As I approached a new hiking trail the other day, I was disappointed to see that I might just be walking through a dark woods all morning. Normally, I love walking through the woods, but not when I’m taking pictures. It’s usually too dark, or the light is too dappled for a good picture. I seriously contemplated going somewhere else, but gave myself a little pep talk instead. Even in the darkest of woods, I reasoned, there are patches of sunlight, and in those patches of sunlight, there could be a deer, or a chipmunk, or a shiny, new spiderweb! There’s always something, I thought. So off I went.
Chipmunk caught in a patch of sunlight, and a beautiful spiderweb highlighted by the sun
This White-tailed deer was grazing in an open meadow just beyond a wooded section of trail
Hedge Bindweed and an Eastern Comma Butterfly in a ray of sunshine
As I ambled along the trail looking for things to photograph, my thoughts kept turning back to my cousin’s young son who had recently been diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor. I was envisioning the anguish and the heartbreak that comes with such a diagnosis and wishing there was some way to make everything all better. I thought about the dark woods ahead; the one that they were facing, and hoping they would find patches of sunlight along the way that would make their journey less difficult. An unexpected kindness, perhaps, or a hopeful word.
Rosinweed Sunflower catching the sun
Pileated Woodpecker highlighted by a ray of sunshine
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly and an Eastern Amberwing dragonfly
Sometimes, the path I take through a dark woods leads me to an open meadow, or a hill top, or a pond, where the sun washes gently over everything, and the world looks like a brighter, happier place. I love when that happens! Sunshine opens up all sorts of possibilities!
Flowers in an open meadow
Eastern Pondhawk and an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail in the sun
I loved the effect of the sunlight on this small pond
And, on one very rare occasion, as I stood quietly at the edge of a pond hidden in the woods, a bald eagle swooped down out of nowhere and captured a fish right in front of me!
Bald Eagle making a surprise catch right in front of me!
Even in the darkest of woods, there are always patches of sunlight, unexpected joys, and sometimes, glimmers of hope.
Before I started taking pictures, there was so much I didn’t know about the world outside my own front door. I didn’t know that dragonflies came in a rainbow of colors, that turtles shed parts of their shells, or that we had cuckoos in Michigan! I didn’t know that cedar waxwings could get drunk eating fermented berries, or that great blue herons would stay here throughout our cold Michigan winters. My enlightenment all started with a Christmas wish.
Blue Eastern Pondhawk dragonfly (male) and a Green Eastern Pondhawk dragonfly (female)
A brown, white and yellow Widow Skimmer dragonfly
An orange and brown Halloween Pennant dragonfly (male) and a red and black Calico Pennant dragonfly (male) Dragonflies come in a rainbow of colors!
In the Fall of 2013, my husband, Mel, started asking me what I wanted for Christmas. I gave his question a good deal of thought and came up with the idea that I’d like to have a better camera. All I had was a pocket-sized Canon PowerShot– a lightweight and easy to carry camera with very limited capabilities.
Michigan’s Black-billed Cuckoo
Northern Map Turtle shedding its scutes and a Cedar Waxwing gorging on berries
A Great Blue Heron that decided to stay in Michigan for the winter!
Once I told Mel what I wanted, he went to work doing the research and came up with a bigger, better version of the Canon PowerShot that he thought might work. I loved it– and ultimately, dubbed it my “gateway drug”.
Eastern Kingbird babies hoping for lunch!
A butterfly that landed on my hand while I was taking pictures of other butterflies! (pictured: Comma Butterfly and an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail)
A giant snapping turtle taking a break on a very hot day!
I happily used that camera on and off for the next three and a half years; taking the usual family photos and typical vacation shots. It wasn’t until we went to Florida in 2016 for our first extended stay that my addiction to nature photography really kicked in. There were so many rookeries, sanctuaries and preserves with new and unusual birds, mammals, and reptiles that I had absolutely no trouble feeding my ‘habit’!
Florida birds: Black-bellied Whistling Duck and a Reddish Egret
Florida alligator taking a siesta
Florida birds: A Purple Gallinule and a Limpkin
Eventually though, I started wanting more. I wanted a camera with a faster response time so that the bird on the limb would still be there once I pressed down the shutter button. I wanted to get pictures of the birds and butterflies that were farther and farther away, and I wanted sharper images. Mel went back to work looking for a camera that would do all those things—without causing us to re-finance our home! By July of 2017, I had my new camera, a Nikon D3400 and a detachable 70-300mm zoom lens. I was back in business!
