This past weekend I went on a mini vacation where I hiked in Illinois and Iowa. Lucky me Raven gave me a little assignment to take pictures like a photographer and not like a normal person. I thought this was a great assignment for me just so I could keep away from just pointing my camera at a pretty scene and walk away. Also it allowed for me to take my big wig camera on vacation with me when I would have originally have taken my little point and shoot. Now you may be thinking I’m crazy for hiking in Illinois during winter but this girl LOVES some snow so I wouldn’t have missed this trip with my mom for the world.
After landing in Chicago my mom’s friend Mary picked us up and we headed to her house for the night. I was a little worried I wouldn’t see snow at all during this trip because there wasn’t any in snow in Elgin,IL. So for a full day I didn’t see snow and was pretty bummed. On the way to Galena,IL we started to see it in so I was just hoping it would just be all over the ground where we gonna hike.
Lucky for me there was snow everywhere on our first hike at Apple River Canyon. I was a pretty funny sight because this was my first winter hike and I had my camera backpack on and my camera around my neck all while looking like a marshmallow. At least I was warm and ready to shoot anything that caught my eye. I was not expecting a dead deer though! At first I thought it was a little gross from someone to point out on a hike but I knew I would regret it later if I didn’t take a shot of it. I honestly think this turned out to be one of my best images of the trip because I took time to make this look pretty. Framing works wonders for dead things right?! I think so. I just wish I could compare images of what the other women hiking had to mine and see a photographers point of view versus a normal person. Everyone has a different eye and that’s what makes photography great. I really would love to have seen all the interns take a picture of this so we could compare.
Day two of our hiking trip there were no more dead animals so that was a little sad. Our first stop was Dam #11 in Iowa. I was a little surprised driving into Iowa because my mom didn’t share with me that day two was in Iowa not Illinois. Our first stop was by a dam along the Mississippi River. We stopped here because this was where all the eagles hung out. When fish go through the dam they get stunned and the eagles get an easy dinner. I can see why they hang out there in the winter.
After eagle watching we hiked around the Mines of Spain. This was my favorite hike but the 17 degree weather kind of made it a tad less fun but the sights were breathtaking. There wasn’t much snow but there was a lot of ice.
Overall it was a great trip with these two lovely ladies (Mom’s friend Mary on left and my beautiful mother on the right) and I’d do it again in a heartbeat as long as I had warm enough clothes. Taking my big wig camera was a little nerve racking but I was able to get great shots with it. I went through snow and ice and both me and the camera survived so I think that was a great thing.
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