Links – July 29, 2011

Showy Orchis © 2010 Patty Hankins

Here are some posts and articles that I enjoyed this week – hope you enjoy them as well

Photography and Art Links

The Art Newspaper has Sculptor finds alleged copies of his work in corporate collection

G. Dan Mitchell has 10 Critical Tips for Landscape Photographers and Very Basic Filter Advice for New DSLR Shooters

Digital Photography School has Photography in Harsh Mid-Day Light

Virtual Photography Studio has The Basic Guide To Google+ For Photographers

Photo Attorney has Another Way to Search for Uses of Your Photos

Flowers, Plants & Gardening Links

Civil Beat has Saving Hawaii’s Rarest Orchid

Washington Post has Whitebark pine tree faces extinction threat, agency says

Maui News has Researcher breathes life into rare Hawaiian orchid species

Delaware Online has DuPont admits new herbicide has damaged spruce, pine trees

CBC News has Exotic ash borer threatens Montreal trees

National Park and National Wildlife Refuge Links

National Parks Traveler has Interior Secretary Wants Congress To Designate A Manhattan Project National Historical Park and Curatorial Facility Proposed for Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Four Other Park Service Units

Environment News Service has Climate Change Disrupts Great Lakes National Parks

Wildlife Links

Science Daily has Snow Leopard Population Discovered in Afghanistan

Christian Science Monitor has Rainbow toad: Found after 87 years, first photo ever

The Atlantic has A Way to Save America’s Bees: Buy Free-Range Beef

Buffalo News has Pair of injured eagles prove to be lovebirds

Birdwatching has Beyond the webcam: Open water and plentiful food beckon to Decorah Bald Eagles

Native Plants & Wildlife Gardens has I’ve Just Seen a Baby Hummingbird . . . NOT !

NYTimes has Evolution Right Under Our Noses

Washington Post has  Long-distance swims associated with loss of sea ice may cause problems for Alaska polar bears and Largest population of endangered gibbon found in Vietnam, giving new hope to species

BBC has Chernobyl’s Przewalski’s horses are poached for meat

Environmental Issues Links

bittusahgal has a great video on YouTube She’s Alive… Beautiful… Finite… Hurting… Worth Dying for.

NYTimes has As ‘Sinks’ for Carbon, Forests Are Even Mightier Than Assumed

The Guardian has When Antarctica was a tropical paradise

Custer State Park in South Dakota

My first stop on my big trip to the western parks was Custer State Park in South Dakota. I’d planned on stopping at Badlands National Park – but a couple of friends suggested I’d probably have a better time at Custer. So I followed their recommendations – and am very glad I did. The wildlife at Custer State Park was amazing.

As I drove west, I was totally surprised by what South Dakota looked like. Every time I’ve driven cross country – I’ve the southern route through Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. And for some reason, I thought that South Dakota was going to look very similar to Arizona. Clearly I had no clue what to expect. I was amazed at how beautiful it was – green hills, mountains in the distance, huge blue skies – and lots of wildlife visible from the highway! I really enjoyed the drive.

I did make one important stop on my way to Custer State Park – I had to stop at Wall Drug in Wall, South Dakota. I’ve always seen the bumper stickers for Wall Drug – and after my trip along Route 66 last winter I’ve developed a new appreciation for places like Wall Drug. After all – where else can you have someone take your photo on a giant jackelope?????

Or worry that you might be T-Rex’s next meal?

 

 

After visiting Wall Drug – I did head to Custer State Park. I spent several hours driving the various wildlife loop roads in the park – being absolutely amazed at the wildlife. I saw my first wild bison at one of the visitor centers – and then saw several herds of them as I explored the park. Don’t let anyone tell you these are nice tame animals – first of all they are huge – and very fast. At one point, several of them were running along the side of the road – and the ground was shaking. This bison was one of several along the side of the road.

