The last part of April I took a working trip with my wife to Wisconsin, she worked while I got to play. I visited Cave of the Mounds where in previous years Buffey, my wife, Colin and I checked out the cave. The landscape is pretty in the summer but because it is early spring it was kind of bare. I figured I look around and create images with what was there. To my delight the barn, small building and water feature was still there.  I had to photograph it once again and most likely will again when I go back.

The water feature is part of a mining or panning activity. It is not something that most people think to photograph it but I felt it was a good exercise in long exposures and moving water. I think I capture it in the most interesting way it will be ever caught.

The Door is part of a barn that who knows how long it has been standing. I love the texture and lines vertical that the door creates against the horizontal lines of the rest of the barn. I like better this image I created from the last one about 4 or 5 years ago.

I am not sure what the building is housing but since I had been there the vine had grown up the side. I love the broken movement of the vine against the regular pattern of the brick and windows. The roof pattern and texture is the only think akin to the natural pattern and texture of the vine.

I have many more to process and will post them in the coming weeks. If you ever get a chance to visit the Cave of the Mound I would. It is a great cave and the surrounding area is beautiful and not too far from a state park. Not to mention Mt Horeb where you can get the best food and beer at the Grumpy Troll.

Side Track

Got a little side tracked in the photos I wanted to create. I was going to start working on my city project but an opportunity came up and I took it. The thing about photography is that you have to jump to get the images you want when they present themselves. Too many photographs missed when you think " I'll get it next time." Well too many times I thought that and next time never presented itself. So instead of going downtown, which given that it was St Patrick's Day I headed to the Hawkeye Wildlife Management Area and took photos. 

The Iowa River is low and large tree stumps were visible and I felt that my opportunity was now or never.  So an hour before sun set I arrived and headed to a spot I had seen from the road on my way to work. It was either going to be as good as it looked form the road or it wasn't. I had to risk it. 

So with the wind blowing hard and no real clouds for reflected color of the sun set, I thought it best to do long exposures of the water against the tree stumps or rocks of the shore. I arrived at a group of stumps that look more like pier columns then tree stumps and got started. I knew that the motion of the water would make interesting shadows on the surface of water and give it an strange glassy smoke look to it. I wanted to create strong contrast without losing detail of some of the mind tones. Create a strong emotion through the line, grey scale, and motion of the water despite the subject matter.   

After setting up I moved around the subject and picked a few angles to try. I kept  the horizon out because it was too busy, too distracting for the image. After a few shots I arrived at this final image. 

As I look at this image I see three lines; the first is the shore line, rough but distinct. Running parallel is the two columns of wood sticking out and tying them together are the two rocks between the two. The water came out great between the strange appearance the reflection and shadowed areas I couldn't have created this any better. My final processing really gave this image the weight it needed to convey the emotion I wanted from it. 

The second image of the shore line isn't as strong as the first but I believe that there is a lot going on. I processed this image in much the same way but I tried to give it layers of detail that the first image did not have. 

Now that St Patrick weekend is over it should be safe to go downtown and explore for the images I want to create. Until then I would like to hear from you. What impressions does these images give you? Comment below and stay tuned for more.