Archive
IN THE FIELD: Old Timers
Recently I came across a group of plants growing in a bog garden I have never seen or even heard of before. They are known as Rough Horsetail, or Scouring Rush Horsetail. The botanical name is Equisetum hyemale. This species of plant is actually a living fossil and once dominated the late Paleozoic forests about 100 million years ago. Along with many other species of plants and animals from that era, it has survived and continues to flourish even today.
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IN THE FIELD: Really Makes You Wonder
Most signs are posted for a good reason…directions, safety, awareness, rules and regulations. And then there are signs that just don’t make sense.
Here is a perfect example. This sign is posted at an elementary school playground. It is informative, as signs typically are, yet it’s a bit off-kilter.
I understand why the school officials would not want children, or adults for that matter, on the basketball court with skateboards, bicycles, scooters, and rollerblades. But what I can’t figure out is why ball playing is not allowed on a BASKETBALL COURT.
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IN THE FIELD: Hydrangea
The Hydrangeas have been blooming in the area for a few weeks and have been putting on a grand show. It appears they have received just the right amount of rainfall and sunshine.
The best part photographing this shrub is its locale as I didn’t have to travel very far. It is growing right outside our kitchen window. It has been a pleasure to watch the flowers mature and change from off-white to pale pink, and then to blue and lavender.
The difficult part of photographing this shrub was trying to choose which group of blossoms to focus on.
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IN THE FIELD: Good Morning
Water lily blossoms greeting the day under the shade of a willow tree.
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IN THE FIELD: Following My Own Advice
Whenever I am out and about just doing stuff, I always have my camera with me. And there are times when I will drive by a good photo op and say to myself “I should go back and get a shot of that.” But for some silly reason, I don’t. I rationalize that I’ll go back another day.
There is an old farmhouse just outside of town that has been lovingly restored to it’s former glory and converted into office space. It is one of my favorite stone buildings in the area, and this year the owners outdid themselves with their plantings. It’s a beautiful sight from the road seeing all the color in the gardens with the Pennsylvania stone as a backdrop.
And yes, I did drive by this site the other day. And almost decided not to stop. But this time I did. I went inside and asked permission to photograph the gardens and their response was “go right ahead.”
Had I waited until another opportunity presented itself, all these wonderful blooms may have been finished. And then I would have been kicking myself until next summer.
So, my advice is, if you see something worth preserving photographically, don’t wait for another day…it may be too late. Unless you like kicking yourself.
IN THE FIELD: PREHISTORIC OASIS
While visiting a local arboretum a few weeks ago, I spent a good part of my time in the shade of enormous trees. It was a rather warm day and the coolness of the woods was a welcome relief from the hot sun.
I had never visited this arboretum before and was looking forward to the experience. I am familiar with many of the species of trees growing there, and even some of the understory shrubs. Although, I learned of many species entirely new to me.
Some of the plants and trees have prehistoric origins, so I was not surprised to find everything seemed to be of extraordinary size. I think that is what drew these butterflies to the area. And they certainly looked right at home. I had never seen such a large grouping of butterflies in one location and never would have believed they grow this large. I am not kidding when I say that I would estimate their wingspan to be at least four feet. Maybe more.
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IN THE FIELD: You Know It’s Summertime When…
Saturday morning I visited the famers market here in town. It’s not a large market, but there are a nice variety of foods produced by local farmers and merchants.
The goods available included all natural grass fed beef, baked goods of many varieties, jams, jellies, preserved vegetables, eggs, cheeses, and milk straight from the farm with no processing. In addition to all this great food were two produce stands brimming with seasonal vegetables, fruits, berries and flowers.
I’m pretty sure it’s going to be a great foodie summer!
Apricots fresh from the tree that morning
IN THE FIELD: The Heat Is On
We are in the midst of a heat wave where I live. For most of the week it’s been extremely humid with temperatures in the high 80’s to low 90‘s, with no relief coming anytime soon. When it is hot like this, I just want to stay inside and stick my face in a bowl of ice cubes.
Ice cubes? Hey….not a bad idea…and I might as well have some fun with the camera while I’m cooling off.
I started by putting a bunch of ice cubes in a glass bowl and placed it on the table. I mounted the camera on the tripod due to the low light levels indoors and the resulting slow shutter speeds. I took a few shots…the ice looked like ice…cool and refreshing, but it wasn’t very exciting.
Then I wondered what kind of effect I could create by illuminating the ice with some kind of light source. I used the flash, but the result wasn’t very dramatic. I even photographed the ice with various colors of acetate held in front of the flash. The ice took on some color, but it was too subtle for what I was trying to achieve.
I needed something more reflective to scatter the light among the ice cubes. So I turned up the volume on my thinking cap and remembered I had some battery-operated glow sticks. I dumped the ice cubes into a stainless mixing bowl, turned on the glow sticks and shoved them into the melting ice. The glow sticks were just the ticket.
This photo was not manipulated in any way. It is straight out of the can.
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IN THE FIELD: A Rose
I know there are a few rose aficionado’s out there…
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David Heilman 
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