I use a Canon Rebel t3i 55-250mm lens. I love to see things up close, notice tiny details and subtleties. Nature photography is relaxing for me, it’s become my favorite hobby the older I get. I read and collected so many National Geographic magazines growing up, that’s what really got me into photography. In 2013, I bought my camera for a class I took in college, and it’s been with me ever since.
I joined the nature community and started sharing my digital photography on Twitter in 2020, these frozen flower pictures were very popular. Before, I shared a lot of pictures on Instagram and Facebook, especially when I went travelling. But I am going to share my best photos here as well so I can easily make collages and elaborate on the stories behind my photos.
2/18/2021 The winter storm of 2021 left everything in my garden frozen solid for a week. Before, it had already been warm and sunny so many of the flowers started blooming. But now as things melt away I can see, it’s all damaged. Plants always astonish me though, they never stop trying, they deal with whatever is given to them.
Sometimes I ask myself, how can I be more like a flower? How can I bounce back from sudden interruptions or circumstances?
I think it takes sticking to one goal – the goal of growth. Flowers know their purpose and never tire from achieving it.
2/27/2021 Just a week after everything was covered in ice and snow, it’s somewhat balmy. It’s been partly cloudy all week and raining so much that my backyard feels like a sponge. It’s the weekend now so I went for a walk today, no dogs just my camera, and my husband. It was nice to be able to stop whenever and take as long as I want looking at things up close. It was humid but there was a chilly breeze and it started drizzling while we walked. I found a big old fallen tree that had moss and fungi all over – it was so fun to photograph. We walked further to the river bottoms, just to see – the winter storm had taken down a few trees.
I think the fungi is some sort of turkey tail variety – I just loved the colors. All of them came from one fallen tree. It’s amazing how things in the forest decompose. Everything cycles.
3/3/2021 On the very first two evenings of March, the sky was so beautiful – the most fiery reds I’ve ever seen in a sunset. The clouds turned pink, purple, and orange and there were stripes in both sunsets!
I see so much beauty all around me… so grateful I’m able to see it. I love sunsets.
3/4/2021 I went for a walk early this morning, it was a gorgeous, sunny day. I’m glad I brought my camera because I usually don’t. But I’d seen a blue heron in the lake there before and never gotten to take a picture. As I was walking towards the lake I was thinking about that heron, hoping to see it because I hadn’t for the most of winter. And there it was! So graceful and mystical…
I watched as the heron caught 3 fish in its mouth – nearby a man was fishing and hadn’t caught anything as far as I could see.
I had fun observing the heron’s legs move slowly in the water, then raising its long neck to strike. I’d never witnessed that before. Then a second blue heron flew in! Just my lucky day I guess because I’d never seen that either.
I loved their dark blue and grey wings gliding across the water.
Their bodies really remind me of pterodactyls.
They’re solitary creatures that utilize the water, earth and sky – and I can relate.
Blue Herons have a lot of meanings in various cultures. Animal spirit guides have always been a part of my life.
I like to learn about them, especially when I feel a synchronicity.
This advice from a heron resonated with me: “Know thyself. Be still, reflect on opportunities. You don’t need to be right in the middle of everything. You can have quick access to things/desires seemingly out of nowhere.”
I also walked in the forest and took a few more close ups of moss and fungi I found around the trails. I needed this walk today, the sunshine felt so good and my dogs are worn out.
I love that this park has a horseback riding stable – every time I drive the long way through so I can see them.
There was also a donkey roaming around in the field.
My happy dogs:
While I was there – the tall grasses in one field were being mowed by a tractor – I usually like to walk through and listen to it rustling in the wind.. so I went quickly before it was all cut down. I’m happy I had time today to do what I love most: be outdoors.
3/7/2021 Today is another beautiful, sunny day. I went for a walk in the park with my husband. We hadn’t been to this park in a year – and I could barely recognize the trails, though it’s a park I’m very familiar with. This time it felt different. That winter storm really hurt a lot of trees – so many were downed. The trees in this park are very old – it’s considered one of the last places in my city that holds part of the original forests that covered this area hundreds of years ago. I love the old growth, the trunks are huge with giant, mossy roots. I saw many big old trees that seemed to have snapped in half, the wood splintered and sharply gashed.
It looked wild! A lot of work has already been done to clear the trails of debris, but I could barely recognize any of them. We walked for a good hour and a half – I’m having fun bringing my camera around more.
I liked these blue turkey tail mushrooms growing on the dead trees.
There was so much Ivy climbing up the trunks of trees and all over the forest floor.
…a few taken with iPhone. I found a nice message written in the bark: Have a good day, you deserve it!
