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Winona Area Landscape Photography |
by Bill Kuhl
Digital photography has been an interest of mine brought on by a desire to create images for my web pages inexpensively. Initially I took pictures with little thought to composition or any of the technical aspects. With encouragement from people that have seen the pictures, I decided to improve my techniques by reading and approaching digital photography with a slightly serious attitude.
Living in Winona Minnesota, we are blessed with an abundance of subjects for landscape photography. Within a forty mile radius there are several state parks. I try to combine my love of the outdoors, bike riding and hiking with the satisfaction of capturing the imagery for others to enjoy.
Winona Pictures
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Times when the wind is calm, present the opportunities for taking pictures utilizing the reflections in mirror smooth water. West Lake Winona appears in the largest portion of this picture, small portion of East Lake Winona appears to the right with Huff Street separating the two halves. |
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Winona State University campus seen in this picture. Behind the campus the Interstate Bridge can be seen which spans the Mississippi River connecting Winona with Wisconsin. |
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With more experience you spot opportunities for taking dramatic pictures. Here I came upon twin vapor trails that intersect behind a bluff as the sun is setting. The setting sun illuminated the vapor trails and clouds in a dramatic way, contrasting against the darkening sky. |
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Often it takes many tries of taking pictures to get the shot you are trying for. I noticed seagulls were flying in small circles and the sunlight was penetrating through their feathers. With the lag time in taking the picture, needed to anticipate the gull passing through the sunlight in front of me, took many tries to get this picture. |
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Getting over to Huff Street that runs between East and West lakes immediately after a thunderstorm presented the opportunity for several good pictures including this rainbow image. |
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Dramatic contrasts between light and dark can make for interesting images. Often I will take pictures before or after storms. |
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"Colors that are close to each other in the color wheel produce a harmonious result. Color harmony is useful because it allows you to produce images that have a soothing effect on the viewer." from "The Question-and-Answer Guide to Photo Techniques". I think this image fits that well, very soothing. |
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"At sunset, conditions are rather different. The earth is much warmer, the atmosphere is thicker due to dust and pollution, and the light rays from the sun are scattered. This increases the warmth of the light considerably, and during the last hour before sunset it appears almost golden." "The Question-and-Answer Guide to Photo Techniques" The golden color is very evident in this picture. |
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This was an experiment in taking a picture in low-light conditions. The bandshell was illuminated well, which really helped the image quality. |
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Taking sunset pictures, there is a very limited window of time within the landscape changes dramatically. This picture was taken off Prairie Island Road. The cloud structure and the reflection off the backwater made for an interesting image. |
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Veteran's Park in early morning fog. Taking pictures in this condition gives it a blue-green tint. |
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This picture was taken early November just as the morning fog was lifting. |
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Another November picture taken on a dead calm Lake Winona late afternoon. |
Root River State Trail
I enjoy bicycle riding on the Root River State Trail. Rushford is only 20 miles from Winona, so this is often my starting point. From here I will either head for Houston or ride the 19 miles to Lanesboro. Other times I will drive to Whalan and proceed to Preston or Fountain.
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To get to Houston from Rushford there is one rather large hill you must go up and down. You don't have to get to the top of the peak in the background, but the hill does get rather long and steep before getting to the top. |
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"Nine times out of ten a picture can be improved simply by taking a few paces forward so the overall composition is tightened up and unwanted detail is omitted from the frame." - "The Question-and-Answer Guide to Photo Techniques" I was as close as possible and still get this entire sculpture in the frame. Houston Nature Center |
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Taking pictures of reflections in water is both interesting and challenging. Normally the reflected area comes out too light, as it did in this picture. The camera has a tough time handling the light and dark areas. Found this bend in the river interesting as there was a low spot in the shoreline that allowed a small ribbon of water to form. |
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At times I put a fair amount of thought into taking a picture, other times it just seems to come together by accident. In taking this image, I hardly noticed the wild flowers but the flowers could be the most interesting part of the picture. |
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I am often fascinated by things remaining from the past. This gas station in Peterson Minnesota is quite a contrast from the Kwik Trips and Super Americas. |
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Canoeing down the Root River is very popular. |
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Pedal-powered vehicles and bicycles of all types can be seen on the paved bike trail. |
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In summer you pedal through a lush green tunnel of trees. |
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Waterfalls in Lanesboro. This picture was taken with my first digital camera, a Sony Mavica. The camera has great zoom, but the compression of files to fit on floppy disk is so high that certain artifacts appear in images. This is evident in this image in certain areas of the water going over the dam. |
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Bike riding early fall just as the leaves were starting to turn. |
Great River Bluff Park
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Great River Bluff Park Link |
| Minnesota DNR Listing |
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Found the colors in this picture interesting, especially the sprinkling of red. |
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"Lines evoke varied emotional responses. Horizontal lines imply tranquility and are thus considered the most stable. Feelings of pride and dignity are reserved for vertical lines. Diagonal lines evoke feelings of movement or speed. Thick lines symbolize greater strength than thin lines." "Learning to See Creatively – How to Compose Great Photographs" For some reason I enjoy the vertical lines in the trees. |
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This picture was taken early fall when the trees were just starting starting to turn. From the picture, you can not really tell how far it is to the other side of the valley, or how far down to the valley floor. In other words, it was more impressive being there, which is often the case. |
White Water State Park Area
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White Water State Park Link |
| Minnesota DNR Listing |
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This picture was taken in Beaver Creek that runs into the White Water River. The water was so clear and the sun penetrated through the trees in rays, this spot was so peaceful. |
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By midsummer the vegetation on the banks and in the water is very heavy, yet the water remains very clear. |
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Close-up of a brown trout in clear water, the most common species of trout found in southeastern Minnesota streams. Brook trout is the only native trout to southeast Minnesota streams, but the number of streams they are found in is limited. Rainbow trout are stocked in some streams but will not reproduce naturally in these waters. |
Perrot State Park
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Perrot State Park Links |
| Welcome to God's Country Trempealeau County, Wisconsin |
| Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Listing |
| Geology of the Trempealeau River Valley |
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View of Mississippi River from the top of Brady's Bluff in Perrot State Park. The top of the bluff is over 500 feet, which is not evident in this picture. |
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Another view from Brady's Bluff looking down river. The lock is just barely visible in this picture. |
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Trempealeau Mountain received its name from the French, "La Montagne Qui Trempe a Leau". |
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There were many steps in this trail to the top of Brady's Bluff. In places the trail can be very narrow. |
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The trail I took to the top of Brady's Bluff passes very close to interesting rock formations. |
© Copyright 2002 Bill Kuhl
