of this site is bounded by a stretch of property owned by a particularly cranky old man.  I was warned by a regular visitor to stay clear of that side of the park as he will not hesitate to accost hikers that stray too far.  Unfortunately one of the two shallow spots I have found to cross the stream is located in what seems to be his property.

Technical details: Canon EOS 7D camera, EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens @ 28mm, ISO 160,  f/16, 1/2 sec

The eastern red cedar, which is really a juniper, loves limestone.  This species is a long-lived pioneer invader that will be one of the first trees to grow in a disturbed area or any area that other species find undesirable.  Because it will grow in crevices along bluffs and shallow, rocky soils that often lack resources needed to grow quick and large, small trees can often be over 600 years old.  In fact, the oldest documented individual of this species was recorded in Missouri and was found to be 795 years old!  This species is currently taking over much of Missouri’s knob-top glades found throughout the Ozarks.  Cedar is not tolerant of fire and the suppression of natural and man-made fires on modern private land as well as public lands such as the Mark Twain National Forest is allowing cedars to take hold in these habitats where they were historically controlled.  But, this is a subject for another post.

Technical details: Canon EOS 50D camera, EF17-40mm f/4L IS USM lens @ 28mm, ISO 100,  f/16, HDR blend of four images

Just a stone’s throw south of The Pinnacles is a “shelving rock” style of shut-in (not pictured).  This feature was formed by erosional forces of Silver Fork as the creek runs dead-on into limestone bedrock and is forced to make a sharp left turn.  This shelter is 40′ deep, 10′ high and 125′ long.  Although it looks like the shelter is often flooded during high waters, I am sure this was used by pre-Colombian man.

The Pinnacles is another destination for the landscape photographer in the Missouri Ozarks that offers a diversity of photo ops depending on time of day, weather and the season.  It is also a high quality biological habitat even though it is so close to a a major metropolitan area.  With luck and continued proper management this location will continue to be a place visitors can come to appreciate the geologic and natural features that the Missouri Ozarks offers and once offered in much greater abundance.

Much of the information used in this post was found in “Geologic Wonders and Curiosities of Missouri” by Thomas R. Beveredge.  This is a highly prized book in my collection.  I only wish someone would update and revise with GPS coordinates!

 

 

Location Spotlight: Johnson’s Shut-Ins State Park

"monochrome", landscape, location spotlight

Located near Graniteville in Reynolds Co, MO Johnson’s Shut-Ins is one of the largest and pleasingly aesthetic shut-ins found in the state.  This is another spot found in the geologically intriguing St. Francois Mountains of the Missouri Ozarks.  Formed by one of the meandering forks of the Black River, cascades, chutes and potholes have been formed in Taumsauk rhyolite, the ~1.5 billion year old rock that makes up the majority of this spectacular geologic feature.  This rhyolite, which is a cousin to granite, is extremely hard and resistant to wear, so the water acts mostly upon joints or fractures in the rock and carves these areas down smooth to form the Ozark’s recreational fun zone that many people enjoy today.

Technical details: Canon EOS 50D camera, EF17-40mm f/4L USM lens @ 17mm, ISO 100,  f/16, 0.6 sec

Unfortunately, this park was irreversibly changed following the December 2005 disaster when a wall of the Ameren UE hydroelectric reservoir failed and a resulting 1.3 billion gallons of water ravaged the Johnson’s Shut-In SP and surrounding area.  This water rushed down the hillsides in less than 12 minutes.

Technical details: Canon EOS 50D camera, EF70-200mm f/2.8L USM @ 105mm, ISO 100,  f/13, 2 sec

A true example of an anthropogenic induced disaster upon nature, the water scoured everything in its path down the Profit Mountain slopes to clean bedrock.  This resulted in the loss of near pristine habitat that made up several officially designated Natural Areas, but has given geologists an interesting, uninterrupted view of the granites, rhyolites, sandstones and dolomites that are the primary rocks of the St. Francis Mountains.