A bright-eyed Yellow Warbler
Musk Thistle and Coneflower
Common Yellowthroat
At some point along the way, Mel decided to take up his photography hobby again and assumed ownership of my D3400 after finding me a Nikon D5600 to take its place. We were both hooked!
Bell Peppers at the Farmer’s Market, and a Spiderwort flower
Spiny Softshell Turtle
Female Red-winged Blackbird, and a Silver-spotted Skipper butterfly on daisies
I loved all the beautiful pictures I could get with my D5600 and the 70-300mm lens, but there were birds and butterflies still out of reach that I wanted to capture! After a bit of research, Mel thought that a Sigma 150-600mm lens might do the trick. I was well aware of the size and weight of this lens based on what I had read, but when it actually arrived, I thought “What on earth have I done??” It looked huge! It felt heavier than I expected and I had serious reservations about my ability to carry it around for hours on end. But, I really, really wanted to take ‘far away pictures’ so off I went, camera and lens in hand.
My ginormous 150-600mm lens!
The BIG lens!
I used that set up for a year or so before my back started telling me that it might be better to add a monopod to my camera in order to support all that weight when I stood for hours taking pictures. Adding a monopod would mean I’d have a little more weight to carry as I walked along, but I wouldn’t have to hold the camera up to my eye unsupported as I patiently waited for the ‘perfect shot’ or tried to pan the movement of a bird in flight. My back has thanked me many, many times over.
Taking pictures using the camera mounted on a monopod– a good back-saver
I used the Nikon D5600 for two or three years along with the 150-600mm lens before totally exceeding the picture expectancy of my camera with over 100,000 shots!! I decided to trade it in for a Nikon D500, a camera that was highly rated for nature photography and has totally lived up to that assessment!
Blanding’s Turtle
Wild Black Raspberries and Salsify
Barn Swallow
Before taking pictures, I had already loved going on nature walks– but there was so much I didn’t see! With my camera in hand the world suddenly opened up!! I paid more attention. I noticed things I had never noticed before– like the subtle movement of a blade of grass that might mean a dragonfly had landed, or the tiny ‘bump’ at the top of a long-dead tree that might mean a hummingbird was resting; or the infinitesimal speck of blue on a shiny green leaf that might mean a damselfly was nearby.
Hagen’s Bluet Damselfy
All of those creatures had been there all along, but I never saw them —until I started taking pictures!
I love going out in the cool morning light for a picture walk, especially during these hot summer days when the afternoon temperatures have been well into the 90s! But our lovely summer days are quickly coming to an end, a bittersweet reminder that fall and winter are close at hand. I am looking forward to the cool, crisp days of fall, but am acutely aware that they will come at a price– all the colorful butterflies, dragonflies and frogs that I love to photograph will soon be gone. Come winter, the world will be even more monochromatic.
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail
Autumn Meadowhawk and Eastern PondhawkAmerican Bullfrog
Common Jewelweed and a Redbud leaf
That said, my walk the other morning was a perfect blend of Summer and Fall. It was deliciously cool in the morning, sunny and warm by the afternoon; much too cold for the frogs and dragonflies as the day began, but plenty warm a few hours later for all my favorite creatures to be out sunning themselves!
Blue Dasher
Differential Grasshopper and a Widow SkimmerMonarch Butterfly
Black Saddlebags and a Blue DasherBlack Elderberry
Knowing full well that colder weather is nipping at my heels, I’ve been out nearly every day for at least a couple of hours trying to capture what’s left of summer. Because of the pandemic, we haven’t traveled far and I’ve been limited to visiting the same preserves and natural areas closest to home many times over. When I’m in the midst of taking my 700th picture of a monarch or a blue dasher or a bullfrog in the same preserve I’ve been to hundreds of times, I stave off the potential monotony of it all by telling myself “It’s all practice, Jeanne, It’s all practice”– It’s a different day and a different light, every shot I take is a new challenge!
Barn Swallow
Common Buckeye and a Silver-spotted SkipperPainted Turtles
Female Baltimore Oriole
The silver lining to going back to the same places over and over again is that I really get to know its inhabitants; a case in point is the Wolf Lake State Fish Hatchery. I’ve been going there at least twice a week for years—and even more so during this pandemic. It’s a wonderful place to explore with dozens of ponds and lots of wildflowers. I’ve been there so many times that I know the best places to look for frogs; the most likely places to find the swallows perched on limbs, and which ponds the kingfishers favor most. I thoroughly enjoy this knowledge and this familiarity —but I am still longing for a change of venue.
