A few from a trip up Black Mountain Cascades this spring.
Tag: st. francois mountains
Winter Stonefly
While looking to photograph pollinators of Ozark Witch Hazel, Steve and I came across this Winter Stonefly, which is definitely not a pollinator. This photograph was taken on February 7th near Silver Mines Recreation Area.
Council Bluff Lake
You might not be able to tell, but this is one of the greatest swimming holes we know in Missouri. Since I have only three regular readers of this blog and I believe only one of them can swim, I don’t think I risk anything by saying this… 😉
Parmigiana, Ravioli and Marinara
Just kidding. This is what was happening on the St. Francis River near the end of one of this winter’s glorious days.
Pictured below is a view a little farther upstream.
The Ascent
No, Steve and I did not take a daytrip to make it to the summit of K2 or one of the other Himalayan peaks, although we easily could. This image was made on one of this winter’s sub-zero days at Elephant Rocks. I had an idea of the image I wanted to make that may showcase an optical effect that Galen Rowell made famous called “diffraction fringe“. By putting oneself in the shadow of your back-lit subject at just the right difference and position, one may see a ring of hot light that outlines the silhouette of the subject. This proper geometry of sun, subject and camera (including optical settings) is just one requirement to observe and capture this effect. The other, as far as my understanding allows is the need for dry, clean air. On this particular day we had temps below zero degrees Fahrenheit and the air was as dry as could be with no interference from any noticeable smog. With the air quality requirement met, it was simply a matter of trying to position the model (Steve) at the correct position between myself and the sun. This part was more difficult in this setting and ultimately led to us missing our ultimate goal. Trying to work this out in minus 30 degree windchill proved our undoing. I could only ask Steve to climb so many boulders in this type of weather, which seemed to be increasingly affecting our mood and thought process the longer we were in these elements. Ultimately, I did not achieve the diffraction fringe. I am not sure as to the reasoning for this failure. I feel the geometry of our positioning, afforded by the placement of boulders and the limited availability of where I could position myself was the biggest factor. Getting the required distance that I believe necessary was impossible. Other factors that could have played a part were not having the most appropriate focal length and aperture settings, the air quality not being as suitable as I thought and perhaps the quality of the optics I was using. Many of these optical phenomena are the result of imperfection in lens design. Galen took most of his images with older generation optics that were often lower quality compared to today’s standards.
I’m not exactly sure what the reason for the failure in acquiring this diffraction fringing was. I guess this was just a very long explanation of an image I thought turned out to be pretty successful anyway. I look forward to trying this one again one day.
Entrenched Meanderment
Entrenched meanderment? What in the world is OZB going on about now? Beveridge gives a wonderful explanation of the meandering nature of virtually all Missouri Ozark streams in “Geologic Wonders and Curiosities of Missouri”. Within, he provides a few fascinating geological hypothesis as to the hows and whys of streams forming in such a manner with some of the hardest rock on the planet as their bed. Think about it. How and why would streams form in rock like this, with very little floodplain, steep cliffs/bluffs and not be straight? Pick up Beveridge’s book to read of these hypothesis as well as learn about narrows, cutoffs and lost hills – the geologic features that are formed by these entrenched, meandering streams.
Two streams with an entrenched meandering environment on public land I have known and loved for a while. These are the Meramec River at Vilander Bluffs N.A. and Jam Up Cave/Bluff on the upper Jacks Fork. These are always worth a visit. While flipping through Bryan Haynes’ book recently, I came across a panoramic painting of his that I have admired. I saw the title: “Lee’s Bluff”. Having never heard of this feature and the fact that his image was such a dramatic scene, I assumed that this must be found in some western wilderness, far from being a day trip destination. I went ahead and searched the web, and to my surprise discovered this was in Missouri, along the St. Francis River and smack in the middle of those lovely St. Francois Mountains. With Steve wearing his best navigator’s hat, we found the location pretty easily on a blustery, winter’s day.
Here’s an overview image taken with a 15mm lens. You can see the features typical of a meandering entrenched stream, the steep bluffs formed on the outside of the bend and gentle sloping floodplains on the inside. In the direct center you can see the “incipient lost hill” as described by Beveridge. One day the “narrows” on the far side of that hill will succumb and a “cutoff” will form, straightening the river.
The sky was a constant change on this day. Here Steve poses while the sun breaks through an opening.
