Explore our new collection of focus stack photography from the Heartland of America—ranging from our home state of Iowa along the lush Upper Iowa River and Yellow River Forest Park up to Mankato and Carley State Park in Minnesota and much more…
NEW Ultra High-Resolution Midwestern Scenes
Sky Factory photographers have also captured the rolling hills and grasslands of the Great Plains, including secluded vistas within Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge in Nebraska, and a range of evocative scenes from South Dakota’s vast National Park domain at Badlands, Wind Cave, and Little Spearfish Creek in the Black Hills.
Southeastern & Northeastern Iowa
Our collection begins close to home exploring the forested trails at Pikes Peak State Park and the shallow banks of Bloody Run Creek, a meandering trout stream nestled between rolling limestone bluffs. Selected portraits of the Yellow River, a spring-fed Mississippi tributary, and the Upper Iowa River in Decorah round out the fresh Midwestern waterways highlights.
Mankato, Minnesota
Heading north from Iowa, enjoy the lush beauty of Rasmussen Woods, a natural sanctuary of rolling meadows, marshes, and vibrant wetlands. Our collection captures the early morning mist as it retreats, giving way to the textures of the early autumn prairie. Verdant greenery highlighted by Virginia bluebells at Carly State Park and the still water surface at Indian Lake complete our collection.
South Dakota Plains
Farther out West, our next stop on our grand tour across the Great Plains was Badlands National Park where the deposition of rock over tens of millions of years stacked layers of sandstones, siltstones, claystones, and limestones among others which the forces of erosion then began to expose the layered striations emblematic of this topography. Take in the rolling hills at Wind Cave National Park and the towering Ponderosa pines framing the ridges at Little Spearfish Creek in the Black Hills, as well as the overcast landscape at Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge.
Photographic Journal: Upper Iowa River, Decorah, Iowa
Camera in hand, the Driftless Region of northeastern Iowa is the perfect place to meander through, any time of the year. Compared to other parts of the state, the terrain can be quite dramatic. Glassy spring-fed streams pass through dense forests, rocky bluffs and cliffs, and rippling prairies.
In mid-July, the weather was relatively cool but overwhelmingly humid, with strong storms blowing through on several nights. These conditions created thick fog in the mornings, especially along the Upper Iowa River that runs through Decorah. Read more about Andrew’s trip.
