Blog Archives
Mistakes
Dear Friends, no Northern Lights last night at our house, but the stars were out, so i was shooting star trails. These trails have gaps that resulted from neglecting to turn off the noise reduction feature in my camera. There are two settings hidden in the camera menu that do noise reduction with high iso and one with long exposures. When they are enabled, the camera tries to process the image between exposures and this processing takes as long as the exposure time, so if your exposure is 20 seconds, the camera delays the next exposure while it processes the noise reduction, resulting in a 20 second gap between exposures. Lessons learned. til Tomorrow MJ
Crane Lunch
Dear Friends, i always think of our Sandhill Cranes as gentle giants roaming the wetlands in search of food. I never thought of baby Red Winged Blackbirds as a food source. These young cranes were being harassed by the adult Red Wings as the cranes plucked the babies from the nest. The male red wing bird is definitely in attack mode but the sandhill has his lunch. Red wings are not in short supply here and predation is common as they nest on the ground. til tomorrow MJ
Badlands After 5 PM
Dear Friends, this image was taken last August when the Mentzelia bloom on the red scoria. These white blossoms are found growing right out of the rocky slopes and only open after 4 PM. Most tourists overlook them cause they are a prickly looking plant until the blossoms open, then they are magnificent. til Tomorrow MJ
Wood Orchid
Dear Friends, this pretty orchid is found in the red pine forests and is called the pink lady slipper. They like the acidic ground and shady light that the forest provides, and these conditions make subtle sunlight for flower photography. I got lucky as this particular bloom was very vivid in color and had a bee perched on top, the only drawback to these conditions are the wood ticks that also thrive here.. til Tomorrow MJ
Do you have your jacket?
Dear Friends, this is a typical uniform for me when taking nature photographs in Crex or other places, from sturdy boots to sunglasses at all times. These items are necessary to stay warm and dry, the missing items in this image are a tripod and cap. On colder days a hooded sweatshirt and jeans, on warmer days i lose the sweatshirt, My father always said before we left the house, ” do you have your jacket”, lesson learned. Now if i could only teach my husband to bring a jacket because the weather can change so quickly and drastically especially in the spring. So do you have your jacket? til Tomorrow MJ
Horned Grebe Hairdo
Dear Friends, this Horned Grebe was found on a very windy day on Phantom Lake in Crex Meadows. A pair of birds were present but this one came very near the shore allowing me a closeup of his beautiful red eye and wild feathers. His yellow head feathers can be raised or lowered and when raised they look like horns from the front view. This day the wind has the lake stirred up and his feathers in a jumble. til Tomorrow MJ
Bobolink
Dear Friends, this male bobolink sings from a small bush in Necedah National Wildlife Refuge in central Wisconsin. We went there to see the spring Whooping Cranes but they were all too far away for good pictures, so we settled on the smaller birds. The red-headed woodpecker is not hard to find here and they nest in the refuge, one of them nests very close to the visitors center. til Tomorrow MJ
Which one, Blue Wing Teal
Dear Friends, a slight decision problem this morning, which of these images do you like the best? This is a male blue-winged teal in a muddy hole, the top is the original colors and the bottom is a white-neutralized version, which one do you like? til Tomorrow MJ
Wild Cala Lily
Dear Friends, this wild cala lily grows in very wet ditches along Klarquist Road in Crex Meadows. I see it there every year and it is blooming this week. I use a telephoto lens to get close cause i don’t want to get my feet wet til Tomorrow MJ
Ring-Necked Duck Male
Dear Friends, this is a male Ring-necked duck who also has a ring around his bill in the spring. His ring around his neck is maroon on black and in the wrong light you cannot see it very well, while the ring around his bill is much more apparent, so i usually call these ducks ring bills. hahaha, til Tomorrow MJ 
MJ Springett 