© 2011 Patty Hankins

In addition to the bison – I saw several small herds of antelope. They tended to stay a ways back from the roads so I didn’t get very many good photos of the antelope. I did photograph this one from not too far away.

© 2011 Patty Hankins

The final wildlife species I photographed at Custer State Park was the prairie dogs. I’d seen some small colonies of prairie dogs at zoos – I’d had no idea how big their colonies were – or how loud prairie dogs can be! I saw prairie dogs in several of the parks I visited on my trip – and I’m convinced that the prairie dogs in Custer State Park were the loudest animals I heard on the entire trip! They were also adorably cute!

© 2011 Patty Hankins

My one disappointment at Custer State Park was how few wildflowers I found. When I checked at the visitor centers – I was told there weren’t any flowers in bloom. I did find and photograph some. My guess is that there were plenty of flowers in bloom at the park – and I just didn’t find the right trails to hike to find them. Next trip – I’ll do a little more research so I’ll have a better idea on where to find the wildflowers.

The one wildflower photo that I’m happiest with from Custer State Park is one of some Rocky Mountain Irises (Iris missouriensis)  – an iris that is native to much of the western United States.

© 2011 Patty Hankins

Custer State Park was a wonderful introduction to the parks of the west. Mount Rushmore wasn’t very far from Custer State Park – I didn’t make it there on this trip – but will definitely plan on visiting it on my next trip to the area.

More Sunflowers at McKee-Beshers Wildlife Management Area

© 2011 Patty Hankins

What can I say – other than I recently spent another fantastic morning at McKee-Beshers Wildlife Management Area in Poolesville, Maryland. Regular reader of this blog know that McKee-Beshers WMA is where photographers and other sunflower lovers can be found in Montgomery County Maryland in mid-July. Each year, the county plants at least one field full of sunflowers. They plant them as part of their wildlife management plan – and while we love the sunflowers in July -  let’s just say the sunflower lovers go into complete denial about what will be happening out there later in the year.

As I mentioned in a post a few weeks ago – this year’s sunflowers were much shorter than ones growing in the same field a few years ago. The shorter flowers provided me with some great photo opportunities I haven’t had in the past – and I didn’t need to bring the stepladder with me that I’d been planning on bringing.

On this visit, I spent most of my time photographing in the open shade at the far end of the sunflower field. I was there on a Sunday morning with several other members of the DC Area Flower Safari Meetup Group and there were lots (and lots) of other photographers out that morning. So we heading out further than I usually do.  Since we were photographing in open shade we didn’t have to deal with the intense yellows in the sunflowers that often make photographing them in the bright sunlight a challenge.  It was also a bit cooler than in the direct sun – so we were able to photograph for close to two full hours that morning.

Most of the photos I took were detail shots of individual sunflowers. I’ve been out to McKee Beshers often enough that I’ve taken lots of photos of the whole field.

For just a few moments this one sunflower with lit brilliantly by the sun. The photos I took a few second before and a few seconds after this one are nice photos of a sunflower. To me – this one captures the wonders of the field on a bright day – golden light on a bright cheery flower!

© 2011 Patty Hankins

In this next photo I was fascinated by the patterns and textures in the center of the sunflower. I love the way the unformed seeds are so tightly packed and compressed in the center. It’s hard to believe that in not too long of a time the center of this flower will be full of sunflower seeds that the birds can’t wait to eat!

© 2011 Patty Hankins

As always, there were lots of bees in the sunflower fields. Since we were there at 7 AM, many of the bees were still sleeping on or at least not moving from the sunflowers they were perched on. This bee stayed in the same spot long enough for several of us to photograph it before it flew off.

© 2011 Patty Hankins

This year, the rows of sunflowers were planted perpendicular to the way they’ve been planted in previous years. With the sunflowers arranged this way – I spent more time looking (and photographing) the backs of some of the plants than I have in the past. I really like the way the hairy texture of the green leaves contrasts with the smooth yellow petals.

