Back to the woods

So here we are, back into the woods for the second week of springtime woodland images. As you may recall from my last post, the Trilliums were just in bud. Now they are in full bloom. They’ll probably last only about another week. So if you want to photograph them you best get out there now. As with any flower, you always want to photograph them at the peak of their perfection… ideally just after they have opened, in order to catch them without any of the flaws that come with age.
Trilliums can be hard to photograph. They are only about a foot high, which in itself isn’t all that bad. But the flowers hang down, facing the ground. In order to get this shot I had to take the camera off the tripod (something I don’t like to do for macros) and hand-hold it braced on the tripod leg for stability while laying on the wet ground. Being on the forest floor where there isn’t much light, I had to pump up the ISO and decrease my aperture in order to get a fast enough shutter speed for a hand-held shot. Sometimes it takes a few shots to get a good one, but it’s worth it.

Since last week, the biggest change I saw in the woods, other than the Trilliums being in full bloom, is the emergence of every sort of fern. Some are just sprouting, while others are almost a foot tall; but they are all for the most part still in the ‘fiddlehead’ stage with the heads still curled up to some extent.

One tip for photographing ferns and other vegetation in the woods is to look for plants with a limited shaft of light falling on the, while the surroundings , especially the background, is in shadow. This will make the main subject really pop.

Here’s another image that required removing the camera from the tripod. This is known as Bellwort, aka “Wild Oats”. This was the only one I saw in bloom, but they were all over the place. They will likely be in full bloom next weekend. The flower itself is only about 3/4 to 1″ long, so it required that I get really close to get this shot. It, as well as most of these images, was shot with a dedicated 105mm macro lens. You simply can’t get this close to a subject this small with a “macro” zoom lens

This is another photo that definitely required a macro lens. The largest cap in the group of mushrooms is about 1/2 inch at most. This little cluster was growing on the side of an old tree stump. The time to find mushrooms in the woods is commonly in the fall, so I was lucky to come across these.
This last photo shows last year’s fruit of the Partridge Berry. This plant is very small and creeps along the ground. The leaves are only about an inch long at most. It is very plentiful, but most of the berries are gone at this point. I’ll give you one guess where the name comes from.Next weekend some of theses flowers will be gone, some will be in their glory, and others will just be starting to open. Combine this will all the other wonderful things that will be happening in the wood and you’ll definitely want to get out there with your camera. If you don’t live next to any woods, Thorncrag is a wonderful place to search. But wherever you go, be mindful of where you step. you don’t want to destroy some emerging beauty for the sake of a photograph.

Just a reminder. all images seen here are available for purchase or licensing.

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May042014

The Rewards of a Long Winter

Red Trillium, aka “Stinking Benjamin” ready to bloom

It has been a long, cold, hard winter. There’s no doubt about that. And sometimes even now in early May, it seems like spring will never come. However, Mother Nature knows it will, and she will not be denied. A walk through the woods will tell you that. Wild flowers are not only emerging, but some are about to bloom, as the Trillium shown here is testament to. This photo was taken on May 3rd, and it may well be in full bloom by the time some of you read this.

The woods in spring is a magical place. All sorts of new life starts to emerge. You could call it the reward for making it through another long winter. Some times in the middle of January, when the temperature is 10 below zero, it’s hard to imagine that anything in nature could survive and come back as resplendent as ever. Winter can be a tough time photographically too. There’s not a lot of “pretty” things to photograph. It’s cold, and you really have to make yourself go out there if you hope to shoot anything interesting… and even then you really have to look, and use your imagination.

New ferns and old leaves

But when spring comes along, the whole world changes. Sure, there’s still not much in the way of pretty landscapes. Let’s face it, we don’t live in the Rockies, where everything is photogenic regardless of the time of year. But we have the woods. And the woods are a treasure-trove of photographic images for the creative photographer; New flowers, new leaves, dappled light hitting the forest floor, rushing streams. The possibilities are endless. And there are new things happening every week, even every few days. Spring in the woods is one of my favorite times of the year. You can use a dedicated macro lens if you have one. But if not, a zoom lens with close-up capability will work well too. These images were all taken with an 18-200mm zoom. Remember to compose to avoid distracting elements, and choose an aperture that will blur the background, letting your subject stand out.
Even if you’re not into photography, get out there in the woods and look around… you’ll be surprised at what you see.

I’ll be posting more “Blogs from the Woods” as the season progresses, so stay tuned.

Water coursing over the rocks in Bobbin Mill Brook

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Feb122014

Color, Shape and Form

This image exhibits the epitome of shapes and colors in a photographic image

Maybe it’s my artistic and graphics background; maybe it’s just something that has been in me since I was a child. Whatever it is, it’s not something that I ever thought about consciously as I was developing my photographic style. Indeed, I wasn’t even aware of it until several years in when I started seeing a common theme to a lot of my work. But once I realized it, there it was, staring me right in the face… I was attracted by strong color, shape and form. It seemed that most of my best and most striking images contained at least one of those qualities; and often they had all three.

Now that I realize this propensity and ability to see blocks of shape and color I seek them out even more, and I see them in some unconventional locations. This image was taken during a snowstorm last winter. I don’t often go out shooting during a storm, because it can cause problems with the gear. You have to be careful which direction you shoot. But anyway, I made my way down Lisbon Street, mostly documenting the downtown in a storm, but at the same time trying to be a bit artistic about it. When I got to Oak Street the shelter of the parking garage beckoned, offering a bit of respite from the wind and snow; so I obliged. Once inside I was free to point my camera in any direction without getting the lens wet.

ice and light reflections on the androscoggin river

This image is a good example of shapes and color in a nature image

As I walked around, looking from the inside out, a whole new world of possibilities opened up to me. I was seeing the same buildings I saw before, but now they were framed by the columns and rails of the garage. What was before just a couple of buildings with no special qualities now became the backdrop of an image that was broken up into blocks and shapes by the columns directly in front of me. And furthermore, the red and yellow of the two distant buildings now added the color that I crave in an image… and these colors themselves created more shapes. And to top it off I was blessed with horizontal line, vertical lines and diagonal lines. I had it all.

