The Beauty of Heath…
Standing in the pouring rain at the Saco Heath yesterday, I reaffirmed in my mind why I love nature photography. Even more so in the rain, this place was saturated and unique and beautiful…with vegetation and diversity uncommon in these parts. It was like visiting a landscape out of place or back in time…
Entrance to Saco Heath
And in a way, it is. The heath followed the natural progression of many of the bogs in New England, but it’s kettle ponds have completely filled. The boardwalk floats on 20 feet of ‘water’ in places, except the water is saturated with layers of peat moss building since the last ice age. The water is acidic, and the plants that grow there are specially adapted. Bog Laurel, Rhodora, Blueberry were in bloom, and put on quite a show.
Flowers at the Saco Heath
As an unfortunate aside, despite it’s beauty and uniqueness, it seemed to me at times that it was undervalued. The boardwalk was in serious disrepair in places, and an occasional beer bottle out in the peat…out of reach without sinking or disturbing the flora. I’m glad that my photography speaks to so many people, but I hope to inspire people to get out and see the world around them, and to have a stake in it’s conservation. Perhaps the Nature Conservancy, who maintains the area, is struggling during these tough economic times…perhaps they just need time and volunteers.
Back to the good, the trail into the heath was a treat as well, with many favorite wildflowers in bloom: clintonia, polygala, a few lingering goldthread, starflowers, lady slippers and plenty of painted trilliums! I didn’t have the patience to shoot them in the rain, nor will I be able to shoot much of ANYTHING in the wind today. It’s already gusting to about 25mph, and slated to get windier. It’ll be a good day to leave the camera at home and enjoy a nice walk with the wife and pup!
Now..my favorite shot of the day yesterday…these benches mark about the halfway point between the car and the end of the loop. Clearly weathered, and surrounded by the great landscape in the heath, I found it a perfect setting to sit and enjoy. Please view it large here…it’s nearly as good as being there!
Saco Heath - A Place to Rest
Back to the Bogs…
I have been waking up EARLY the last few days courtesy of a wood thrush that has taken up residence outside of our window. He’s marked the start of the songbird migration, which began around the first of the month for the wood warblers and other emphatic vocalizers. Spring is in full swing.
Wedding Day
It’s nice to be back after a fantastic wedding week with friends and family in New Jersey. It’s amazing how fast the season has progressed during the week away. The forests are dense, and the wildflowers in the woodlands are fading. My attention therefore has been on bogs, which offer a very narrow window of peak shooting in the spring. With rain and wind in the forecast for the weekend, I ran over to Ponemah Bog last night with some friends.
On the way over, we stopped at Bob Janules’ place, and he led us to one of the most exquisite woodland flowers, the Fringed Polygala. What a treat to catch this tiny beauty in full bloom.
Fringed Polygala
At the bog, we found things already beginning to pass, but plenty of flowers still in bloom. The incoming storm choked off sunset, but this place is rarely about the sky, but the beauty along the floating path. Blueberry bushes, dense with flowers, rhodora in patches, and cotton grass mixed throughout create a natural experience that is quite unique.
Wide View of Ponemah Bog
Rhodora and Cotton Grass
Late Light on Rhodora
I hope to still catch these scenes with a morning fog sometime soon, but the window may shut this year before I can. Perhaps Sunday morning, perhaps a dream for another year…
This weekend, given the rain, I’m going to try to get out to some streams, and still hope to catch some woodland wildflowers. Posts should be much more regular in the coming weeks as we transition now to summer, and meadow flowers!
A week away…
I am most certainly a morning person. I enjoy getting up early, before the sun and experiencing the stillness before the world wakes up. There is a fine serenity to listening to the birds while watching the mist rise off a pond, and feeling the first rays of sun of the day. I’ve also recently reflected upon the fact that I am very in tune to the first breath of wind of the day as well. It’s something that I’ve grown to enjoy, despite the fact that in the spring, I usually despise what the wind does to my subjects…
This morning, I was treated to an extended period of time before the wind came up, and it allowed for some fine macro shots of subjects that are usually bobbing in the breeze. Take this back-lit hobblebush…one of my favorite wild shrubs in any time of year, but especially fine in spring green and flower. Such beauty in a simple plant.
Backlit Hobblebush...
The morning is my time, which works out well in my relationship. My fiance is NOT a morning person, allowing me to get up, shoot, and come home and still have time to make her breakfast. The evenings are her time. It’s a good balance…one of many that we’ve struck in our relationship. I bring this up, as I won’t be around to shoot for the next week or so, as I will be getting married this weekend. A new journey, beginning in the beauty of spring, with my best friend.
Back in a week!
Leaf out …
Leaf out is here in southern NH. The trees are now greening, and the flowering trees and shrubs are beginning to show off. Apples, lilacs, shadbush are about to explode into bloom. After nearly a month of macro work, it’s finally time to think about wider landscapes again. My spring landscapes are usually divided into three subjects…streams and waterfalls, rural scenes with emerging greens, and bogs. Yup…bogs.
Why would anyone want to venture into the buggiest places in New England during the buggiest time of year? Because a lot of those bugs are there to pollinate, and many of the plants are uniquely adapted to take advantage of those bugs in their diets. The landscape is therefore rich with a combination of flowers, and oddities of the plant world.
Early Rhodora at the Bog...
Yesterday morning I made a trip to the Merrimack Valley area to try to shoot some of these scenes. I struck out with waterfalls, with water too low at Pulpit Rock. And if anyone finds a lens cap there…lemme know! But the bog…things are waking up, and very early this year.
Early Bog Laurel...