© 2011 Patty Hankins

For the first time, I photographed sunflowers that were just starting to bloom. I really liked the way the petals were to unfold.

© 2011 Patty Hankins

I hope you enjoy this year’s photos. If you’re in the DC area – I hope you’ll join me at one of the DC Area Flower Safari Meetup events. Our next one is at Kenilworth Gardens on July 30 – and I’m sure we’ll head back to the sunflower fields at McKee Beshers WMA next July.

New Photo: Lotus Blossom IV

Lotus Blossom IV © 2011 Patty Hankins

I’ve recently added a new photo – Lotus Blossom IV – to my Beautifulflowerpictures.com website.

This is the first of two new lotus blossom photographs I created this year after visiting Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens in Washington DC. I photograph the lotuses at Kenilworth at least a few times each summer. On every visit – I try to find a new angle to photograph the lotuses from – or to show something I haven’t shown before in my photos. What caught my eye with this blossom was how the pink petals were nestled in the curve of the lotus leaf. I also loved the way the sun was shining through the petals highlighting all the ribs and other details. You can see all of my Lotus Blossom photos in the Lotus Gallery on my website.

This photograph is available as either a 8 X 18″ or 14X30 gallery-wrapped canvas.  You can order Lotus Blossom IV from my website.

Common Buttonbush – Cephalanthus occidentalis

© 2011 Patty Hankins

Every year when I’m photographing the lotus blossoms at Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens I’ve seen a really unusual shrub with round clusters of little white flowers. This year,  I finally photographed it – and discovered that what I’ve been seeing is Common Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis).

© 2011 Patty Hankins

What always catches my eye with the buttonbush is the wonderful shape of the blossom balls. The individual flowers are so small that unless you look very closely – you may not realize that it is made up of tiny individual flowers. The protruding pistils add another great dimension to these fascinating flowers.

© 2011 Patty Hankins

Buttonbushes are native to entire Eastern parts of the United States and Canada, and to a few western states. A member of the Rubiaceae family, these shrubs 6 – 12 feet tall. The dark green leaves grow to about 8″ long. The balls of blossoms grow to about the size of a ping-pong ball.

© 2011 Patty Hankins

Buttonbushes have a long history of being used medicinally. The foliage is poisonous and livestock find it unpalatable. Native Americans used buttonbush to treat everything from eye disease & pain to use as a laxative. The Commanche also used the wood to make game sticks.

© 2011 Patty Hankins

It’s always fun to see people’s reactions to buttonbush the first time they see it – they always seem to smile at what looks like a bunch of spiny balls hanging from a tree.

If you’d like more information about buttonbush, you can find it online at

Fairfax County Public Schools

Kemper Center for Home Gardening

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

Native American Ethnobotany

USDA Plant Profiles

 

Lotus Blossoms at Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens

In addition to the sunflowers at McKee Beshers Wildlife Management Area – my other favorite place to photograph flowers in the summer is Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens in Washington, DC. This park is one of the undiscovered gems of the National Park System. It always amazes me how many people in the greater Washington DC area have never heard of Kenilworth Gardens  – much less have ever visited.

There are always lots of photographic subjects at Kenilworth to choose from – at this time – the lotus blossoms are the stars of the park. There are literally sunken pond after sunken pond full of lotus blossoms in all stages of blooming. They will likely be blooming for at least another month.

When in bloom, the lotus blossoms are beautiful shades of pink with a yellow center. The large green leaves provide an amazing counterpoint to the beautiful pink blossoms.

Here are some of my favorite lotus photos from this year at Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens.

© 2011 Patty Hankins

© 2011 Patty Hankins

© 2011 Patty Hankins

© 2011 Patty Hankins

© 2011 Patty Hankins

I hope you’ve enjoyed my lotus photos as much as I enjoyed taking them. If you decide to head into Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens to see the lotuses for yourself – I recommend going early in the day and using lots of bug spray and sunscreen. Also don’t forget to bring some bottled water with you.