The two buildings by themselves, viewed from outside the parking garage, while interesting for their contrasting colors, do not have the same impact on their own. Not until I viewed them from inside, framed by the rails and columns did the whole picture come together for me. It now had everything that attracts my eye in a photograph. These images are all around; in nature and man made. One just has to be attentive to their surroundings, and learn to look at the details, rather than the big picture.

My Web Site: Daniel J. Marquis Photography

Jan162014

Morning on the Androscoggin River

Winter morning sunrise on the Androscoggin River

I hadn’t been out on a photo expedition in a while, so last weekend I decided it would be good to go out for some morning shooting. We had had some warm temps with freezing rain, and the weatherman said the following morning would be dry but foggy. Fog in the morning can lead to some interesting photos, so I decided to head out for a sunrise photo shoot on Sunday morning.

Well, I woke up about 15 minutes before my 6:30am alarm. I got up and looked out the window to see what the conditions were. To my surprise the eastern sky was not only showing a clear dark blue, but not a hint of fog was to be seen. So even though a foggy sunrise was not going to happen, there was certainly the possibility of a colorful sunrise… So I got dressed and headed out.

My first challenge was to find a location that would make the best of a sunrise image. I was looking for a location that looked east to view the rising sun, but would also include some water or ice to reflect the colors of the eastern sky. The two locations that I had scoped out the night before on Google Earth didn’t quite pan out, so I kept driving and looking for the perfect location, all the while fighting the clock.

Leaves embedded in the ice on the Androscoggin River

Leaves embedded in the ice lead the eye into the photo

I ended up at a location in Lisbon along a bend in the Androscoggin River that looked directly at the rising sun, with only a few minutes to spare before the the crucial moment. I set up my tripod and camera and waited a short while before the sun started to rise above the trees on the horizon. The recent rain had turned the snow that was on the river’s surface into a nice reflective surface, so I was ready for whatever was to occur.

As it turned out, the sunrise was less than spectacular, and without the ice to reflect the sky’s color the photo wouldn’t have been worth taking. But by being at the right place at the right time I was able to come away with some better-than-average images.

After shooting the actual sunrise I turned my attention to some scenes in the opposite direction. Embedded in the ice along the river’s edge were a myriad of dead leaves. These lent themselves to some close-up photos. So I changed my wide angle lens for my 100mm macro lens and focused on the leaves. The low angle of the rising sun created some nice highlights and shadows that a mid-day sun would not have allowed for. Then, after the close-ups, I noticed how the leaves in the ice created a line leading into the distance that was custom-made for a wide angle long depth of field image. I changed back to my wide angle lens and looked for the the best composition that would focus on an up-close leaf leading to a long-distance landscape image. The foreground leaves created a main focus point, while the string of leaves would lead the viewer into the photo… the perfect use for a wide-angle lens in the landscape.

So even thought I wasn’t able to capture what I originally set out to, I was able to get several different type of images from one location by using the the unique light of a sunrise. These images, and others, were all taken within an area of about 20′ x 30′, and all in a span of about 30 minutes. It’s all about working the scene.

Leaf, pine needles and twig are pleasing arranged in the ice

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Jan102014

No Northern Lights; Oh Well

Fence and bare tree sillouetted against night sky

Lacking any anticipated Northern Lights, This bare tree and fence on a downward slope made an interesting composition.

So the Northern Lights, Aurora Borealis, was supposed to be quite visible to us here in Maine. That’s cool, I’ve seen the pictures. I’ve always wanted to see and photograph them myself. This seemed like a good opportunity. One problem; well, two really: First, the night time temps were around 10 degrees. Secondly, in order to see them well I would need to get out of the city away from the ambient light. I was thinking Turner perhaps.

So did I really want to see them? Yes. Did I really want to go out there in the cold and dark? No. But I knew I would be kicking myself if woosed out and then saw all kinds of Northern Lights photos from Maine on Facebook the next day. So I bundled up and headed out to Turner with my camera and tripod.

About half way along Upper Street I found a side road that allowed me to get off the main road and gave me a perfect view to the north. So I parked and opened my thermos of hot cocoa and sat waiting and watching…. and nothing was happening. I was getting updates by phone from my wife, who was back home snug and warm, checking up-to-the-minute updates on line. Her info said I should be seeing something… but still nothing. You see where this is going.

Don’t forget to explore vertical options of the same subject. The pink glow on the horizon is from the glow of city lights back in Lewiston

Long story short, the lights never appeared. But I didn’t want to waste this trip. Kind of like ‘all dressed up and no place to go.’ So I started looking around. The sky was perfectly clear with a good half moon out illuminating the surroundings. So I decided to do a little experimenting with some night shots, which isn’t easy in below-freezing temps. First off you have to hold a flashlight while trying to set up the camera and get the correct settings. Then you have to “try” to see through the viewfinder to get a pleasing composition. Then set the proper focus manually because it’s too dark for auto focus… and then refocus every time you move the camera. And of course your fingers are getting more numb all the time, making it harder to push the necessary buttons.

So anyway, I didn’t get to see the Northern Lights. In fact, don’t ask me to get excited about the possibility any more because I just won’t be interested. But I did come away with two or three interesting shots on a cold night that I couldn’t have gotten during the day. So the trip wasn’t a total waste.

…And I’m starting to get some feeling back in my thumb.

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