Delightful look at Mother Nature’s wild garden, photograph by Cathy Jones Featured Alumni Photo: “White Trillium and Spring Beauty” by Cathy Jones is a delightful look at Mother Nature’s wild garden of spring. It’s a well composed, well exposed capture that can’t help but bring joy to its viewer. However, one fault I find with [...]
featured alumni photo, Mark S. Carlson, nature photography tip, Seasonal Photography, Spring, trillium, wildflowers
Michigan Nature 101: Woodpeckers Drumming, First Signs of Spring One of the very first signs of spring in my neck-of-the-woods is the sound of woodpeckers drumming. Why Do Woodpeckers Drum? Unlike other songbirds, woodpeckers do not have a distinctive song as part of their avian vocabulary. Instead, drumming is the way the birds communicate, and woodpeckers [...]
birds, Mark S. Carlson, nature photography tips, Seasonal Photography, Spring
Something so tiny, yet worth capturing. Moments in Nature: The last drop of dew for this Prairie Coneflower petal – Mother Nature’s morning shower . ~ Mark S. Carlson, Naturalist Photographer About the Author: Mark S. Carlson leads eco-photo tours to scenic locations around the Great Lakes region while teaching fundamental photography skills and nature ecology. Mark’s photography is [...]
Mark S. Carlson, moments in nature, wildflowers
Featured Alumni Photo: Lily of the Valley. Featured Alumni Photo: During our spring Excursion at DeVries Nature Conservancy in Owosso, Michigan, participant Donna Kowalaczyk captured this interesting photo of a pair of Lily-of-the-Valley blossoms. Interesting subject matter; simplicity is a powerful composition technique; Good select focus point and choice of depth-of-field. Perhaps placing the pair [...]
Donna Kowalczyk, featured alumni photo, Mark S. Carlson, wildflowers
The wild, but not Irish, rose. Blooms of Sleeping Bear Dunes – Smooth Rose: The scenic views at Michigan’s Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore speak for themselves in majesty and drama, but the Smooth Rose provides stunning compliments to the landscape with its colorful blooms. The plant is called “Smooth Rose” because, unlike their thorny cousin, [...]
Eco-Photo Excursions, Leelanau Peninsula, Mark S. Carlson, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, smooth rose, wildflowers
Featured Alumni Photo of a Trout Lilly. Featured Alumni Photo: We enjoyed a beautiful sunny day in May during our DeVries Nature Conservancy Eco~Photo Excursion in Owosso, Michigan. Participants focused their camera’s and attention on the myriad of spring blooms, from ornamental trees to carpets of woodland wildflowers. Participant Cathy Jones shared some of her trophy [...]
Cathy Jones, featured alumni photo, Mark S. Carlson, nature photography tips, wildflowers
Featured alumni photo of a green-tinted trillium. Featured Alumni Photo: This past May 11th, we conducted our Ephemeral Spring Eco~Photo Excursion at Michigan’s Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. The trillium were magnificent! One of our participants, Craig Stoehre, captured a photo of a Green-tinted trillium (T. grandiflorum). The green coloration is caused by a virus [...]
alumni, Craig Stoehre, featured alumni photo, Mark S. Carlson, Seasonal Photography, Spring, trillium, wildflowers
Michigan’s Sessile Trilliums: Some Trilliums Are For Toads Michigan’s Sessile Trilliums: Two of Michigan’s eight trillium species barely make the list as they only inhabit the extreme southwest corner to the southern edge of the mitten. Trillium recurvatum, also known as Prairie Trillium, Toadshade and Bloody Noses, are a significant feature of the mid-May woodlands [...]
Seasonal Photography, sessil trillium, toad trillium, toadshade trillium
Nodding Trillium of Michigan – a shy but beautiful wildflower. Michigan Nodding Trillum. Nodding Trillium (Trillium cernuum) could be considered the shyest trillium of our eight species native to the Great Lakes region because it hides its blossom beneath a tight whorl of broad, ovate leaves. Its habitat varies from mixed coniferous-hardwoods in the north, [...]
Mark S. Carlson, Seasonal Photography, Spring, trillium, wildflowers
Spring wildflowers love the bright light and full sunshine. Nature Photography Tips from Mark S. Carlson: The majority of early spring wildflowers respond and open during bright sunshine. Sometimes good photos can be captured during such lighting conditions, but for the most part, bright overcast light would be more desirable. The image of a Round-lobed Hepatica [...]
Mark S. Carlson, nature photography tips, Seasonal Photography, Spring, wildflowers
Bent Trillium (Trillium flexipes) is perhaps the most confusing of the eight-trillium species native to the Great Lakes region. Also known as ‘Drooping’ or ‘White’ trillium, it often hybridizes with Red Trillium (T. erectum) and Nodding Trillium (T. cernuum), creating even more confusion for the armature botanist. It occurs in 20 Michigan counties, down the [...]
bent trillium, Mark S. Carlson, Spring, trillium, wildflowers
Trilliums of Michigan – Snow Trillium, a threatened species. Michigan Snow Trillium: Snow Trillium (Trillium nivale) is the true harbinger of spring of the eight Great Lakes trillium species. Blooming as early as mid-March, it often wakes up under a blanket of snow, hence it’s name, nivale, meaning “of the snow.” In fact, snow trillium [...]
Mark S. Carlson, Seasonal Photography, snow trillium, Spring, trillium, wildflowers