Blog Archives
Winter Birdie
Friends, the appearance of this tiny bird means that winter has arrived, three inches of snow on the ground this morning and more on the way, a steady stream of snowflakes to cover all our pine trees in the yard, makes a beautiful sight, but wet conditions for birding. This birdie is a Redpoll and gets his name from his jaunty cap of red. His food is hanging all around him and he was very busy chomping on these catkins. I will try to get outside today but it is a struggle to keep the camera dry. Oh well work on my book today. til Tomorrow MJ
Tree Abstract
Friends, this abstract is actually the woods at Amicon Falls State Park. I am experimenting with a broken lens and moving the camera during the 1 second exposure. Most of what i shot was junk, but i liked this shot. so i am sharing it with you. I am always fighting with freezing the motion, so in this photo i was accentuating the motion as others on the blogs are doing. I am learning that i like the strong verticals as long as they are not overexposed and the green accents. Can’t wait to try this technique on fall foliage, coming soon the maples are already starting to turn, til Tomorrow MJ
Deciduous Trees
Friends, I know it is spring, but I was blogging about the badlands trees, and of course, fall is the time of year when you notice the deciduous trees in the badlands because of the lovely fall colors. Lots of Cottonwood trees along the Little Missouri River, are bright yellow with the Ash, Elm and Box Elder lending their special hues from the smaller gullies. The above image is a typical grove showing the diversity of colors present in the fall. The bottom image are the cottonwoods along the river. til Tomorrow MJ
What the trees hide
Friends,The dense tree cover serve to hide the wildlife in the badlands. This male elk is venturing into a clearing after raking his antlers on the brush, scraping the velvet off and polishing his antlers for the fall breeding wars. I know he is in the middle of the image but i wished to emphasize the surrounding trees and the small clearing. The male mule deer (below) is peeking from behind a tree. His antlers are still growing and covered with “velvet” , but his curiosity is over whelming. By setting the deer and elk in the middle of the frame, the emphasis is on the surrounding trees. An experiment in composition. til Tomorrow MJ
Trees?
Friends, I have often heard people describe North Dakota as barren and containing no trees. Well that may be true of some parts of the state, but this image shows the badlands with plenty of trees. They are evergreens, cedars and junipers, and keep the green all winter. The northern slopes are usually covered in green, while the south-facing slopes are often bare. In the autumn, the fall colors are apparent in the gullies and along the Little Missouri River. More badlands tree images tomorrow, til Tomorrow MJ
MJ Springett 