Climbing around on the steep, sharp rocks of the bluff we came across an ancient skeleton of an eastern red cedar. The relative youngster below looks ready to take its place in another couple of centuries.
Professional schlepper, navigator, and photo model. I’m sure glad Steve works for free! 😉 Here he stands next to the old tree to give the image some perspective.
The image below is probably my favorite from this day. One of the visual beauties of these types of entrenched stream environments is that there are two S-curves in each one. You just have to figure out where to place your camera to take advantage of it. Under the right light and weather conditions, this place holds a lot of photographic potential, not to mention the potential for reflection and wonderment.
Potholes In My Lawn
Specifically referred to as potholes, this feature was found in the long stretch of shut-ins of the St. Francis River between Silvermines Recreation Area and Millstream Gardens. Steve and I took this, one of our favorite hikes, this autumn, just before peak color came into this section of the Ozarks. Here is a wonderful description of this feature’s formation from Tom Beveridge’s Geologic Wonders and Curiosities of Missouri:
“Potholes are formed at the nearly right-angled intersection of channelways where the direction of flow is abruptly changed. The abrupt changes in direction of flow and the intersecting channelways create local whirlpools where the swirling waters grind out circular holes using sand and gravel carried in suspension as a natural abrasive. Man did not invent sandblasting – he only mechanized it! Deepening of the holes is also expedited by the steep gradient of the stream; some holes are in part plunge pools formed by the impact of water descending vertically and gouging out the bed at the base of individual waterfalls.”
See my Flickr account for similar images made on this day.
“All Seeing Eye”
An Evening at Hughes Mountain Natural Area
I’ve discussed Hughes Mountain Natural Area a few times in this blog. There is still so much I have yet to discover and photograph here, that I am always keen to pay a visit. Typically, plants go quickly dormant and animals become hard to find during summer’s dog days. The cooler, wet summer we are had this year provided an extended window of activity for many of the residents of this glade-covered knob. These images were taken during a July evening as Steve and I paid a visit to one of our mutual favorite destinations.
For a while now, I’ve know of the first citizen I’d like to introduce to you. Because I often have troubles slowing down and looking around, I had never actually seen one of these guys until this summer. Of course, they are everywhere you look. I am speaking of the Lichen Grasshopper, a species perfectly adapted at blending in with the lichen-covered exposed rocks on igneous glades such as those found at Hughes Mountain.
As I was destroying my delicate knees and elbows trying to get a shot of these weary grasshoppers I happened across this gal, a mamma Wolf Spider, out for a stroll with the kids. She didn’t seem to mind the paparazzo activity.
The Fame Flower, a member of the succulent tending, Purslane family, is also known as Rock Pink and Flower-of-an-Hour, due to the ephemeral flowers opening late in the afternoon. The flowers of this magnificent little plant are suspended on fine, wispy, leafless stalks (scape) many times longer than the short, succulent leaves. Any small breeze sets these warmly saturated blooms swaying back and forth, bringing difficulty to obtaining a nice photograph. Bravos to Steve for identifying this one!
Finally, I wanted to provide a “habitat shot” that exemplifies where these organisms can be found. Hopefully next time I can show you some of the other kind-hearted citizens of the Ozark Glades, like the Tarantula, the Black Widow and Scorpions.
Blue-Grey Gnatcatchers: St. Francois State Park Wrap Up
Here are just a few more photos from the aborted Gnatcatcher nest that we found this spring. Steve and I jointly found an active and very successful nest of the same species at SNR recently. I will hopefully get to those photos before first snowfall. 😉
A Flooded St. Francis
Early this May, Steve and I had the good fortune to visit a couple spots along our St. Francois Mountains the day after a front brought about three inches of rain to the area. One of these spots was the Einstein Dam at Silvermines Recreation Area (St. Francis N.A.). The power of the water surging through the breaks in the dam was mesmerizing. A sense of near vertigo became apparent as I stared into the sheet of water that dropped nearly ten feet downstream. I knew Steve would have almost no chance if he slipped into this torrent, but my photo needed some scale! So I asked him to have a seat on the edge.
We arrived with little light left, but tried to take it all in while I made a few images. We had visited the previous autumn when the water was much lower
Imagine dropping into this in your kayak? We pondered if this would be advisable or not. If you think it doesn’t look all that bad from this photo, be sure to watch this.
Water moving in every conceivable direction!
A Thousand Acres of Silphiums 
