Composing Wildflower Photos

I have added a new page called, "Composing Photos," on my other website carolwolfe.org. I am just beginning work on that page, but have included topics such as "Quality of Light" in which I talk about photographing in different light conditions (full sun, haze, etc) as well as using a diffuser and reflector. The above photo gives some idea of the types of information on that page. I based this page on a presentation I recently gave at the Annual Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage in Gatlinburg, TN. By the way, this photo shows two similar shots of spring beauty, one using a reflector (left) and one simply shade (right).

Turkey on Clingmans Dome

I met this girl on April 1, 2008, the first day that Clingmans Dome Road was open during 2008. (It is closed from Dec 1 through March 31 every year.) As I pulled into the parking lot, she came running up beside my car. It seemed she must have been used to getting food from people in cars. Of course I did not feed her. It's not good for the animals to get used to thinking of humans as a source of food. Anyway, I parked the car and got out. She put some distance between us but still let me get close enough to get several good shots of her. I called her "Lucky" because I felt so lucky to meet her.
I returned several more times during the month of April, and each time I returned, she was there. Toward the end of April, she was walking around among the people at the western end of the lot. Sadly of course, people were feeding her, luring her over to get snapshots of her beside them and their cars.
I returned this week (May 20) and did not see her. I hope she found a better place to live and is doing well. After all, she's a wild turkey, not a pet. I still feel lucky to have met her.

Black Bear in Smokies

On April 2, 2008, I was driving up Newfound Gap Road (from Gatlinburg, on my way to Clingmans Dome) when I stopped along the side of the road to photograph some trees that were lit nicely in the late afternoon sun. Since it was mid spring, the tree tops had a variety of color due to the buds that were forming in the branches. As I photograhed the trees across the valley, I heard a loud sound in a tree not far from where I was standing. I looked over, knowing it was something large, and I saw a black spot moving along the edge of a tree. I kept looking, and shifted my camera. I readjusted the settings too, since a bear tends to move faster than a calm landscape... In any case, here are two shots that I got while standing there alone by my car. Little did I know that day, that a month and a half later (May 19) I would meet my first bear alone in the woods. That second meeting was even more exiting than the one along the road since I was three miles from my car and all alone in the woods.

Busy Spring

It has been a busy spring. Instead of posting pictures on this site, I have been working on my other website. Just yesterday I added a new page that talks about Composing Photos. Check it out if you get a chance. The address for the main page is http://www.carolwolfe.org/. The address for the newest page is http://www.carolwolfe.org/id13.html. I have also added photos to the Cats and Critters page and added a page for South Carolina.

Happy Valentines Day

This is for Mary... since she didn't get the attachment I sent with her email!

Sea Birds on the Atlantic Coast

I don't usually get close enough to birds to bother to try and get a shot. But a landscape type shot is possible, even with a relatively wide zoom lens. In fact I was using the Nikon D40 this day, not the D200. The D40 is what I take on "family" trips, and this was a family trip. So anyway, here is the bird framed nicely in the corner (using the tightest framing I could get with the 18-55mm lens that came with the D40). I like the way the waves add a nice pattern to the frame.
This shot is more clinical than the one above, but the bird is nicely lit. I like this shot mainly because it is something new for me. I hardly ever have the chance to photograph a bird. The clouds helped diffuse the light but also kind of cooled and flattened the image to some degree. Ideally, I would ask for a slight bit of sunshine, which this time of day would have been lighting the top and back of the bird, kind of like the shot above.

After Sunrise in Charleston

If not for the water, this might look like a Martian landscape. The light was amazing that day. I love the way the sprays of water are backlit (somwhat sidelit) by the recently risen sun to the right of this frame. Here is another shot, just to show the action of the waves. Also you can see a bird in the top right corner. Of the two shots shown here, I like the second one best.

Pre Sunrise in Charleston

As my friend and I froze our fingers off, we waited for sunrise and got some nice shots of the water. I like the pink sky, which reminds me of pictures I have seen of Mars. I also like the purple-blue water, which I suppose picked up color reflecting from the sky. See below for more shots from this same day...

Vertical Sunrise

Here is a vertical shot (above) that I also tried in a horizontal arrangement (below). I like each one for different reasons. But the thing I like most about the vertical shot is the interesting pattern of the waves. I was looking for something diagonal or zig-zag like. And I was able to get that using the vertical composition but not horizontal. Horizontal framing limited the depth of the photo, while vertical let me shoot the sand near my feet and also include the sun.
I chose this shot because I like the way the sunlight reflects off the surface and the way the group of three waves kind of breaks up the light. It might have been cold and windy, but the reflection was also very bright.

