Tuliptree Blossom with Guest
Another Day at Work
Apis Workers' Party
Predator
Some of Your Beeswax
Sedum Bumbler
Look of Defiance
Chicory Bee
Bumbling Bees
Garden Cafe
Buzz By Here - To Infinity and Beyond
Pick Your Poison
Blind Side Attack
On a Mission
Honey Bee on Sedum
Covering the Cosmos
Center of the Cosmos
Three's a Crowd
Popular Spot
On A Pedestal
Big Harry Fireworks Display
To Impress the Girl
Different Perspective
Sweet Ride
Perfect Little Piggies B&W
Flipping the Light Fantastic
Festival of Flights
To the Crowd's Delight
Amish Go Round
Wondersome One
The Stars In Her Eyes
Tuesday's Child
Sleeper Hold
Considering the Next Move
Sugar and Spice
Front Porch Portrait
Caged Competitor
Early Adoration
Child In the Ligtht
Stroll Through the Weeds
Attention Grabbing
Eye Contact
On the Line
Eyes of Wonder
Rounding the Curve
Troubadours of Basin Spring Park
Down by the Creek
Sun Day
Catching Some Light
EAA Fireworks
Hear Me Roar
Flowers
Behind the Scenes
They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Often times, we “behold” obvious beauty and neglect to look further. I try to see beyond the obvious and look at subjects from different angles. I can spend a lot of time photographing a small flower like this – shooting above it, below it, one side or the other, and in this case, behind it – just trying to catch just the right angle.
Out of half a dozen or so images of this particular bloom, the shot from behind turned out to be the most appealing to me. From behind, the sunlight falling on the front of the flower gives it an iridescent quality from the back. From this angle you also pick up the very fine strands of spider web that would go unnoticed from the front.
Unrequited Love
This was a quirky combination. Start with new sprouts on this very young tree. Add it’s location; growing next to the one remaining strand of old barbed-wire fence. Top it off with some unusual light.
It was enough to make me stop, stare and snap. I thought it would work best as a high-contrast, monochrome image.
This is another image gathered while tromping through the woodlands not far from out home.
Click the photo to see a larger version.
Wild Yellows
As we tromped through the woodlands in search of morel mushrooms, these yellow flowers caught my eye. I found a couple pockets of them in a marshy area.
The late afternoon light was hitting them at the right angle to make them stand out.
Get a closer view by clicking on the image.
The Daffodil
Is there any flower so bright and perky as the Daffodil? One of the first to bloom…and whither in spring.
My good friend, Tood Lohenry, recently asked me why he couldn’t find any daffodils within my photo galleries. That was a good question. Last Saturday, I spotted some nice daffodils on someone’s lawn in Algoma, WI and snapped a few – photographically speaking.
Click the image for to get a larger version.
Love’s Vortex
“It is at the edge of the petal that love waits.” ~ William Carlos Williams
There is no other flower that so vividly conveys love, beauty and passion as a red rose. I can easily be mesmerized by the delicate symmetry of a well-formed rose. The swirl of this one’s petals seem to lure you, helplessly, into its center. I spent quite a while gazing upon it…and photographing it from every angle. This is the view I like most.
This is dedicated to the one I love…a woman most worthy of such beauty… my wife, Sara. We are celebrating 18 years of wonderful marriage. (No exaggeration. Ours is a match made in heaven. You will never encounter a more perfect marriage or solid love. I am greatly blessed!)
To see a larger version of the rose, just click on it.
Future Bleeding Hearts
New life is springing up all around our place…finally. I had stepped outside to snap a view of the sunset and, as I often do, just walked around our yard with my camera. The vibrant color of this new growth on the bleeding heart plants in our flower bed caught my eye.
Eventually the buds you see in the large photo above will produce flowers like the ones shown on the right.
For a larger view of the photo above, simply click on the image.
Spring’s Serenade
According to Wikipedia… In music, a serenade (or sometimes serenata) is a musical composition, and/or performance, in someone’s honor. Serenades are typically calm, light music.
The warm background tones, combined with the vivid color of spring’s first emerging leaves, really appeals to me. It has a light and airy feel that reminds me of a classical music composition.
These are truly the first leaves of spring, photographed on a walk through some woods near my home. I posted another image from this same walk entitled: The Scarlet of Spring.
Clicking on the image will bring up a larger version.
Woodland Flora & Friend
Ladybugs all dressed in red
Strolling through the flowerbed.
If I were tiny just like you
I’d creep among the flowers too!
~Maria Fleming
This photo was taken in some woods not far from our home. It’s still early spring here and this small stand of early bloomers were a welcome sight. The ladybug was an added bonus. The surrounding trees, just starting to sprout leaves, provided a gentle filter for the afternoon sun.
To see a larger version of this image, simply click on it.
The Scarlet of Spring
We went for a walk along a trail through woods and farm fields. The very first signs of spring were bursting forth. This is the twig of a budding tree.
The unique qualities of this image were created by the camera and nature, itself. Behind the sprouting twig was a river with sunlight sparkling off the ripples, through the leafless trees on the bank. I was using a 300mm lens, so everything beyond the twig was blurred.
If you look closely, you can see a small bug resting on the left side of the top leaf.
To view a larger version, simply click on the image.
Bluebird Dawn
Just before sunrise I noticed a bluebird checking out the bluebird houses in our yard. I grabbed the camera and headed out the back door. I got a picture but not the one I was after. Here’s the story…
My goal was to snap a picture of the bluebird posed on the bluebird house, framed by a big, bright sun behind him. While I was trying to line up the shot, the bluebird flew off the house, into a nearby tree. I was able to click off a quick photo of the bird in the tree before he flew off for good. Then I turned my camera to the sunrise and snapped a couple of frames.
The image above is a combination of two different photos (shown on the right). I started with a shot of the sunrise and overlaid the silhouette of the tree branches with the bluebird. As you can see, the original photo of the bird and branches had a background of just light gray sky. Not very interesting or appealing. The sunrise was pretty on it’s own, but the branches and bird adds interest .
Both photos were taken within a minute of each other. Not quite the image I was shooting for, but I think the final result turned out well.
To see a larger version of the above image, simply click the photo.