I keep harping on this idea of ‘early’. Checking records, in 2006, I shot hepatica at Adams point on May 5th. This year…the second week of April. Given this, I wasn’t surprised to see that the rhodora and bog laurel, which bloomed after the second half of May last year, were about to pop. Another week or so this place will be amazing. And I look forward to sharing it…
Spring Beauty!!!
It’s been just about a week since I’ve gotten out to take pictures. For me, that’s an eternity, especially during wildflower season. But…I’m excited to be getting married in about a week and a half, and the final stages of planning for that has consumed much of my time and mind. We planned to get married during flower season, so the limited time shooting was a known coming into the season.
I managed to sneak out to one of my favorite fertile floodplains along the Lamprey River this afternoon, and am amazed how much it has changed in the past year with all the flooding. New sandbars and new silt have lead to an impressive change in the ecosystem, as plants that have struggled to grow in the past are in full bloom. Most notable are the trillium and trout lilies, which I’ve never seen bloom there…despite numerous plants always growing. Also growing in abundance is the artistic (and delicious) orpine. Though not a plant with a showy flower, the geometry of the leaves makes it a fun subject to shoot.
Things are certainly greening higher up in the forest canopy now too. Soon I’ll be able to focus my attention on wider scenes. Waterfalls with spring green are about a week away in Southern NH and about three weeks away up north. Additionally, some of the more widespread blooms, which lend themselves to landscape shots, are coming in the next couple weeks. You can read this as…I’ll be off the macro kick soon. Until then…here’s some shots from today…
Spring Beauty I
Spring Beauty II
Orpine
Awakening Riverbanks…
Purple Trillium
Discovering new spots is always fun, especially when they are close to home. I was driving home from a friends place earlier this week when I noticed a few trillium on a bank right next to the road. When I returned today, I found a few nice specimens, and went to work. It took me about a half an hour to shoot about 4 or 5 compositions, ensuring that everything that needed to be sharp was sharp. The wind was the biggest issue, but depth of field is difficult on big flowers as well. I’m really happy with the results.
From there, I jumped down to a stream bank, and was amazed by what I saw. HUNDREDS of red trilliums, intermixed with helebore and marsh marigolds lined the stream!
Trillium Streambank
I’d never seen anything like it. Unfortunately, it was starting to get pretty dusky, and the light was low and flat. I snapped a few quick snapshots, and hope to return a bit earlier tomorrow to see what I can’t piece together.
Hoping for some better compositions, and we’ll post on here then!
Shooting in the Rain…
Since I last updated, one week ago, the forest has completely changed. Instead of dry duff, the ground is covered in growth. Canada Mayflower, wild oats, and some ferns are peaking out. I’ve seen spring beauty, trillium, marsh marigolds and even an anemone in bloom since last post…all VERY early…about two weeks early in fact.
We found two species to photograph yesterday, trailing arbutus, and one of my favorites…bloodroot!
Trailing arbutus is tough to shoot, as the blooms are waxy in appearance and lack contrast, height and depth. They grow along the ground, and are often among less than photographic surroundings. The rain didn’t help. When it’s raining, my patience is short, and fumbling under umbrellas holding filters, and balancing so as not to crush plants becomes almost too much. I still haven’t gotten a great shot of this species, but this one shows it’s nature off well. On a side note…these are supposed to have a fine fragrance to them…I can’t smell it?!?!
Trailing Arbutus (Mayflower)
Bloodroot is a different story. There’s nothing frustrating about shooting this plant (except for finding it). It’s simply beautiful. The leaves artistically unfurl about the time that the plant blooms, giving the opportunity for amazing compositions. Even though it only opens in sunlight, I was happy to shoot it in the rain. I’ll be back to this spot when more opens up…I didn’t want to walk to/through the main patch for fear of stepping on emerging plants…
Bloodroot in the Rain
A final note on shooting in the rain. Keeping things dry becomes next to impossible, and my bag was soaked. If you go out shooting in the rain…do not leave your camera and lenses in the bag to dry when you get home. Lenses can be notorious for growing fungi inside of them in warm/tropical areas, and a wet camera bag in a house is a great tropical simulator.
This morning, my stuff is all dried out and ready to go this weekend. Wish the wind would stop though!
First Wildflowers…
A quick post, as a reference point to myself and other photographers…
I went on a hike with Kevin Talbot yesterday through the Pawtuckaway mountains. The area boasts a rich assortment of wildflowers, some of them fairly rare in the state, and the hope was that some would be emerging.
Our first goal was to find a location where the flower ‘Bloodroot’ was thought to grow. It was still likely a few weeks early for this flower, but with the recent warm weather we were, perhaps unrealistically, hopeful. A few miles of hiking, made a bit more difficult at times because of water and blowdowns from recent storms, we found the location…and nothing yet growing. The woods, though awakening with birdsong, and bugs (TICKS!), showed only minimal signs of flora. A few stalks of purple trillium, a few violet leaves…that’s it.
Around that same area though, we did make a find that made the trip, as a large Blanding’s Turtle (endangered in the state) was up and wandering around. Here’s Kevin getting his shot of the big guy!
Blanding's Turtle
From there, we headed back over to the cars for my more standard hike up on the beautiful north mountain, which makes the western rim of the ring dyke in the park. Here we found the other species that we had hoped to find…Hepatica.
Hepatica Flowers
Hepatica is a neat plant, as it sends up flowers from the dried duff on the forest floor, with hardly any other parts of the plant visible. The leaves are often buried, making the flowers wonderful blue, purple and white highlights on the otherwise brown ground.
Hepatica with Leaf
These flowers are abundant in areas with rich soil, and many south facing slopes around the state should feature flowering hepatica for the next few weeks. As a final note… for all areas where wildflowers are known to be abundant…please tread lightly! Remaining on the trail or staying on rocks where you can will ensure minimal trampling and soil compaction, and allow these plants to be enjoyed year after year!