Female Red-winged Blackbird
American Goldfinch and a Ruby-throated HummingbirdEastern Kingbird
Bull Thistle and Sneezeweed
Female Rose-breasted Grosbeak and a Starling
Hopefully, by this time next year, the world will be open again and we can all feel safe in our travels—however small those travels may be.
As I pondered what to write today, I was thinking back on my short but immensely gratifying photography journey.
Barn Swallow and a Belted Kingfisher
Juvenile Barn Swallow
Eastern Kingbird and Willow Flycatcher
It started innocently enough in the fall of 2016, when my husband asked me what I wanted for Christmas. I had no idea! But, he likes finding things that surprise me, so I gave it some thought. What I came up with was “a better camera”. For many, many years, all I had was a very small, pocket-sized, Canon Powershot.
Brown Thrasher and Female Red-winged Blackbird
Willow Flycatcher
Gray Catbird and a Cedar Waxwing
Once I told Mel about my ‘better camera’ idea, he went to work researching it. What he came up with was another model of the Canon Powershot –but a bigger, better version with a built-in zoom lens. I now refer to this camera as my ‘gateway drug’! As soon as I realized what was possible with a better camera, I was hooked!
Eastern Giant Swallowtail on Bull Thistle and a Great Spangled Fritillaryon Coneflower
Eastern Tiger Swallowtailon Butterfly Bush
Monarch on Butterfly Weed and a Red-spotted Admiral on Queen Anne’s Lace
It wasn’t long before I was outdoors nearly every day taking pictures of birds, butterflies, frogs, turtles– anything I could find that grabbed my attention. Eventually, though, I started musing about what I might be able to do with an even better camera—one that could capture the birds that were even farther away, and would also have a faster response time.
Blue Dasher and a Twelve-spotted Skimmer
Slaty Skimmer
Male Eastern Pondhawk
Since Mel enjoys doing the research and I do not, he’s the one who went to work looking for another camera, one that would take a detachable telephoto lens. What he came up with was a Nikon D3400 and a 75-300mm lens. Once it arrived, I was out the door!
Snowberry Clearwing Moth (aka hummingbird moth)on Spotted Knapweed and BeeBalm
Painted Turtle
American Bullfrog and Pokeweed
I think another year went by, maybe less, and I found myself wanting to capture creatures that were even farther away. Mel took off on another search and came up with a 150-600mm lens from Sigma that would probably do the trick. But it was much longer and much heavier than the one I currently had and I was hesitant. When it arrived, I was still hesitant. It just seemed too big and too heavy for me to handle comfortably. But I was eager to take close-ups and quickly overcame my reluctance. I have not put it down since!
Spicebush Swallowtail on Butterfly Weed and a Viceroyon Button Bush
Eventually, the constant lifting and focusing with a lens that size made my back ache and I reluctantly added a monopod to my set up. It’s a bit of a bother sometimes to have the monopod attached, but I can now focus on a subject for an indefinite amount of time without having to give my back a break.
This insect was a huge surprise! It’s a female BOTFLY laying an egg on a blade of grass. I’ve never seen one before and didn’t know we even had them in the U.S.!
After the Nikon D3400, came a Nikon D5600, which is what I have been using for the last couple of years. This camera and I have gone on a picture walk together nearly every day and I have taken hundreds of pictures with it on each of those walks. Periodically, I have checked to see how much ‘shutter life’ it had left.
Juvenile Great Blue Heron and Halloween Pennant Dragonflies mating
My D5600 had been given a shutter life of 100,000 shots. When I last checked, I had taken well over 151,000 pictures! I felt as if we were on borrowed time and decided to start looking for a new one.
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (dark morph) and a Pearl Crescent Butterfly
Red-tailed Hawk
Once again, Mel returned to the drawing board to find a camera that was well suited for wildlife photography. What he found was a Nikon D500. It arrived a just a few days ago and we have already become fast friends!
Red-spotted Admiral and a Silver-spotted Skipper
With a shutter life of 200,000 shots, I’m looking forward to many years and many pleasant journeys with my newest walking companion!
