Afternoon/morning in Des Moines, where to photograph?

[Richard S. (rich815)]

Hello all, I'll be in Des Moines, Iowa one extra day after a business trip the first week of December and plan to rent a car to get out to the countryside with a couple of Rolleiflexes and shoot some B&W. I'm NOT looking for pretty "chocolate box" scenes, I more want to find open, expansive Midwest rural scenery or old small town buildings and such for B&W landscape photographs. Any recommendation of areas with an hour or two of Des Moines? Any APUG members live in the area want to go out shooting the afternoon of Dec 8th and/or the morning of December 9th? Thanks much!

 

[CropDusterMan]

I can suggest you head southwest to Winterset Iowa. It's a nice little town, and it has a bunch of old covered
bridges in the area. It's in Madison County. Here is the chamber of commerce website:

http://www.madisoncounty.com/

 

[Richard S. (rich815)]

Excellent! Thank you! Now to just hope for decent weather.

 

[Kirks518]

I can suggest you head southwest to Winterset Iowa. It's a nice little town, and it has a bunch of old covered
bridges in the area. It's in Madison County. Here is the chamber of commerce website:

http://www.madisoncounty.com/

View attachment 166920

Is that your image on their home screen, or just a similar shot?

 

[Tebbiebear]

Ledges State park north of Des Moines and south of Boone is very nice. If the lower ledges road is closed then its a bit of a hike. They close the road when the river is high because it floods. Before you get there you should drive by Saylorville Lake and the High Trestle Trail Bridge.
Conversely Pella, to the southwest, is a charming dutch town that has quite a bit to photograph. Lake Red Rock, in the Pella area, also has some nice vistas available. As far as small towns and farm land... that's pretty much all of Iowa outside of the cities. Just stay on a smaller highway for a bit and you will see copious amounts of both.

 

[CropDusterMan]

Is that your image on their home screen, or just a similar shot?

No, not my image...just grabbed one off the net to show a covered bridge. A friend of mine was the stills
photographer on the film, Bridges of Madison County, and he had many beautiful images of the bridges there.
Definitely worth a visit. The town of Winterset is pretty too.

 

[Richard S. (rich815)]

Ledges State park north of Des Moines and south of Boone is very nice. If the lower ledges road is closed then its a bit of a hike. They close the road when the river is high because it floods. Before you get there you should drive by Saylorville Lake and the High Trestle Trail Bridge.
Conversely Pella, to the southwest, is a charming dutch town that has quite a bit to photograph. Lake Red Rock, in the Pella area, also has some nice vistas available. As far as small towns and farm land... that's pretty much all of Iowa outside of the cities. Just stay on a smaller highway for a bit and you will see copious amounts of both.

Thank you!