Daisys....

During a trip up north last month I discovered this field of daisys by the side of the road. I've never seen that many growing in one place before.

Clear Cuts Can Be Pretty...

While I was staying at Spencer Pond Camps, Mike K. and I went on an exploratory drive one morning when the weather wasn't that great. While driving down an old logging road we came upon a recovering clearcut. When clear-cuts are complete, they can be pretty jarring to see in the wilderness, but after a few years, they start to recover. As this photo shows, wildflowers take advantage of the newly created open area and proliferate.

iPhone Photo....

Just took this photo of the hoverfly on the chicory blossom with my iPhone, I love the bright blue of these flowers.

Spring Has Finally Sprung....

Even though the calendar says it's spring, in these parts it can take a while for warm weather to arrive. I went out on a shoot the other day and found these violets growing next to Sabattus River.

Spring Blossom....

Last weekend I took a walk on the Papermill Trail in Lisbon Falls and discovered huge masses of trout lilies but they were unopened. I went back on Wednesday morning thinking they may have started blooming, but again, nothing but buds. The weather has been cool and rainy all week so maybe that has something to do with it. I'll check them out this weekend to see if they're progressed any further. I did find this marsh marigold in bloom.

First Spring Flower...

Most folks don't really think of the pussywillow as a flower but that's what it is and usually the first one to appear in late winter. This was taken after a night of rain.

Night TIme is The Right Time.....

Sometimes plans don’t go according to plan. I originally had the idea of taking photos of the milky way with black eyed susans as a foreground subject. Well, the lights of Freeport and clouds washed that idea out. Instead I just pointed the camera to a darker section of sky (the west) and got this photo instead. This image is a focus stack of two photos, one focused on the sky, the other on the foreground flowers and blended in Photoshop. The sky exposure was 25 seconds at f2.8, ISO 1600 and the flowers, 30 secs @ f2.8 and the same ISO but for the flowers I used my headlamp to skim light onto them. The lens was the Canon 16-35 2.8L on my 7D Mark II. After shooting the daisys I learned not much light is needed, I just move the beam from my headlamp across the flowers for about a second or two. I discovered if you shine the light for too long on one area you tend to get a too bright, spotlight effect. I like the way the long sky exposure cause the clouds to streak, adding a little something extra to the photo.

Abandoned Beach...

I took this image a couple of years ago at Reid State Park, it was taken during my favorite time to go to the beach, when no one else is there. This was the morning after a full moon and you can just make out the moon, through the haze, on the top of the photo just right of center. It was a very hot and humid day so later on this beach had wall to wall people on it.

It's National Wildflower Week....

This was taken by Sabattus River after an evening of fog.

It's Earth Day...

Celebrate the beauty all around us.

Some Like it Wet....

I've been to Sabattus River many times throughout the years and there are many photographs on this blog to prove it. Even though I've been many times it seems I always find new things to photograph. I had never noticed these moneywort blossoms before despite being in this particular location on numerous occasions. A low vantage point and a wide angle lens helped me get this view.

I went back a couple days later after more rain and got a closer image. A polarizing filter was used in both images to reduce shine on the rocks and leaves.

Keeping With The "Longing for Green" Theme.......

A Video I Made...

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Video made based on my wildflower photos.