Tagged: tree

 

A Good Story
I always love a good story; stories are what binds friendships and culture, and stories are what draw us to interesting people. As I walk through the woods on a new trail, I wonder where the trail will take me; what story will it tell?

The streams and rivers that I hike to are similar; they wander through the landscape carving out a path that meanders and reveals the area around it, much like a good story or a good trail. As you explore their journey, you find out so much about their story – the hills and valleys, the ancient stone and rock, the detours – much like life.

I absolutely loved this scene of the small stand of birch covered in moss. The fog was low that morning, and the grass was damp from an overnight rain. As our group walked through the woods, it felt like a forest in Washington State; damp air, big trees, uneven terrain – and then we encountered this neighborhood of white bark.

In between the large trees, the path was wide and somewhat straight; the path through the birch wandered almost lazily. I’ve taken photos of paths in woods many times, but many times the photo never gets shared. But this was a wonderful photo, and it pushed me to start looking for other paths on that three day trip.

 






 

Notice the Little Scenes:

One of the most difficult parts of a nature walk for me is not focusing on the destination. Often, I get so carried away with hiking that I forget to notice the beauty surrounding me; things like tiny mushrooms, plants, small scenes escape me because I am focussed on getting “there”.

When I’m hiking with a group, a different pressure comes up – I don’t want to hold the group back; of course, this isn’t as bad if I’m with a group of photographers. Then there is laziness; I don’t want to switch lenses, put on the filter, or move my camera bag so that I can squat down.

Often for me, photography is about putting the rest of life aside – the final goal, pressure from others, and my own bad habits – to actually focus on what’s around me. The beauty of a stream, a tiny new plant or ladybug, or even a overgrown, but still maintained cemetery.

 

 

 

I love the little highway scenes; the ones that make you do a U-turn. This little stream is probably only visible during the spring, when the grasses are short and the stream is flowing well. If you looked at a satellite view, the curves aren’t that dramatic, but by using a longer lens the distance compression really works in my favor.

 

.

There is something mystical about this scene; the small light green leaves remind me of spring cherry blossoms, and the path leading through the forest reminds me of forests of the north west.

 

 

.

Cynthia found this little ladybug (or ladybug like beetle) in the flotsam from Lake Superior’s waves; besides being cute, I wondered how it was already so active. That morning was chilly, around 45, and he was very close to the waves rolling on the beach, perhaps he’s a surfer?

 

 

Lastly, this cemetery is unlike any other gravesite that I’ve come across. The graves were mostly from the 1920-1950’s, and since then, the birch forest has grown in around the graves. But someone has continued to maintain the graves, and that feeling of “cemetery in the forest” is both comforting and creepy.

 

 

.

.

.
1325

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

 

There were two trees that simply glowed yellow in the afternoon as I drove through my neighborhood. When I got home, I picked up my camera and walked around the block capturing the various autumn scenes, including this tree. I could have placed a lawn chair underneath it and stared into the majestic canopy for the rest of the afternoon, but I have a feeling the neighbor would have asked me to leave.

   

 

 

 

 

I’ve taken many photos along this theme over the years – I absolutely love the strong silhouette border and pop of colors in the sunlight.

For the past 10 years, I’ve wanted to take this trip with Keith; Sarah and I have also talked about taking a vacation down to Southern Illinois to see the natural beauty. For many years, the trip would conflict with work or kids activities, so we we’d say “next year, we’ll go on Keith’s workshop”.

We started the trip off with this fantastic image, and by the time the two and a half days were complete, Sarah and I had hundreds of fantastic images, and we’d made great new friends too.

 

 

 

Once you start looking around ECC, you’ll find many beautiful scenes to photograph, and since the campus has been built over decades, there are many different architectural styles to take advantage of.

 

 

 

“Bleached Tree”

May 27th, 2025

…view older images with the thumbnails below…  

CH0036 250525 142107

…view older images with the thumbnails below…

 

 

CK3437 250427 133526

…view older images with the thumbnails below…

 

“Sunlit Veins”

May 8th, 2025

…view older images with the thumbnails below…  

CK3389 250427 084441

…view older images with the thumbnails below…

 

CK3381 250427 083357

As the sun crests the hills, a photographer has a few minutes when the tips of trees and plants are radiating the sun’s fresh light, and the rest of the plant rests in the shadows … a solar spotlight of sorts.

…view older images with the thumbnails below…

 

 

CG7711 241208 171746

There’s something magical about the hustle and bustle of early December. The busyness but excitement for the celebrations to come; spending time with family, fewer work obligations, and parties. Watching the joy of the people skating in Millennium Park still brings a smile over a month later.

CE7332 241126 121841

CG7379 241123 152542

CG6562 241115 223713

CE7145 241112 204921

 

CE6998 241104 162208

BT8491 240807 165005

BT8489 230807 165004

 

CD4142 240409 084601

Until this point in the trail, you can keep your feet dry, but after this point, while it is possible to not get your feet soaked, it’s almost required to walk part of the way in the stream. But it’s all worth it, because this path leads to the Punch Bowl and to the “One Hundred Inch Falls” (my name for the location on Trail #4).

…view older images with the thumbnails below…

 

BZ9596 240226 075844

I drive past these wide open fields every morning, and in the winter they are typically very boring. But on Friday morning, the fog was perfect; just dense enough to conceal the horizon, and just thin enough to show the small patches of forest in the middle of the flat fields.

…view older images with the thumbnails below…

 

 

AX9165 181005 124433

…view older images with the thumbnails below…

 

AX9114 181005 115246

…view older images with the thumbnails below…

 

AX9102 181005 114516

…view older images with the thumbnails below…

 

AX9075 181005 113619

…view older images with the thumbnails below…

 

AX9057 181005 113145

…view older images with the thumbnails below…

 

AX9054 181005 113026

Cynthia and I share the same birth month and when she was younger, we would plan trips for our birthdays. This was a hiking trip to Matthiessen State Park; evidently I never posted all of the photos. You can see the other images here.

…view older images with the thumbnails below…

 

“Fall Forest Colors”

January 21st, 2024

…view older images with the thumbnails below…  

AX9046 181005 112641

…view older images with the thumbnails below…

 

 

“Sunlit Stone”

January 20th, 2024

…view older images with the thumbnails below…  

BY1354 230703 093910

…view older images with the thumbnails below…

 

 

BZ3475 230928 153056

If you know me, you likely know that I love photographing waterfalls, and recently someone asked “what counts as a waterfall?” Well, the water has to fall; it’s as simple as that. Now, I won’t drive hours to see a waterfall like this one (small, artificial), but the girls let me know about this cute location in Sun City Huntley, so one afternoon I stopped by to capture the small cascade along their artificial stream. The real question: does this count as a “nature photo” on my website?

…view older images with the thumbnails below…

 

 

BZ7831 231007 172816

BZ7166 231007 111103

BZ4023 231002 083650

 

CB0397 231002 150050

…view older images with the thumbnails below…

 

 

BZ5442 231004 093948

…view older images with the thumbnails below…

 

BZ6409 231005 135915

…view older images with the thumbnails below…

 

BZ6420 231005 135939

…view older images with the thumbnails below…

 

BZ7526 231007 123537

…view older images with the thumbnails below…

 

BX5939 230422 083049

…view older images with the thumbnails below…

 

BX5532 230416 083430

BT7008 230507 082104

BT6946 230507 075911

…view older images with the thumbnails below…