Luckily for me, from my home in northern Michigan, it is not far to the nearest woods to visit and photograph ephemeral spring wildflowers. It seems that within days of seeing bare ground, spring beauty, hepatica and bloodroot emerge and bloom. Later in April, Dutchman's breeches, squirrel corn, wake robin trillium and trout lily decorate the forest floor with their blossoms. In my neck of the woods the showiest display peaks around the second week of May, often on Mother's Day. That is when the giant white trillium literally form a carpet below rich woods of sugar maple, American beech, basswood, white ash and yellow birch.
The spring show is short-lived as the leaves in the canopy eventually shade the forest floor and the flowers disappear until the next spring. My quest is to photograph as much of the fleeting display as possible. However, for me, it is not just about documenting the show, it is about how to capture the fleeting springtime beauty and a sense of being re-awakened that will last throughout the year.
My choice of tools include my Nikon D850 with a articulating view screen that allows me to get low with the flowers and a wide variety of lenses. Extreme closeups are done with a 105 mm macro lens and perhaps an extension tube such as in this close-up photo of a bloodroot.
Wide angle closeups captured with a 14-24 mm wide angle lens that show the flower in the forest setting are a favorite of mine. These photos give a sense of place and scale. This photo made by combining a series of photos taken with differing focus points to extend the depth of field is known as focus stacking and is one of the techniques I teach in my spring wildflower workshop scheduled for May 11 & 12. More details and information on registration will be available shortly.
As some flowers look skyward, they are best photographed from above such as these crested dwarf iris captured in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park with a 24-70 mm lens.
Getting sharp photos requires a great deal of patience, as often the wind will make the flowers dance. It also requires a tripod to steady the camera and perhaps a focusing rail to easily move the camera to get the composition and focal point. I will provide more information on techniques to get sharp flower photos in my upcoming wildflower workshop.
Believe it or not, I sometimes leave things out of focus, this is called selective focus, and it is done to create a more artistic rendering of a wildflower such as this photo of a white foam flower with a wild geranium to add a dash of color. This is another technique I will discuss in my upcoming wildflower workshop scheduled for May 11 &12 to coincide with the normal peak of the wildflower season.
There are a lot more tools and techniques that I will cover in depth in my workshop. It will be a great time as we capture the beauty of the northwoods in the spring.
Meanwhile, I will leave you with one of my award winning wildflower photos and invite you to enjoy my small world gallery on my website.
If you would like more information or have questions about my photography, please feel free to e-mail me at thaxby02@yahoo.com
