Ideas for places to visit in the Midwest
A good place for artists and photographers is Door County, Wisconsin. If you are planing a visit to this area, finding a place to stay centrally located in important. I suggest the Village of Ephraim, this little cottage is a good example.
https://www.facebook.com/notes/el-engler-photography/moravia-cottage-door-county/1750100771909890
See my Door County photos: https://greatrivers.smugmug.com/Galleries/Door-County/
Here is another photo of Louis IX and the St. Louis Art Museum. This was a photo from a walk taken at sunset around Forest Park’s Grand Basin. A tripod was used to take this three shot HDR Photo. To see more photos of Forest Park go to: https://greatrivers.smugmug.com/Galleries/Forest-Park/
For more information on HDR photography go to: https://greatriversimaging.com/hdr/
Forest Park’s, and perhaps St. Louis’s, most famous statue is of Louis IX of France. This photo was taken in front of the St. Louis Art Museum early after sunset. To get the photo, a tripod was used and camera settings of 100 ISO, 18mm, f18 with the lens open for 13 seconds. The f18 aperture gave the star burst effect.
If there is a particular subject that you like, I suggest you go back multiple times to photograph it. The more you study a subject, the better your understanding of how to photograph it.
One of my favorite subjects is a suspension bridge in St. Louis’ Forest Park. Below is a series ranging from 2008 to 2016. Things that have changed are my cameras and software. Some of the angles are different and the overall vision of the subject. Notice the distant shot in 2008 and the closeup in 2016. Which do you think is best?
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.
Great Rivers Imaging 