Blustery Sunrise in Charleston, SC

It was so cold and windy on this January morning. But my friend and I spent nearly 40 minutes on this shoreline near Charleston, SC. I tried to position the camera so that the waves would be more diagonal in the frame, but based on my location and the position of the sun, this is about the best I could do. I got several of these shots, including a vertical. I tried to snap the shutter when the waves looked most interesting rather than just being uniform horizontal lines.

Lochness Monster (sort of)

One of my friends said he likes this shot, and then specifically referred to the the "Lochness Monster." I smiled when he said that, and I remembered some of those fuzzy shots of the monster I had seen years ago.
The dark bump on the left part of the frame was intentional. I wanted to add some variety (color/texture/pattern) to the otherwise extremely uniform (and possibly boring) frame.
I got this shot before the sun rose above the horizon. I was standing on a beach in Hilton Head, SC, looking east over the Atlantic. This was the brightest and most colorful sunrise so far that I have seen over the Atlantic in my limited experience--being from the midwest, most of my life, I haven't seen too many ocean sunrises!

Loblolly Pine at Congaree National Park

My tripod and timer got this shot of me while I was checking out this huge loblolly pine in Congaree National Park. It had been selected as a record loblolly until they found another bigger one off the main trail.

Congaree National Park

In this shot, I tried to show the depth of the swamp at Congaree National Park. It was just a few weeks ago, and the swamp was rather dry. But this lowland area had some standing water. I like the way the moss on the trees shows the peak water level from last year. This was a fun 2.4 mile hike on the boardwalks around the swamp. It was a partly cloudy day so I was able to get some diffused lighting even though I was there during early afternoon.

Reeds and Reflection in Art Show

This photograph was selected for the New River Art 2007 Ninth Biennial Exhibition presented by the Blacksburg Regional Art Association. This was a juried art show, and my photograph was one of about 35 pieces accepted.

My New Website

Hello. I finally began publishing my own website (rather than simply using a template that someone else designed). I have the same URL as before (thanks to some re-directing program that has been set up)... So you can find me at http://www.carolwolfe.org/
I will keep adding things here from time to time, but if you want to see my work as a "collection" organized by topic, then check the other website soon. And keep going back, too, since I plan to make a lot of changes during the next several weeks.

Sample of My Photography

I have been invited to sell my photographs (and cards) at a local art show. As part of the application process, I had to submit samples of my work. Here is one of the photos I sent along with my application. I am happy to say that my application was accepted.

Purple Coneflower

Here is a purple coneflower that I found the other day. It was partly cloudy, so I played around with the light a bit. Though this shot doesn't show it, I like shots where the sun is partly diffused and little bits of sunshine gets through. For this shot, the cloud pretty much blocked the sun.

Chrysanthemum

This is a tighter cropping of the horizontal closeup below. I think I like this one best because it seems more simple and has fewer distractions around the edge of the frame.

Chrysanthemums

I photographed a bunch of chrysanthemums the other day. My goal was to fill the frame with flowers, as shown in the third of these three shots. But after thinking about the image, I decided that I would try again--on a rainy day, which explains the rain drops on the first two pictures. I did some vertical shots and also some horizontal. I settled on my two favorite shots, only to discover that I had pretty much isolated the same blossom but in two different directions. The first and second shot shown here are complete different attempts, separated by at least ten minutes time. It was pretty funny when I realized that my two favorite shots were actually pretty much the same shot.

Gladiolus

I don't usually photograph cultivated plants, but I decided that this summer I would give it a try. Here are a couple shots of the gladiolus in my front yard. It had rained earlier that day, and it was rather calm, so I was able to get some pretty crisp shots with rain drops. I tried some wider shots, but decided the close up shots were best.

Newt

I found this newt yesterday after photographing a waterfall. I was walking along the trail and couldn't help but see the BRIGHT orange "lizard shaped thing" in the middle of the trail. I stopped to set up the tripod and put the 200 mm micro lens on my D200 camera body. As I prepared to photograph the newt, I was pleased to see that the newt crawled up on a nice smooth gray rock. It was a much better background than the twig-cluttered dirt on the trail. But yes, the newt is on a rock in the woods, not a step. As I continued to work, the newt continued to move, but slowly. My exposures were in the 4 second range, so I was glad that the newt was taking his/her time. By the time I finished up, the newt was safely OFF the trail.

