Category Archives: Macro
Another Flutterby
Friends, The last few days I have been chasing butterflies in Crex Meadows, and stumbled upon this beauty. I think it is a Wood Nymph and i love the eyespots on its wing. Now the disgusting part, he is sitting on animal scat of some kind and this is the most reliable place to find butterflies this time of year. Wish it had been perched on a pretty flower but alas, I have blackened that part of the image. Forgive me for photoshoping, but it really was disgusting . til Tomorrow MJ
The Search for the Blue Karner
Friends, the Blue Karner butterfly is rare even in Crex Meadows. This tiny blue butterfly is about the size of a nickel, and has distinctive markings on the back side of the wings. My friend and I have searched many places for this lovely blue and never found them until I retired up north. Now every year I go in search of them partially to renew old times and to reassure myself that they are still there. This one is for Cheri til Tomorrow MJ
Dragon Flies Everywhere
Friends, Tons of dragon flies are present in the northwoods this year and these dragon flies are just one of the species. Not sure what they are called, but thought they were unique. I had to move around a little to get both wing tips in focus and the background faded enough not to be too confusing, did I succeed? til Tomorrow MJ
Wing Detail Abstract
Friends, this beautiful butterfly landed in front of me and the light was just right, across the wing to show the details. I hated the background so kept magnifying the image until I liked the pattern. At first I thought this was a red-spotted purple, but the white stripe has me confused. Can you identify for me?? til Tomorrow MJ
The Search
Friends, this time of year we are searching for new Karner Blue butterflies in Crex Meadows. The Karner is a rare specie with an endangered population but the host plant, wild lupine grows here in abundance. Every year the volunteers of Crex survey the prime areas for Karners. The second flight or hatching is expected any day now so we are all out searching for these tiny blue butterflies. Yesterday I found these tailed blues but no Karners. This is macro with a telephoto lens. An extender (20mm) is between the lens and the camera so I can focus at about 4 feet away and avoid disturbing his feeding on the orange milkweed. His underwing is similar to Karners, but the little tail is the deciding factor. Still searching for the Karner til Tomorrow MJ
Morning Glory
Friends, this wildflower of Crex Meadows is a Field Bind Weed, but I don’t like any name that calls a beautiful flower, a weed. It is a member of the morning glory family and it grows wild in Crex. This flower blooms from a tough red stem that tends to wrap itself around surrounding plants and eventually choke them off thus making room for more glories. As a herb it is drastic and sometimes poison, but despite its sinister nature, they are beautiful. til Tomorrow MJ
Flower Details
Friends, I am editing some flower images from our badlands trip this spring. I cannot decide whether I like the grainy image at the top or the bottom softer version of this image. Which do you like the best? Either way I think the bottom treatment is a way to reduce the grainy noise that i sometimes get in my images or maybe i am going in circles. In the bottom image I have softened the details then run the Nik Colorefex Low Key filter. In the top image I have run the Low Key filter directly over the Extract Detail filter. I think that there is a dramatic difference. Hmmmm, a constant learning process til Tomorrow MJ
Fresh Phlox
Friends, we are journeying back to Crex Meadows today to show you this pretty little flower, this is wild prairie phlox that is blooming all over Crex this month. I like the color, wild violet will fade to a pink as the flower is exposed to the sunshine. But when it first blooms it is a lovely deep shade, enjoy til Tomorrow MJ
Vetch
Friends, this little vetch is greeting the morning with a purple glow, I am experimenting with a foggy blurred attitude, but the sun is shining so I guess i will venture outdoors and go look for some birdies, til Tomorrow MJ
Blue Flowers
Friends, some blue flowers from the Black Hills of South Dakota. these blue bells also grow in Minnesota and Wisconsin. They are universal, do they grow where you are? the purple flower is larkspur?? found it along French Creek til Tomorrow MJ
MJ Springett 