…when I walk by these giants I imagine all the history they witnessed and am always in awe of their wisdom.
I saw Daffodils – a sure sign of Spring.
The bark of these old trunks has such deep grooves, but someone carved their initials nicely.
…it was such a bright day, the sky was so clear and blue, I love the way bare branches look against it. I am excited to see the leaves come back though.
We even found the nearly 200 year old downed tree that had been marked and featured on the Conservancy’s website.
(My husband is so sweet – he carved a heart and my name. He knows more than anyone how much I love putting my boots on for a walk in the forest.)
3/18/2021 Yesterday it was very stormy and dark but then in the late afternoon the sun peaked through the clouds. So I went outside in the yard – I’d been feeling rather low the past few days. I was trying to ease my mind and remember the good things that have happened recently instead. I was in my favorite corner of the yard, where the Elderberry, Passiflora, Honeysuckle and Blackberry grow. I looked down and noticed an area that wasn’t growing any grass, and looking closer I realized it’s in the shape of a heart! I smiled and took a picture and then kept looking at the rain drops on clovers. I went inside to get my digital camera to take some close ups. When I got back outside I looked up into the dark rain clouds and that very moment, the shape of a heart began to form out of a break in the clouds. It was just absolutely perfect… I watched the clouds swirling around until the shape lost its form… and I was overwhelmed by the secure feeling that there is still more love in this world than hatred. The ground and sky showed me these signs of love:
Everything is starting to grow back and glow bright green the past few days, and after all the rain the grass is already getting tall. It brings me a lot of joy to see more green again (my favorite color).
4/5/2021 It’s been so sunny and warm the past few days. It was a nice Easter weekend. After getting some things done off my to-do list today I went outside in the sun. Often I go out without my camera.. only after I can’t resist anymore do I run back inside to get it. Today there was just so much magic in the yard. The greens of summer return quickly here. There’s a mama Dove nesting in the privet above the birdfeeder and so much violet all over the ground. I noticed many little yellow flowers too which I think are wild strawberries. I saw a dandelion but didn’t pick it to make a wish. I also got my first (blurry) butterfly pictures of the year too, a Painted Lady. It had me darting around the yard until it fluttered away over the fence. Then I looked down and found a little blue egg! Like a real life Easter egg.. Maybe a Robin or Mockingbird. Poor thing somehow fell from a nest, it had a little grey feather stuck on it. I picked it up and placed it into an old nest I’d collected 2 years ago that’s in a spot on the porch. In the front yard the roses are budding and a few azalea flowers opened. The sun is already setting now, golden light shone all day long.
If I could shrink myself and venture into this tiny forest of violets, I would.
…what would you wish for?
… I can’t wait to see more butterflies again soon!
4/7/2021 The week is flying by again, today is a cloudy day. I’m staying home all day, writing, editing, and reading… I took a break earlier this morning and snapped a few pictures around the yard. Checked on mama bird, she’s still there, dedicated to her eggs. Her eyes looked less worried today, she must be getting used to me now.
Another nice day.. yesterday was a bit sad though. My Dad’s old dog Bigman crossed the rainbow bridge – he was 12 years old. Now he’s in Heaven with all our other sweet pets. We love you forever Bigman…
4/14/2021 These photo entries are starting to get real long… I have to change my theme for this website eventually. I’ve been thinking a lot about how to make the website work better, I wonder what I can really do with it. But anyway, today it rained in the morning, then the sun came out in the afternoon. I had a nice day mostly working from home. I got to go outside with my camera and capture the beautiful roses adorn with raindrops.
They were just like this exactly around the same time last year. I love them and am happy the rose bush is bursting with blooms again. I need to do some landscaping and trimming this summer. Our yard is pollinator friendly.
A few edited ones. While I like to share mostly happy, bright, positive things, I notice that I really like dark colors and darker editing on my pictures.
There was a bird, I don’t know what kind, looking at me while I approached the bushes, probably another nest nearby. It’s the time of year when lots of birds are all around, gathering things and making nests. I saw a Red bird too, happy in the greening tree across the street.
This spring things feel very lush, maybe because of all the on and off rain. But today was special – dragonflies, bumble bees, clover, passion vines, blackberry, mint, rosemary, violets, daisies, azaleas.. some of the wonderful things that I saw today.
And the moon tonight, was smiling in the sky. I felt like I hadn’t seen the moon in a few days – today it was right overhead. The nights have been so clear lately, so glad I’m able to see the night sky and twinkling stars.
1/11/2022
One of the butterflies I raised stayed for a while after I released it – long enough for me to grab my digital camera and have a little photo shoot. Faye was so beautiful…
Channeling Passions 
So interesting and beautiful photography!
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