Blog Archives
The Wild Lily
Friends, In Crex Meadows the wild Lilies are blooming here and there on the prairie grasslands. Their bright orange attracts the eye and my camera. These are a bit different than the domestic day lilies in that the cup where the petals meet are not closed and each petal is separate from the others, six beautiful orange petals with spots. I didn’t like the glare from the full sunshine so i used the Orton effect to soften the image. Thanks to Denise Ippolito and her book “The Softer Side of Macro”, well worth the read for you wildflower fans. til Tomorrow MJ
Ready to Fly, but not today
Friends, this is a Bald Eagle chick that is about ready to fly from his perch. When i arrived at the nest where i have been following the progress of this chick, he had worked his way out of the nest and was perched about six feet above the nest on a small branch that is sagging a bit under his weight. He was talking frequently and his mother was sitting in an adjacent tree watching silently. He seemed ready to fly, but maybe not today. til Tomorrow MJ
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New Experiment
Friends, this is the Indian Paintbrush flower, getting tired of my mundane flower shots so I am experimenting with radial blurs. This effect can be captured in-camera by twisting the zoom barrel while exposing. Since I had already taken this image in the field, I chose to add a radial blur in photoshop. I really love photoshop and learning new skills. What do you think?, you can sign up for this newsletter in the column at the right, I blog every day and try to photograph every day, especially in the warmer months. til Tomorrow MJ
Blue Flag Iris, Traditional Approach
Friends, this blue iris or blue flag iris is difficult to photograph for two reasons. One is that nearly always is perched in a complicated green background and two is that the blooms are ravaged by bees, butterflies, dragonflies and hummers as soon as the blooms open. This unusually fresh bloom was found early in the day against a water background. What a find!! for a flower person. How do you like it ? You can subscribe to my blog in the column on the right. I blog every day so stay tuned, til Tomorrow MJ
Alarm Cry-Danger
Friends, this image is an example of the “decisive moment” in wildlife photography. The adults are calling an alarm cry and the little chick in the front has dived under the water. The dumb-struck chick eventually also dived. After the two chicks had dove, the adults were swimming around with their heads under water and calling for them to come back. They both re-emerged on the surface. Think the parents are teaching the chicks how to respond to danger, the first day, an osprey was hunting on the pond, so hope the chick learn their lessons well. til Tomorrow MJ
Weekly Photo Challenge: Close
Friends, these loon chicks stick close to an adult bird for protection from osprey and snapping turtles. They are also dependent on the adults for food. Both adult birds take turns babysitting and feeding the chicks and they grow very fast. But for several weeks they ride piggy-back and enjoy the spring sunshine. Good thing they are cute and cuddly, not hard to keep them close, til Tomorrow MJ
Butterflies-small and large
Friends, the top image is a pearl crescent butterfly with a wing span of 1.25 inches, very small but the orange dot on the end of the club-shaped antennae is the defining mark. The bottom image is a swallowtail that is much larger as seen on a blue flag iris, all of them wild, wild, wild. til Tomorrow MJ
Chick Antics-Loon Style
Friends,these loon chicks are entertaining, the first four images show a chick trying to squeeze into a space between his sibling and the adult’s head, in the first image he is jumping from the water, in the second image he is trying to fit in a small space, the third image shows him protesting loudly, and in the fourth image he has settled uncomfortably for his nap. In the bottom image he abandons his napping spot to mount the other adult who happens to be swimming by. I got a few good chuckles, til Tomorrow MJ
Loon Family
Friends, this is a rare image of the whole loon family in one frame. Usually the chicks are on the back of one parent while the other parent is off fishing, grooming or doing what single loons do. This pair have very young chicks and are sticking together and both participating in feeding the chicks and spell each other with babysitting duties. The dark head and red eye are difficult to expose properly and to get both head positions in the right plane takes a great deal of my patience :). But I was patient and after about 40 GB of images over six days, i finally got this image which captures the whole family with good eyes and on a sunny day. Perseverance pays off. til Tomorrow MJ
Proud Parents
Friends, this proud parent (Common Loon) is stretching his wings while his 5 day old chicks swim around. In the bottom image, you can see how fast the little ones mimic their parents. The little chick is stretching his wings (?) . I have been camping out with the new parents and now today the chicks are 7 days old. The parents have always used a deep water channel near a road and i guess they trust me, they seem to be content with me sitting in my car with my telephoto pointed in their direction. I typically don’t leave the site until they have gone away so i don’t alarm them. Tomorrow back to work in the swamp, til Tomorrow MJ
MJ Springett 