Sleeping Crane

This crane fell asleep on the nest while I was watching it yesterday. There are several things you never hear wildlife photographers talking about. I'm sure more could be added.

1. Watching grass grow.
2. Watching ice melt.
3. Watching sleeping wildlife.
4. Waking up with a back ache after an afternoon chasing butterflies while hunched over and carrying your gear.
5. Don't forget the ticks, and phantom ticks, after laying down on wet grass to get the ultimate macro shot.

First Snow

Fall was temporarily interrupted Sunday by the season's first snowfall. A perfect afternoon!

Puccoon & Lupine

Each of us sees an image in a unique way. On one hand this is an image of two prairie species that frequently grow in proximity.  Another viewer might see this as a study of yellow and purple.  In either case the photographer's challenge is selecting a frame to show a proper proportion of yellow and purple to create an interesting image. 

Lupine or Blue Bonnet

Lupine or Blue Bonnet, the same flower at different ends of the prairie.  I prefer the name Texans have given this bonnet shaped flower.  Lupine has its roots in the Latin word Lupinus which means wolf-like because of the plants tendency to ravage the land with its profuse growth.  I enjoy talking to visitors to Crex who are immediately identified with the pronunciation of lu-pine for these beautiful, fragrant flowers.

Killdeer Nest

This is the time of year I stumble on nests and young.  It is always an ethical question to either ignore a photo opportunity or back off completely. The mother is instinctually tied to the nest but there is an unseen line in the sand which when crossed will result in the loss of the nest.  What do I do?  I usually try to get a couple quick shots and back off.  Have my actions resulted in loss of the nest? I'm sure they have.  What do you do when you come across a nest?

Ominous Clouds

I upgraded to an iPhone 4 this week and have been experimenting with various camera apps.  The apps fall into one of three categories: camera settings, editing, or sharing.  As a minimalist in editing I'm most interested in the camera apps.  Pure Shot app has some good features like exposure lock which allows a high contrast scene like this to be recorded.  It also has in phone instructions. Technical: The grass was lightened in Lightroom

Lupine at Peak

The lupine are currently at peak bloom on Stolte Rd. in Fish Lake Wildlife Area.  The aroma as you walk down the road is almost intoxicating.  With the bloom the Karner's should be out, hope to find a few in the next couple days. Technical: iPhone camera

Crab Spider Eyes

Love those yellow eyes!  The spider in the upper half of the frame gives the illusion it is ready to pounce.  This is the last in my series from last week. Technical: slightly cropped. 1/2 second, f29, ISO 640 with 180 macro on a tripod, cable release.

Crab Spider on Lady Slipper

Continuing the exploration of the this lady slipper.  The spider is what originally attracted my attention with its white body on the green petal.  I would have expected it to be more camouflaged on the flower while waiting for lunch to land. The challenge of the composition was showing both the spider and flower but keeping the spider as the subject of the image.

Another View

I spent a lot of time with this lady slipper and tried a variety of angles using the hillside setting to my advantage.    The shadow in the lower left is from a leave in front of the lens that was not noticed at the time.  Technical: f8, 180 macro, on a tripod, ISO 800

Small Yellow Lady Slipper

Time for a little color. I came across a group of lady slippers while driving around in the rain last week.  After slipping on the rain gear and throwing a chamois cloth over the camera I spent an hour looking for compositions.  Technical: underexposed 2/3 stop to preserve the highlights in the flower.

Gorgone Checkerspot

It's been a tough week looking for butterflies.  Monday afternoon I was out briefly before the clouds drove them to ground.  The good news is once they are there it is easy to get close up shots.  They just don't move.  I'm always interested in common names.  According to Greek mythology the Gorgon was a female creature with large eyes.  Apparently it was the head of three sisters with serpents for hair.  Technical: 180 mm macro, f stop worked from 22 down to 3.5 to get best background

American Redstart

Another first image, what a spring!  Redstarts have been everywhere and highly visible because of their orange wing bars and constant flashing of their tail as they flutter from branch to branch.  According to the Cornell Bird website this behavior is used to flush insect prey off branches and leaves so it can be eaten, seems like a lot of work.

Bay Breasted Warbler

Another in the series of warblers from last week.  Spring woodlands have been more brown than green so the colorful birds have been very welcome subjects. Another image shot hand held with the 100-400 lens, image stabilizer on. Since starting shooting Canon video it has become my favorite lens for both wildlife stills and video.  With the 7D crop factor it is a 640 mm lens, remember when a 600 mm lens was financially out of reach.

Black Throated Green Warbler

What's in a name? In this case it is very descriptive but that's not always the case as in the Magnolia Warbler which acquired its name from the tree it was first seen in.  Photographed in the backyard.

Black and White Survivor

This warbler hit the window yesterday afternoon and after recovering in the grass a couple hours was good to go.

Magnolia Warbler

I don't know if it is the weather or just the coincidence of me being outdoors when the warblers pass through but I have never seen the woods alive with warblers like this year. Technical: Captured with center point autofocus, cropped for subject placement, in this case vertical.

Warbler Week

Warblers have been moving through Burnett Co. this week, ranging from the common yellow warbler to some  that are only seen on an occasional basis. Technical: cropped vertical, 400 mm handheld.

Eastern Comma

The butterflies are coming out of hibernation with Mourning Cloaks in open areas and commas in the woods.  Butterfly photography is grab shooting unless you have a good food source.  Technical: cropped to vertical, handheld using a 70-200 mm lens.

Color in the Barrens

The oak barrens were named because their poor agricultural potential and widespread pin oak trees.  Through most of the year color is subtle or locally intense when wildflowers are in bloom. Color on the barrens is at peak now.  Recorded in Burnett Co., Wisconsin