Ideas for places to visit in the Midwest
Inauguration day in the Missouri State Capitol. As music plays in the rotunda all of the offices are staffed and full of people from both parties. Truly and exciting time to visit and open to anyone who wants to attend. This is a hand held photo taken at 1/10th of a second, f3.5, 18mm, ISO 2000. Two things that make this work are the anti-shake mode in the lens and the ability of the Nikon D7100 to handle low light situations well.
A walk through Busch Wildlife Conservation Area is a walk back in time. The holes in the ground are actually ammunition bunkers. During World War II there was an ammunition manufacturing plant in the area. Rather than storing the finished product in a single area, it was stored in small, well fortified bunkers throughout the area. Click on the photo to see full screen.
As mentioned in my previous post, if you missed the Eagles in St. Louis (Alton area), travel up to Wisconsin and catch-up with them there. Studies show that most of them live in Vilas and Oneida counties, many on Lake Minocqua. This photo was taken on the grounds of The Pointe Hotel and Suites where there is a dead tree they like to use to keep watch on the lake. Photographing these birds you will need a telephoto lens of 300mm or more. Also use anti-shake features that is available on all of the new cameras.
Eagles are magnificent birds and therefore fun to photograph. You will need a telephoto lens and know where to find them. There are two places I go to find them. One is Lake Minocqua in Wisconsin. There is a resort on the lake where, if you have the right room, you can walk out on the deck and photograph them as much as you want (at about 5:00am they will let you know when they are ready).
The other area, closer to home, is the Mississippi River. Between Alton and Louisiana (MO) there are great areas to view Eagles.This is our “Great Rivers” area. For those that would like to find out more, visit Meeting of the Great Rivers All Around Alton.
A friend and I drove around the backwaters of the Mississippi near St. Charles, MO and came across this guy.
When I walked into Missouri’s State Capitol this window in the rotunda caught my attention. These beautiful buildings are interesting to explore for their architecture, art and history.
Missouri State Capitol preparing for the inauguration of a new governor and seating of all of the new elected officials. This special day gave me an excuse to visit our historic capitol building and explore its hallways for hidden treasures.
Cemeteries can be an interesting place to photograph. This is Ellis Wainwright’s tomb in Bellefontaine Cemetery in St. Louis.Wainwright was another prominent brewer in the St. Louis area. The photo is a three shot HDR photo processed in Photomatix and then in Topaz Impression.
https://greatrivers.smugmug.com/Galleries/Portfolio/i-hVcKQtk/A
“Veni, Vidi, Vici,” or “I came, I saw, I conquered” is inscribed above Adolphus Busch’s mausoleum. Mary Beth and I visited the Bellefontaine Cemetery today to pay our respects to family and always have to stop and pay our respects to the “King of Beers” too.
https://greatrivers.smugmug.com/Galleries/Portfolio/i-3rghbJC/A
A popular restaurant in Kirkwood, Missouri, Billy G’s is ready for Christmas.
I stopped by Kirkwood Station to see if they had a Christmas display or lights to photograph. A train had just come in and the place was busy but the sun had set and the station was dark. I decided to take a few photos anyway so I set the camera to a high ISO, took a few hand held shots and left. I processed the photo in Photomatix and this was the result. You never know…
Great Rivers Imaging 