Pink Lady Slipper

I found this pink lady slipper a few days ago while attending a women's retreat on a mountain in North Carolina, not far from Highlands. It was nearly 10 AM and a very bright sunny day. I used a diffuser (above the frame toward the top left) to soften the sunlight and prevent that speckled appearance that occurs when sunlight filters through the branches of trees, casting dark shadows. I also used a silver/gold reflector, which I leaned against my tripod leg, to reflect some sunlight on the darker left side of the flower. I was surprised at the significant bit of brightening that occured when using the reflector.

Rhododendrons on the Mountain

Here are some rhododendrons I photographed recently on a mountain near Highlands, NC. It was about 9 AM on a very sunny day, and already the light was a bit bright for photographing. Still I decided to give it a shot. Perhaps next year it will be a slightly cloudy day so that the light will be more diffused. Last year, on the other hand, the rhododendrons were not yet in bloom during my annual trip to the mountain.

Wake Robin or Purple Trillium

I found this beautiful flower on the NC side of the Smokies near Black Camp Gap on April 27, 2007. This is called Trillium erectum. Its flower is held above the leaves. There are also a couple species of nodding trilliums in the Smokies, whose flowers hang below the leaves and are extremely difficult to photograph. I found some of those in NC also, and I plan to post a few shots of those later this week.

Trout Lily

Here is a pair of Trout Lilies, which I found on the NC side of the Smoky Mountains. The early April frost on the Tennesee side destroyed many of the flowers, but it seems that many of the flowers in NC were spared. My friend and I found all kinds of neat stuff when exploring the backwoods of NC, including a few species of trillium.

The Last Sunset Shot

This is the sunset last shot I got from the parking lot at Clingman's Dome in the Smokies on April 27. About ten minutes before this shot, I got the one below. The key difference is the foreground. Here the sun had gone low enough behind the horizon (toward my right as I face the image) to become shaded, while below the sun was high enough to light up the foreground just a bit.

Smoky Mountain Sunset

I just returned from a week-long photography trip in the Smokies. I also attended (and presented two slide shows at) the Annual Wildflower Pilgrimage. It was a lot of fun. Here is a sunset shot that I got at the parking lot near Clingman's Dome on April 27, 2007. We went up to the dome the night before, but decided to just try the parking lot view on this cold and windy night. I think this one turned out ok, but I like the later shot (above) best.

Smokies Spring

Sorry I have posted so few photos this month. I am busy preparing for the Wildflower Pilgrimage in the Smokies that starts in just a few days. Here are some photos I got during my recent trip to the Smokies. (I am having trouble getting the photos to post. Wherever you see an empty box with an X, rest assured I will try again later to fix it.)

Yellow Trillium

Here is Yellow Trillium, Trillium luteum, which I found beside the road on the way to Greenbriar Trail on Monday, April 9th. This is one of several shots I got that morning, and I am preparing many of those shots for my presentation on "Composing Wildflower Photos," which I will present at the Annual Wildflower Pilgrimage in Gatlinburg during the last full week of April. I will also be presenting a show called "Woodland Spring." If you want more information on the pilgrimage, just type the name into Google and you should find their home page.

Bluets

I found these bluets on Monday, April 9, in the Greenbriar area of the Smokies. I have noticed that bluets tend to do well in damp areas near the edges of streams. This clump was growing with moss.

Snowy Showy Orchid

Here is the SNOW-COVERED Showy Orchid, which I found on Saturday, April 7th. The next day, I went back to check on this plant, and found the stem and flowers brown and wilted. This plant will survive, but it will likely NOT be making seeds this year. Next to this plant was another orchid, but with BUDS, not flowers. The orchid with buds looked just fine on Sunday, so the slightly later blooming time will work to its advantage this year. Snow and hard frosts might not be common in early April, but they are not unheard of. As for the damaged plant, let's hope that next year will bring it better luck.
Here is a bud that survived the hard frost with only a little bit of damage. This was the lucky plant this year.

Dutchman's Breeches

Here is Dutchmen's Breeches, which I found in the Smokies a couple days ago. Bad news, however, it got really cold this weekend and the frost/snow caused a lot of the Dutchmen's flowers to shrivel up. The stems leaned over, and the flowers dried up and started to wilt. I saw the damage on Easter day. But these flowers are perennials and in the long run, they will survive. Stay tuned on my website to see some snow-covered Showy Orchids (Orchis spectabilis). In the case of the orchid, as with many other plants, individuals that were flowering experienced definite damage, but plants with buds came through the frost just fine. Seed counts may be lower this year than usual, but these plants are adapted to life in the forest, so they will survive. Clear-cutting, landscaping, and paving provide a bigger threat than an occasional hard frost.

