Those Amazing Maple Seed Pods

Can you believe it’s June already? As expected, my neighbor’s maple tree has begun dropping it’s seed pods, or “helicopters” as I like to call them.  They’re all over my yard, on my bushes, on my roof…I ‘m sure you know the drill. Not that I’m complaining. I’ve loved watching them spin to the ground since I was a child. I’m 51 now, and I still like to pick them up and throw them back up into the air.

While up on my roof cleaning a few thousand helicopters out of my gutters and downspouts, I had an idea. Why not see what I can do with some of them photographically.

Walking around my yard with my Tamron 90mm f/2.8 macro mounted on my Nikon D7000, I found a lot of good backdrops to place the seed pods against. In many instances, I didn’t have to place anything. The seed pods where just sitting there waiting on me. Of everything I tried, I liked my little helicopter friends laying on hosta leaves the best.

 

During post production, I really liked the textures I was seeing. And being an older photographer who got his start shooting black and white negatives, I knew these textures would really pop in in black and white. I’ve been wanting to try Nik Software’s Silver Efex Pro 2 anyway, so I downloaded the free 15-day trail and loaded it up as an extension to my Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3.

 

I found Silver Efex Pro 2 very easy to use. To transition from Lightroom to Silver Efex, you select Edit In from the drop down Photo menu, or you can right click on the photo and select Edit In. From there, a copy of your image is created and opened inside Silver Efex Pro.

Once inside Silver Efex, there are 38 presets on the left side with examples of what your photo would look like. On the right side, you can custom tweak your image to get any black and white effect you desire. There is also a section called Film Types where you can make your image emulate the look of many of the old black and white films.

Although I like Silver Efex Pro 2, I don’t do enough with black and white to justify the $190 price tag for the software. Regardless, I am enjoying the free trial and have 12 more days left to play. If you have any interest in doing some black and white photo projects, I highly recommend you give Silver Efex Pro 2 a try. If nothing else, download the free trial and see what you can do with it.

For more information on the Silver Efex Pro 2, contact Nik Software.
http://www.niksoftware.com/silverefexpro/usa/entry.php

Wind Box for Flower Photography

I do quite a bit of macro work outside, and a common problem when shooting flowers is getting them to stay still in the wind. It’s commonly a game of patience waiting for lulls in the wind. I am not what I would call a patient photographer though. Another option is getting up very early in the morning to get the photos before the sun heats the Earth which gets the whole wind machine going. Unfortunately, I’m not what I would call an early morning photographer either.

Mike Moats over at Tiny Landscapes has come up with an ingenious little wind box that can be used to wrap around your subjects in the field. This wind box is made from cheap Plexiglas and Gorilla Tape (stronger version of duct tape). It literally takes around 15 minutes to build. When not being used, it collapses flat for easy storage and carrying. You can find a link to Mike’s 14 minute build video here: Mike Moats Wind Box Build Video

 Wind box in use – Photo courtesy of Kirk Hallowell

I have personally tested the wind box in 15 MPH winds with gusts up to 20 mph. The wind box does a great job in keeping the flowers still. However, 20 mph gusts is pushing the limits of it’s effectiveness. At those speeds, it is possible for the wind to blow the wind box over with the potential of flattening your delicate subjects.

Here are a couple photographs I made of Pasque Flowers (Anemone patens) at Nachusa Grasslands near Franklin Grove, Illinois using the wind box. As you can see, despite high winds, I was able to get very fine detail. Both of these photos were taken on an overcast day with the camera set to ISO 200, 1/250th @ f/8.0.

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Having an interest in the prairies of the American Midwest, I’ve wanted to photograph a prairie wildfire for many years. These fires are important to the health of the prairies, but as one can imagine, they are very dangerous to be around. So I opted to seek out some local organizations that are trained in the controlled burning of prairies, or as I learned “Prescribed Burning”.

Having recently discovered Nachusa Grasslands about an hour south of where I live, I contacted the Friends of Nachusa Grasslands, a group of volunteers that manage the preserve. They were very receptive to my request to document a Prescribed Fire and put me in contact with the Burn Boss.

I spent an entire day out with the teams. I sat in on their morning training session and listened to their safety briefs. In the field, it was a day of meeting new people, learning what they do, and documenting the event. All while trying to stay out of the heat, smoke and ash. These photos are just three out of a couple hundred that I took. CLICK HERE for a gallery of 21 images including these three.

So, what did I learn from this experience?

1) You are not in control. These fires are dangerous. They are incredibly hot and they move fast. You have to listen to the professionals and do what they say.

2) You have to protect your camera as well as yourself. There is a lot of heat, smoke and ash, all of which the camera does not like. Several times I had to stop making photos and walk away from the fire. I also had to clean my camera many times during the day.

3) Sometimes you have to let an image go or take something less dramatic. No photo is worth the safety of yourself, people around you or any animals in the area. What good is a photo if you aren’t alive to look at it?

4) Carry an orange safety vest with you when documenting dangerous situations. I was in my street cloths the entire day. Basically a gray jacket and blue jeans. And while I was never in any danger and was in constant contact with the fire teams, I feel a little more visibility would have been nice.

5) Keep a couple bottles of water in your camera bag. You are out in the sun basically hiking the entire day. Not to mention you are exposed to extreme temperatures from time to time. You need water to stay hydrated. Energy bars come in hand too. Luckily, I thought of this one before the day started, so I was prepared.

I want to thank the Friends of Nachusa Grasslands for allowing me the opportunity to photograph a Prescribed Fire. In particular, Bill Kleiman (Burn Boss), Susan Kleiman, and Bernie Buchholz were all a big help in answering my questions out there and in keeping me safe. I look forward to working with them again.

Changing Seed Pods

I took this photo back in September just as the Honey Locust seed pods were starting to turn for the season. The red and green of the pods caught my eye, and I liked the compositional elements of this grouping the best. There’s a repeating pattern which provides unity and structure to the photo. There are also some nice curved lines which impart a sense of grace. For lighting, it was a slightly overcast day, so I got a nice soft box effect courtesy of Mother Nature.

Thornless Honey Locust (Gleditsia triacanthos) Seed Pods

Prairie Milkweed

This is my favorite photo of milkweed that I took this year. I’ve got a number of compliments on it, so others must like it as well.

The sun was back lighting the milkweed pods creating harsh shadows and obscuring the details I wanted to bring out. I used a small 12 inch gold reflector to fill in the shadows, warming the photo and bringing out the earth tones even more.

Prairie Milkweed (Asclepias sullivantii)