Views From the Forest Floor

Sometimes on my woodland walks, no, often on my woodland walks, I tend to “see” things only from my upright position. Yes, there is beauty all around - even from an elevated position. However, from the perspective of the forest floor there is a different type of pretty. Common species appear different, unusual - almost larger than life.

From a technical perspective these images are more than just viewing the blossoms from below. I did take liberties to….

They Found Me

Shortly after sunrise I was out exploring Sweet Marsh this morning. My targeted species to find and possibly photograph… soras and/or Virginia rails. I was covered by camo as was my camera equipment and my canoe and paddle. Apparently I blended well with my environment.

While I heard only one sora and saw none, and I saw and heard no Virginia rails, I did surprise sandhill cranes. And, they surprised me!

Since I was camo-covered and nestled in cattails, the tall birds didn’t see me until both had waded quite close to me. When the cranes did find me, one put up a ruckus and the other walked away in a determined manner. I shot some photos and got out of their area. Following are sample images from our brief interaction.

Almost Overlooked

This afternoon we had a visitor stop by. As he and I talked outside, I noticed in the background that one of Kristy’s moss phlox plants was covered in delicate pink blossoms while her other plants were just beginning their spring appearance ritual. Seeing the colors against a drab background caused me to grab my camera and macro equipment to shoot some photos. This was one of them.

For those wondering… yes, I did see and photograph the exceptional northern light display early this morning. But, I am not satisfied with my images and will not be sharing them. For this most recent show I will be satisfied with very vivid memories.

Fun While It Lasted

Imagine if all of your life you have to be on your guard so you are not dehydrated or devoured. Your first big threat comes as you swim around as a tadpole in water that may or may not be deep enough for you to survive while predators want to munch on you.

Then you go into winter when you become lethargic - slow to move and very vulnerable to hungry big things and the ice freezing solid.

You make it through the winter and begin to feel warm temperatures. Those warm temps in your shallow water quickly put you in the mood for love. Then bam… a hungry green heron sees you, snatches you in its beak, tosses you around as you fight for your life. Finally, you run out of fight - you simply aren’t able to withstand the crushing beak of the heron. Down the throat you go and life is over.

So much for 2023 if you were that frog. But to turn lemons into lemon aid… the green heron will live another day. Such is the predator/prey relationship in the wild.

Earth Day Message

Happy Earth Day 2023 to all! Hopefully you were able to spend a few minutes (or more) enjoying our natural world. If you were not able to be out, maybe you were able to pause to think about and appreciate the environment around us.

As I have done since the first Earth Day back in 1970, I spent some quality time exploring a quiet “green space” near us. When I paused from my casual walk, the timber at first seemed silent. Then, as I soaked in the atmosphere, I could really hear so much. The natural world was very busy… very alive!

Visually my walk in the woods was so rewarding. A message of…

Pretty Cold for Pretty Pictures

What a day for nature photography! Constant cold wind with occasional rain and sleet mixed with moments of brisk sunshine…just what kind of weather were we going to have today? Uncomfortable or not, I ventured out to explore after a day-long online training.

Even with the overcast sky I was able to find some wildflowers suitable for photographing. I will begin with the most plentiful species - bloodroots.

None of the bloodroot blossoms were open, but they still made for pleasing images. As I photographed the wild plants, I invested much of my efforts into out-of-focus framing with only key portions of the blossoms in focus. My plan seemed to work.

Inland Marine Policy

After seeing my buddy’s camera equipment destroyed by a canoe full of water the other night, and after remembering when I went through a similar situation a few years ago, it is time for a reminder.

If you are carrying expensive camera equipment in a canoe or kayak, including a cell phone, you might want to purchase “inland marine coverage” for your valuables. For me inland marine insurance covers my specialty items - each listed out on the policy - to protect them from perils - and not just water incidents.

The insurance companies do not give inland marine insurance away, but the cost of the insurance is far cheaper than having to replace at full value your gear if/when your watercraft fills with water, or you drop it while hiking, or it is stolen.

I encourage you to contact your insurance agent. Whether you paddle frequently with camera gear or never do, or you hike with gear, you might want to consider that insurance. I will vouch for it and I would guess my buddy would too now.

The male red-winged blackbird… just an image from today.

Subdued Plants, Subdued Colors, Subdued Focus

As the end of the blooming season arrives for snow trilliums, I thought it might be worthwhile to photograph the fading flowers in overcast light using a less than perfectly sharp filter. The results were interesting images documenting the end of blossoming for one of the first wildflowers to bloom each year.

Near the snow trilliums were bloodroots - another wildflower that will be done blooming very soon. Even under drab lighting, the bloodroots seemed more vibrant than the snow trilliums.

Gravity… Not Just a Good Idea, It’s the Law!

Tonight, on a pleasant evening in April when my buddy Darrin, his wife Janeen, and I were paddling… somebody had to go and dump his canoe. Somehow he managed to tip it without making hardly a sound, not even the splash of a complete kit of advanced Nikon camera gear was heard (even though it all went in the water). Then we saw him standing in the marsh, his canoe floating nicely, and every bit of gear was wet. At least his gear was insured…

If I have any disappointment other than the fact that it happened, I sure wish Darrin had been wearing a self-inflating life jacket so we could have heard it and seen inflate! Dang…maybe next time.