Freezing May Apples in the Smokies

This is just a quick snap shot of May Apple yesterday here in the Smokies. It was COLD and wintry in the woods. When the sun came out from behind the clouds (intermittently) it would cause some of the snow to melt. But here you can see the crystalline snow as well as melted snow on the "umbrella shaped" leaf of the May Apple.

Hepatica and Tootwort are Blooming

Hepatica is blooming in southern Virginia. This is actually one of the last ones to bloom this year. I found this beautiful plant yesterday (March 28). It was sitting beside a rock in the shade, and made a picture-perfect image. I have already printed a copy for my wall.
This is a closeup of Toothwort. Like any obedient member of the mustard family, Tootwort flowers have FOUR petals. I found this yesterday before I found the Hepatica (above). This is one of those wider shots intended mostly to show the context in which I found the above plant. If you look at the plant on the right side, the taller one, you might recognize the same plant that appears in the closeup above. Closeups are my favorite, but sometimes a wider perspective can help a person get a better sense of what the wildflower looks like in the woods. Note the leaves on this "Cut-Leaf" Toothwort. The Broad-Leaf Toothwort has wider lobes in its pointy, jagged leaves.

Bloodroot is in Full Bloom

These are my most recent photographs of bloodroot, all taken within the past week. Last year, I rescued a whole bunch of these from a road construction project, and planted them under a maple tree in my back yard where they get sufficient shade (once the maple leaves fill out) and moisture to survive the summer. Anyway, here are several different views of bloodroot, the first showing the general appearance of the plant when the flower is in bloom. The other photos (below) are my attempts to be a bit creative and try a variety of perspectives. I am happy to say that many of these blooms have stayed fresh and pretty for three or four days. Much of this depends on the weather. A hard rain would have knocked the petals off the plants. But since these flowers opened up, we have had no rain. Enjoy these beautiful plants while you can. They bloom for a very short amount of time. Later this spring, I plan to post pictures of the seed pods (stringbean shaped) with the increasingly larger and somewhat darker green leaves.

Bloodroot in Virginia

About 20 minutes ago, I posted a shot similar to this one (below) but this time around I am showing a later shot from the same series. If you compare this shot with the one in the previous post, you can see that I moved a small piece of twig that had been lying against the stem. I also moved a small branch on the right edge of the frame that ran through the background and behind the petal of the flower. When working with the flower, at first I did not notice the distractins, but then I checked my depth of field preview and could see that the little scraps would interfere with my shot. So I brushed them away gently with my finger. I will NOT pick a plant to move it, but I will sometimes move a dead leaf or a branch or a stick. Perhaps it seems picky to worry about such small little sticks in the photo, but when photographing wildflowers, I want to do my best.
And I got out the trusty chapstick to help show the size of this tiny flower. Bloodroots at this same stage CAN be 6 inches high, but this one flowered before its stem got very long. There can be great variation in bloodroot development depending on the temperature and rainfall. Warmer temperatures trigger the opening of the flower, and lots of rainfall tends to make the stem grow long. Here we had warmth, without much rain.

Bloodroot Today

I found this pretty little flower blooming today in southwestern Virginia in the Thomas Jefferson National Forest. I have been tracking a few individuals of this species, trying to catch a variety of stages of its growth. For those who are curious, its Latin name is Sanguinaria Canadensis. I don't usually like to get too technical, but the Latin name can help some folks make a positive ID. This individual is also shown below, including with the chapstick for perspective. This plant was in full flower today, but I regret to say it was not exactly photogenic. And then the worst part is, on my way BACK down the trail at the end of my afternoon, I noticed that the flower had been PLUCKED. So the photo you see here is of a plant that no longer has its flower, and will be unable to make seeds this year. I suspect a person decided to pick the "pretty flower" on their way walking down the trail. I feel sad and upset when this happens because most wildflowers WILT very soon after being picked, so the picker soon tosses them in the dirt and walks away. These are not the supermarket type of flowers that are made to sit in a vase or get pinned to a shirt. So PLEASE NEVER PICK WILDFLOWERS, not even ONE.