Technical details: Canon EOS 50D camera, EF17-40mm f/4L USM @ 17mm, ISO 100,  f/16, 1/8 sec

Do a web search to view images immediately following the disaster and you can see it is amazing that the area was able to be cleaned up and facilities rebuilt to the current state that they are about six years later.  There is a boulder field near the current entrance to the State Park.  I was told by a Park official those boulders weigh in the neighborhood of three to 30 tons a piece and that none of them are close to the same place they had been prior to the disaster.

Technical details: Canon EOS 50D camera, EF17-40mm f/4L USM @ 38mm, ISO 100,  f/16, 0.3 sec

I’ve seen some amazing photographs taken before the reservoir collapse contrasting the shut-ins against maple trees in brilliant autumn foliage.  It seems most of the maples around this spot are gone and there hasn’t been a very good autumn show here in the four or so years I’ve been interested in nature photography.  This is a real shame.  However, when I think about these types of disasters, whether man-made or natural I try and put it into a geological or biological perspective.  In these perspectives this type of disaster is a temporary change or setback.  In the equivalent moment of a breath of the earth this type of activity will be erased from the landscape and nothing but the slightest evidence or mere suggestion of this event shall be evident.

Of course, with the continuing onslaught of the human landscape, these events, multiplied over small number of generations are leading to devastating changes to the biosphere and are adding up to what looks to be one of the six largest extinction events in history.  Considering the primary purpose of this reservoir is to provide extra power to the St. Louis Metropolis, it makes me wonder how long civilization will continue to take and take from the commons without giving serious consideration to the important things.

Technical details: Canon EOS 50D camera, EF17-40mm f/4L USM @ 17mm, ISO 100,  f/18, 1/4 sec

Do I have to say this is a location I will be visiting for as long as I’m able?

Ozark Dynamism

"monochrome", landscape

Elephant Rocks is one of my favorite locations in the Missouri Ozarks to visit and make photographs.  I don’t think it’s a big surprise that this would be true for many nature lovers/photographers.  I love the fact that one can make good photographs here any season of the year and almost any time of day.  If you face the right direction you can find good light on a good composition on almost every visit, not just in the narrow window of the “golden hour”.  However, if you can get there with perfect light and an interesting sky the outcome can be better than good.  My favorite time to visit is early in the day.  This is not only for the better light, but for the fact that I have had the place entirely to myself for a couple or more hours on several occasions.

I was fortunate to find an interesting sky on this visit.  I found that converting this one to B&W really played the dynamic sky against the interesting texture of the boulders below.  Inscribed on one of the rocks you can see the name of one of the many quarry workers who harvested the granite species of rocks from the surrounding area.

Technical details: Canon EOS 50D camera, EF-S10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM lens @ 10mm, ISO 100,  f/16, 1/15 sec

Alluvial Furnace

"monochrome", landscape

This image was taken on a chilly October morning as I was driving to make my first visit to Tower Rock Natural Area in Perry County near Altenburg, Missouri.  I am always looking for a nice composition I can capture that features fog or mist.  This rarely happens because it takes so long to drive from the city to a pleasing spot like this where fog may form.

Technical details: Canon EOS 50D camera, EF-S10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM lens @ 19mm, ISO 100,  f/14, 1/80 sec

Ozark Bill Said Let There Be Ozark Light! “Tatanka”

"monochrome", Uncategorized, wildlife

This is the first post of Ozark Bill Presents – Ozark Light!

This image was taken on a trip that the wife and I went on this past fall.  Our destination was Big Spring SP to stay in the cabins a few days.  On our way out-of-town we stopped at Lone Elk Park to hopefully catch some sexual excitement of the Elk rut.  Not too many Elk were seen doing interesting things on this visit.  We did, however, get to watch some bison up close.  I converted to this sepia-toned version using PS-Elements 9 and Nik Software’s Silver Efex Pro 2 software.

Tatanka is the Lakota word meaning “bull-bison” or “buffalo”.  Did you know…?  Buffalo is not the correct name for this species as the name buffalo is used to describe species in Asia.

Technical details: Canon EOS 50D camera, EF70-200mm f/4L IS USM lens @ 191mm, ISO 640,  f/6.3, 1/80 sec