Specimen Images or More Artistic Compositions

Now that wildflowers are pushing upward, the subjects I point my Nikon at are changing. In addition to mostly birds, blossoms are now garnering my attention too.

As I shot a few photos this afternoon after work, I noticed that I was shooting not only typical specimen-style compositions, but also work that appeared more artistic. I prefer the less reference-book style images.

I will share a few samples here of marsh marigold blossoms.

A Little Snow, Rain, and Wind Do Not Stop Spring

After many days of above normal temperatures, today we were jerked back to reality with wind, rain, and snow. It would have been easy to stay indoors to avoid the uncomfortable conditions. But, I did not and I was rewarded with some very fun interactions with four pied-billed grebes.

These grebes were hanging out where grebes tend to stay for a few days each spring. Since the area was protected, the water was smooth as glass making for almost easy photography. I did have to over-expose for proper levels, but that was simple enough to do. Then all that was needed was to press the shutter release button… over and over and over.

Success to Inaccuracies

For as many years as we have been counting sandhill cranes early on a Saturday in April in Bremer County, I have been present - including today. Our count began at 5:30AM and continued for two-hours. Crane counters documented guard calls, unison calls, and visual observations. Today I was close enough to cranes that I was able to hear their “purring” call too.

I expected this year might be different since Marten’s Lake at Sweet Marsh is drawn down. Each year I have been at this same spot, so now, to have no water, suggested numbers might be different. And different they were. My count, as accurate as I could be, was…

Context

Art (including photography) is like words. Within their intended context words and art are clear leaving little to wonder about. Without adequate details - intentional or not - words and art can be misconstrued, twisted, or at a minimum can lead to confusion.

As I walked one of my favorite woodlands today I thought about wildflower photography, and context, and details - including challenging myself to not shoot my typical wildflower photos. Instead of featuring just blossoms without including enough detail to tell a wildflower story, today I composed my images with a slightly larger field of view that provided a hint of perspective explaining the locations of the wildflowers.

Signs of Spring (Under Duress)

I am the type of guy who refuses, as much as possible, to let feeling rough from a virus get me down. But my oh my, my positive COVID test should have come with a warning that I was about to get my tail kicked. Geez, my throat is raw on fire, my back and chest hurt, my back and chest hurt even more when I cough, and my entire body feels like a roller has flattened me. And I am bored to tears. I was not expecting this.

Still, feeling miserable or not, I did get out briefly this morning to enjoy some signs of spring. Due to feeling wiped out, I will only be featuring two signs, but they are good signs! If found these, I photographed them, and I went home to sleep. (No, I was not near anybody.)

Sign of Spring #1 -

As the near record-breaking heat warms the ground, the resting reptiles are beginning to stir.

From One Ol’ Coot to Another

Sometimes a situation presents itself that a photographer just has to document. For example, you are out on the water and a coot just tempts you to practice bird in flight photography with it. In today’s case, I think I may have accomplished something. This old coot photographed another coot!

Apology

Today’s photo work really lacks in creativity and effort. For that I apologize, but I also ask that you allow me to explain.

Some time mid-day today my body went into melt-down mode. Aches, sneezes, and everything in between. A COVID test confirmed I am living the virus. Hopefully this ends soon.

This picture was of one of our trees along the river. I have not seen who or what is doing the excavation, but maybe I will in the next few days.

Found Them

After what I can describe only as a very interesting, very challenging day, I took some time to look for wildflowers of the uncommon nature late this afternoon.

Pasqueflowers are some of the first wildflowers to emerge in the spring. Sometimes pasqueflowers can be found while there is still snow on the ground, but thankfully not this year! Pasqueflowers were my target species for today. After a drive and a hike I found many blossoms soaking up today’s warm sunshine.

Following is a sampling of images of this pretty wildflower. I promised not to share the location, so please do not ask.

Easter

Easter… my favorite holiday of the year for a couple of reasons.

First and foremost, Easter is special to me for its religious significance in my life. Without Easter we have nothing. With Easter we have everything. What more can I say. I am thankful for Easter, even though I hardly deserve it.

A second reason I like Easter is the symbolic rebirth we experience in our world. Easter is celebrated during the spring migration. Easter happens when wildflowers are beginning to rise again. Easter brings newness and an opportunity for each of us to reflect and take action, if necessary.

Quite a Variety for One Day

From shortly after sunrise, with a “work” pause this early afternoon, and then onward to more exploring later in the afternoon… I shot a number of what I would consider interesting images. I will break this down by AM and PM.

AM shooting concentrated on a couple of seldom seen in Iowa species. First I found four red-breasted mergansers. They did not…

A Peaceful End of the Week

After a long, challenging week we are able to bring the first seven days of April to a close with a pleasant day of good news.

A family member and I made another trip to Minnesota for medical work. Nothing… not one appointment or consultation had anything but good news. For that we are so very thankful.

Even though I had no time to pursue wildlife photography, I was able to document a peaceful setting sun in a rural environment. Since the tradeoff was a day of positivity, I am fine with that! Prayers answered!!