Two images were accepted into the current exhibit at Coliseum Museum in Oswego, IL. The museum is relatively new and this is their first photography exhibit. The Artist Reception was Friday, May 3 and the exhibit is open until June 18. There is a great variety of photography in the exhibit ad some interesting work. Here are the two images I have in the exhibit:
UNDA: Air Meets Water Producing Waves
FONS THERMALIS: Earth Minerals Meet Hot Water
There’s still time to see the full exhibit, Tapestry of Nature by In Focus, at Mayslake Peabody Estate, Oakbrook, IL. The exhibit is open until May 18. You can find out more at my Tapestry of Nature exhibit page. Here’s a few of my favorite images in the exhibit.
Sunburst on the Branches
Woven Tapestry
Big Bur
Sunset Reflections
Two of my images made the Top 10% in the recent Orange Theory Photo Contest with ViewBug. Both were taken with the Nikon D800, so ViewBug gave me the stats for all Nikon users and my images did very well in that category as well.
I enter a number of ViewBug contests. The Purples contest I scored the 20% and above for FOUR of my images. That’s a new milestone for me. As a Pro member, I can submit up to five images for each contest. I guess I’ve done good with my purple images. Here are the winners of Top 20% in the Purples Photo Contest:
ViewBug is a site for photographers to share their images, learn and enter contests. It also offers a place to create a website. I have uploaded a number of photos and sorted them by type of image. You are welcome to browse and see what I have created.
Early Fall on the West Shore of Houghton Lake, Michigan, where the morning air is crisp and the sun rises with clouds, color and beauty. Every morning was different. Some mornings were so cloudy or foggy that the sun made a quiet, almost non-appearance for the day. Other days were glorious. Here is a taste of the last week of September, 2021.
Take a van conversion. Add a power wheelchair. Add a beautiful early fall day in Northern Michigan. And it adds up to a lovely outing that we haven’t been able to have in the past: a ramble at Marl Lake! Dad, his care giver and myself took a drive not far from home with the new minivan. Dad hasn’t been able to go for a walk in the woods for a while now, being confined to a scooter or wheel chair. So today was special. Outside. Fresh air. With my Dad.
For several years, I’ve been trying to start butterfly monitoring with the Illinois Butterfly Monitoring Network (IBMN). Everything finally came together this year. Last weekend I did my first butterfly monitoring at Nachusa Grasslands. Butterfly monitoring is, well, counting butterflies by species, in a specific route, throughout the season. During this first year, I need to identify 25 species of butterflies. Forty years ago, I could identify more than that, but I’m a bit rusty.
So, I walk at a regular pace, scanning the area, left and right on the trail, spotting butterflies. As I see one, I identify it and mark it on my field report. When I’m done, I report my data to the database. Sounds easy and straight forward. My first time out, I identified about half. The rest were noted as “unknown butterflies” so I have some learning and growing ahead of me.
Things they don’t teach you in butterfly monitoring training:
1- How do you count each Monarch only once? They go here, over there, cross over the trail, and then you wonder, did I already count you?
2- Prairie plants are dense and tall. Those little butterflies can dart across the trail and into the plants and disappear before I can even see the markings or colors.
3- You need to protect yourself from ticks. That means bundling up in insect repellent treated clothing, head to toe, hiking boots, walking stick for uneven ground, binoculars (if i can get them out and focused fast enough) and so much more gear. There must be a simpler way!
4- It is good to know what a species looks like both flying and resting, but what about moving so fast, never resting, and not at an angle to fully see all four wings at once, like in the photos?
5- Back when I knew all the different species, it was because I caught them, put them in a kill jar and mounted them and used a detailed key to identify them. No guessing! I don’t even catch and release for monitoring. New skills are needed.
When my route is done, I have a short 10-15 walk back to the parking lot that allows me time to linger, get out my iPhone for a few photos, as I head to my car and decide if I have enough energy to get my good camera out to capture prairie life.
Bee Balm is so named because bees like it, as do other pollinators, like hummingbirds and butterflies. I saw many bumble bees on the bee balm. The bee balm was in various stages of aging, most being past prime for blossoms, but still showing a lot of activity! Some of the bumble bees were so big that they caught my “scanning eyes” as a possible butterfly when I was monitoring, as did some dragonflies.
The milkweed plants had much more variety of life cycle. Some were in full bloom and others, like this one, were beginning to form the seed pods. There are several different milkweed plants at Nachusa and part of my education will be to learn to identify them all, as Monarchs do favor all of them for nectar and laying eggs. I should see much Monarch activity where I see all milkweeds, if I know which plants are milkweeds!
I should get back to butterfly monitoring at least 5 more times this summer, hopefully more. Weather is an issue, as is distance. I chose a location an hour away from my home. I like going there, but it is at least a 3 hour commitment to monitor and I need to leave room in my days and flexibility in my schedule so I can make that trip. Weather has not been helpful this last month. Rain, wind and cloudiness are not good for butterfly sightings. In fact, I have rules to follow: at least 70 degrees, partly cloudy to full sun, little wind to moderate wind, no rain. The last two weeks didn’t give many days to choose from! But I will continue, and try to get more of my own photography adventures in as well. The native grasslands, prairies, offer so many opportunities for interesting captures. I’m looking forward to what I can share in future blogs!
We had landscaping done today. A dry shade garden full of plants to surprise and amaze. Lots of texture, colors and flowers and seed pods. All of my favorite things. So much to explore. Here is a brief preview of some of the details but there is more to come.
Sunrise on the lake. I’ll be visiting Dad every month this year, and the highlight of every morning is what the sun will do. Color, clouds, timing, brilliance, all can vary and I can’t predict it. In June, it occurs early and I can miss it. Today was not as dramatic, but I really liked it. There were the pastel areas surrounding the sunrise, cloud character, and sun color peeking through the fluffy clouds. The lake is slightly rippled so there is texture in the bottom of the images, and an overall smoothness in the sky as potential rain clouds come into visit us today.