Bloodroot Sprouting in Virginia

Here is a bloodroot sprout that I found on March 15 in southern Virgina. It is one of those things that a person is very unlikely to see unless he or she actually knows where to look. And why? Because this thing is EXTREMELY small. Check out the following photo to get an idea of its size. I would have used a penny, but did not have one. But I did have my chapstick!
Yes, I am talking VERY SMALL, extremely small. But see, I had been to that same location last year and the year before, so I knew where to look, EXACTLY where to look, and that is what I did. I was excited to see this plant at this stage. I plan to return this week to get more shots. My guess is that now, a few days later, the plant is already starting to bloom. The only reason why it might not be blooming yet is because the weekend was very cold. I am busy today, but hope to return there tomorrow!
Just for fun, I am including this shot of bloodroot (from last year), showing the flower as it first opens up on its first day. Check lower on this main page (or in the February archive) to see more shots of bloodroot, which I posted a few weeks ago.

Hepatica in the Smokies

Last week, Hepatica was blooming on the Cove Hardwood Forest trail near Chimney Tops Picnic area. I got this photo on March 9th. It was late in the day, a couple hours before sunset, and it was full sun. I normally would have diffused a shot like this to avoid too much contrast, but the light was just weak enough that I think it "works" as is. I like the way the sun reflects off the petal and shows the texture of the petal. This is the natural color, just as I saw it that day.
I got this photo on March 8th on my way to the Greenbriar area (also toward the trail for Ramsey Cascade). I got a similar shot in late April of last year, and I like comparing them.
Here is the forest a bit further down the road, closer to the start of Greenbriar Trail. I plan to return later this season to get more shots for the sake of comparison. I love to see how the forsest changes each spring!

This was also March 8, near the trail to Ramsey Cascade. This trillium will eventually unwrap its leaves to reveal a yellow flower. Its Latin name is Trillium luteum. Again, even though it was full sun that day, it was close enough to sunrise that the sunlight was not too intense.

Smokies Spring

Spring has arrived in the Smokies! Yesterday I found Hepatica in bloom on a sunny hillside in the Cove Hardwood forest near the Chineytops Picnic area. I found lots of toothwort leaves, but no buds yet. I found a few spring beauties, and 1 in bloom! Today, in the Greenbriar and Ramseys Cascade area, I found the early leaves of yellow trillium. Also I found wild geranium sprouts... The sun was bright, but somewhat low in the sky (thus not too harsh) so I got some pretty nice side-lighting. I also got several landscapes of tall straight trees, hoping to return later to the same locations to repeat the landscape shots to show how the forest changes... Stay tuned for more images and stories now that spring has returned. To see some spring shots from last year (and some fall shots too), please check this link: http://www.carolwolfe.org/SmokyMountainCollection/

Bloodroot

Here (above) is a bloodroot flower on its first day of blooming. The petals are still in the process of opening. The flower looks clean and fresh. The Latin name for this plant is Sanguinaria canadensis.
Here is a similar flower on the second or third day. This assumes there has been no rain, because rain will knock the petals off a bloodroot flower in bloom.

Going back in time, this is the bloodroot plant shortly after it emerges from the ground. Its leaf is wrapped tightly around the stem, forming a spear-like shape that helps it poke its way up and through. The bud is protected under the "blanket" of the leaf. The leaf will become more and more green with time and exposure to the sun, which triggers the development of chlorophyll. Notice the ant crawling on the right side. When this plant finally makes seeds, ants will return to carry the seeds back to their nests. Ands eat the fatty deposit on the surface of the seeds and serve as dispersers for the plant.
Little by little, the plant grows taller and taller, and the leaf slowly uncurls and loosens its grip on the stem. At this point, the plant is about 6 inches tall, though that can vary. Look closely at the veins of this leaf. The veins contain an orange colored sap that leaks out if the leaf is broken. The sap resembles blood, which helps explain how the plant got its name.
Here is another view of the leaf wrapped around the stem. This is from a plant that I rescued (road construction) and brought home in a pot before planting it under a tree. I like the way the light shows off the texture of the leaf. The leaf is somewhat fragile and feels rubbery to the touch.
I like the way this shot shows back-lighting if you peak through the opening in the curled leaf.

Here is another shot. I like to try side-lighting on something with as much texture as seen on a bloodroot leaf.
Here is a closer view of the above shot.
Finally, you can see how the plant got its name, from the "blood" color root. This is one of the plants that I rescued from road construction. I would NOT dig up a plant just to photograph it. I rescued this plant about a year ago, and its former location is now covered by 30 feet of dirt, waiting for an on-ramp to be built on top of it. All of these pictures were taken during the last week of March 2006. I have later shots of bloodroot, showing the full grown leaf and seed pod, but those are not yet ready for posting.