Wilderness Images

One of the first spring wildflowers to grace the woods here in Michigan are the Round-lobed Hepatica. This beautiful little flower ranges in color from white to magenta to a deep rich purple-blue. They can be found growing in hardwood forests more often than not on south facing hillsides. They face south in order to get maximum exposure to the warming sun at this time of year. They are also unusual in that they close down late every afternoon and only open up on sunny days when the temperature is above 50. I think this is likely to protect the delicate flowers from the colder temperatures at night this early in the spring.

The good news is that if you want to photograph Hepatica you get to sleep in! I usually head out about 10 AM on warmer days to give them a chance to open up. Remember these flowers only open up on sunny day. So if there are not some clouds up in the sky to cut the light you are going to want to bring along a diffuser to shade your subject. I usually get my shot all set up and wait for a passing cloud to soften the light or use my diffuser to shade the subject. By diffusing the harsh light we diminish the shadows and over all contrast in the image which lets the beautiful details of this tiny flower come through.

Good luck and good light

Steve

Image: Round-Lobed Hepatica & Tree Bark

One of the things I really enjoy about photographing wildlife is “the chess game”. What I mean by that is when I am photographing an animal I am always thinking a few moves ahead. So I can be sure to be in the right place at the right time. I try to get in the animals head, to figure out what its next move is going to be. This is why it is important to spend time with a subject. The more knowledge you have about an animal, the better you will be at anticipating its next move.

Many different behaviors and actions are preceded by visual cues. Some examples are. If a duck, goose, loon, or swan dips its head in the water and runs water down its back it is going to rear up and flap its wings. If a coyote or fox stares intently at the ground and turns its head side to side, it is likely getting ready to pounce on a vole. If a bird turns toward the wind and defecates it is more often than not going to fly away. During the rut a male deer, bighorn, elk, or pronghorn, will always do a lip-curl after it “checks” a female. Knowing your subject and paying attention to these visual cues will help you to anticipate the action and get some of these exciting action shots.

Good luck and good light

Steve