Category Archives: Wild flowers
Little Yellow Warbler
Friends, this little bird is a yellow warbler and hangs out in the willow bushes in Crex. I was photographing the various butterflies, bees, dragonflies and hummingbirds that were pollinating the blue flag iris, when two of these little curious birds peeked out of the bushes to see what was up. Their songs are delicious and i enjoyed a serenade while i worked. They went back to chasing insects in the willow leaves. til Tomorrow MJ
Suspended Animation-Hummer Style
Friends, this female hummingbird, was flying much slower than her male counterpart, I was able to focus on her and maybe she felt the lens vibrations, cause she hovered in front of the iris before she came into it, the male was never this cooperative. He just bounced from bloom to bloom never once stopping like this. This image was a challenge to post process and i still feel that the composition is unbalanced somehow. maybe time will tell, til Tomorrow MJ
Mom’s day trout lilies
Friends, this tiny bloom is the trout lily that blooms early and in wet places. I did a macro approach to these blooms with the mottled leaves in the background, but the harsh reflections didn’t fit the image. Lately i have been reading a photo book, “The Softer Side of Macro” by Denise Ippolito. She talks about the Orton Effect , a photoshop technique that she uses on flowers. This trout lily blooms were Ortonized and I really like the softening effect but don’t like the dark background, need a high key image to try, maybe tomorrow. Stay tuned while i learn a new technique. Her Book is available as a pdf ebook on the Birds as Art website. Check it out, I did. Below is the second edition of trout lilies with the Orton effect. Am i improving? and to all Moms out there, Happy Mm’s Day til Tomorrow MJ
Skunk cabbage
Friends, this is also one of the early blooms in Crex Meadows. It is Skunk Cabbage and grows in very wet ground along streams or flowages. I got my feet wet shooting this image, but i think it was worth the effort. The difficulty in this shot is portraying the pod-like bloom with the purple husk alongside the bright green of the huge leaves. The name skunk cabbage comes from its rotten smell when the plant is crushed or physically disturbed. I didn’t touch and left it undisturbed. til Tomorrow MJ
Pussy Willows
Friends, these pussy willows have gone to seed and all are rushing to be first in line to be photographed. They are really male catkins of the willow tree covered with stamens they appear very early in the spring. In Crex they are a dominant vegetation in the wet areas. Below is an image of an earlier version of pussy willows.
After the Rain
Friends, these cheery flowers are the first to bloom in Crex Meadows, a favorite haunt of mine in Northwestern Wisconsin. They are Pasque flowers and are a wild crocus. They are a light blue when they first bloom but fade quickly in the early spring sunshine. I especially enjoy their yellow centers before the pollinators beat them to a pulp. Hope you also enjoy their cheerful faces. til Tomorrow MJ
Prairie Smoke
Friends, another high key image (overbright). This hairy plant is the prairie smoke that usually has three nodding heads. When setting seeds, the red buds pop upright and open to release several feathery plumes that each have a seed attached. I was a little early, but if you look closely at the bottom of the top bud, the plumes are peeking out into the sunshine of spring. When the buds have exploded into wispy glory they resemble smoke covering the ground. This spring I will be hunting for a more advanced prairie smoke plant to show more of its natural history. til Tomorrow MJ
The Gumbo Lily
Friends, this bloom is locally called the Gumbo Lily because it arises out of the clay gumbo on mud flats in the badlands. It is officially known as the Evening Primrose and blooms out of very pink buds, quickly turning white in the strong spring sunshine. This wildflower grows very close to the ground so I had to lie flat on the dried mud to snap this macro shot. Good thing it was dry that morning. til Tomorrow MJ
Pentstemon-blue or pink
Friends, this tiny bloom of the badlands can’t decide whether it wants to be pink or blue, so when it first opens it is a mixture of these two colors. When the bloom has been open for a few hours in the spring sunshine, it is bright blue. The fifth stamen (pentstemon) is orange, densely- covered with hairs and this flower is often called a beard tongue. The red lines on the lower lip of the bloom is thought to guide pollinating insects inside to the treasures within. I am experimenting with high key images (over bright) to convey the spring sunshine effect with this macro shot. I like this effect, how about you? til Tomorrow MJ
Prickly, pear blooms
Friends, the badlands are not barren wilderness, but are an arid climate and so cactus are numerous. Not the tree-like cactus of the desert southwest, but small prickly pear that hug the ground and don’t have a warning bell when you step into them and get a boot full of thorns. The top image shows the bright yellow blooms and the bottom image shows the bloom from the side, in the bottom right hand corner of the bottom image, you can see their formidable thorns. These plants often bloom in June and you have no trouble finding them. They are everywhere!!, til Tomorrow MJ
MJ Springett 