Ideas for places to visit in the Midwest
This area of St. Louis County sits high on bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River and allowing for scenic views and spectacular sunrises. This is a three shot HDR photo that eliminates the high contrasts that you get when taking photos of sunrises and sunsets.
http://greatrivers.smugmug.com/Galleries/Portfolio/i-kXwXW6k/A
Religious buildings offer great subjects for photographers. The gothic structures and interesting settings offer lots of opportunities.
This is the bell of retreat house in St. Louis County. Easter weekend will bring a large group to celebrate their faith.
http://greatrivers.smugmug.com/Galleries/Portfolio/i-vzCBKR5/A
In an urban area in St. Louis, the Missouri Botanical Garden offers beautiful floral settings, interesting gardens and fantastic landscapes. Here are some Redbud trees with the Climatron in the background.
http://greatrivers.smugmug.com/Galleries/Missouri-Botanical-Garden/i-rMJp4RM/A
This is a favorite pace to hangout in St. Louis. It is in the center of Forest Park and is a great place to meet friends, have a cocktail and watch the sunset. Also, dogs are allowed so we bring our Basset Hounds as they are into people watching. Forest Park is the largest urban park in the United States so it is not a bad place for landscape photography. Since in is full of lakes, trails and abundant wildlife it is a great place for all sorts of photography.
Here is a photo taken after sunset (ISO 200, f11, 36mm, 8/10 sec). Also this is a three shot HDR.
On a remote highway between Saynor and Boulder Junction Wisconsin you will find this little bait shop. Actually it is no longer an active business but a memorial to two women who operated it for for about 70 years. It is currently maintained by a group called Friends of Star Lake. This is one of my most popular photos but you would not know it was there if you did not know where to look! It takes some special techniques to find these hidden gems.
Here is a tip to help find some gems when traveling to and area that is unfamiliar to you. Before you go, do a google search of the area and then click on the “images” tab to see popular photos in that area. Also, you can subscribe to a photo sharing site such as Flickr. Here you post your photos so others can see them and you can look at photos others are sharing to get ideas. Also, you can search the site for ideas. Good luck!
http://greatrivers.smugmug.com/Galleries/Northwoods/i-Q9J8Hb8/A
The Burlington Zephyr or Pioneer Zephyr entered service in 1934 and continued until 1960 running in the MIdwest. The Zephyr now resides at St. Louis’s Museum of Transportation.
All digital photos are color. Post processing was used to tone the photo and convert to black and white. Most of this was done with Lightroom.
I visited one of the Midwest’s best Museums of Transportation in St. Louis. They have everything you want to see in Planes, Trains and Automobiles! For kids of all ages and photographers, this is a great place to visit.
The problem with photographing a sunrise is that you have to get up early. To get this photo I rented a room near the beach. At sunrise, I walked out, took some photos and went back to bed. Easy!
To get a good sunrise photo, use a tripod. Set your exposure for the sky otherwise your photo will be over exposed. Using HDR process will help bring out the sky, sun and foreground since you are using multiple exposures. This photo was taken at f11, 50mm at 1/10 sec.
http://greatrivers.smugmug.com/Galleries/Portfolio/i-8bHCgLS/XL
On cold winter Sunday afternoons, the St. Louis Zoo releases their Penguins. Apparently they open the doors and any Penguins that want out are allowed to go (for a while). Not all go out. Here is a photo taken in 2009 with my Pentax K100D and an 18 – 55mm lens.This photo was published in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in March of 2009.
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