Amazing Parks of the West

As you may know I spent most of the month of June on an incredible photography trip to some of the state and national parks in North & South Dakota, Wyoming and Montana. I put over 6400 miles on my car, explored wonderful places I’d only heard about before, and took thousands of photographs. I’m just starting to seriously process my photos from the trip but I thought you might like to see some of my favorites that I edited while I was on the road. I was hoping to photograph some landscapes, wildlife and wildflowers on the trip. And fortunately I found wonderful opportunities to photograph all of them.
	My first stop on the trip was at Custer State Park in Custer, South Dakota. Several photographer friends had recommended Custer State Park as a great place for wildlife. Their wildlife drives are amazing. I saw and photographed my first wild bison and antelope at Custer. I also discovered just how cute (and loud) prairie dogs are!
From Custer State Park I headed on to Yellowstone National Park – the oldest park in the National Park System. When you think of the grand parks of the west – Yellowstone immediately comes to mind. The landscapes were incredible and I photographed more wildflowers at Yellowstone than anywhere else on the trip.
	After visiting Yellowstone, I headed south to Grand Teton National Park. This was one of the parks I totally fell in love with and can’t wait to return to. It had everything a photographer could hope to find – wildflowers, wildlife, and incredible landscapes. On one of my hikes I saw four pairs of mother and baby moose. It was at Grand Teton that I found two of the wildflowers I was really hoping to find – Pink Shooting Stars and a Fairy Slipper orchid.
Next up was Glacier National Park – where I learned just how late spring can arrive in the mountains of Montana. Going to the Sun Road which goes across the park was still buried under many many feet of snow while I was there in mid-June. The rangers were showing visitors recent photos of the Visitor Center at Logan Pass – where the snow was up to the roof line. I fell in love with the landscapes at Glacier – incredible mountains, glacial lakes and wonderful waterfalls. Next time I head to Glacier it will be later in the summer – in hopes that Going to the Sun Road will be open and I can see more of the park.
	My last stop on the trip was at Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Located in the badlands of North Dakota – one of the highlights of the park was the wild horses roaming the landscapes. It was while visiting this part of North Dakota in the 1880s that Theodore Roosevelt began to become aware of issues such as conservation and the need to protect species from extinction. Later as President of the United States, Roosevelt oversaw the protection of close to 230 million acres of public lands.
I, for one, am very grateful to visionaries such as Theodore Roosevelt. The lands protected in our National Parks, Wildlife Refuges and Forests are a treasure for all of us to enjoy. Had earlier generations not preserved these lands for us – we would not be able to enjoy them today. Photos in the article are Avalanche Creek – Glacier National Park Bison – Custer State Park Prairie Smoke – Yellowstone National Park Shooting Stars – Grand Teton National Park Bear Grass – Glacier National Park Wild Horse in the Fog – Theodore Roosevelt National Park Barn on Mormon Row – Grand Teton National park

Links – July 15, 2011

Flame Azalea © 2010 Patty Hankins

 

Here are some posts and articles that I enjoyed this week – hope you enjoy them as well

Photography and Art Links

Artists Who Thrive has Artists Do Not have a Career – They have a Business

Dan Williams has Compositional Bird Photography

Strobist has I Try To Resist Memes…

PetaPixel has AP Sacks Photographer for Cloning His Shadow Out of an Image

Pixiq has Why you should take photos in RAW

CopyHype has Kind of Bamboozled: Why ‘Kind of Bloop’ is Not a Fair Use

Colby Brown has Google+, Social Marketing and the Changing Photo Industry

Maria Brophy has Self Promotion is NOT a Dirty Word – 11 Ways to Market Yourself

 

 

Flowers, Plants & Gardening Links

Mother Jones has Wait, Did the USDA Just Deregulate All New Genetically Modified Crops?

BBC has Urban plants’ role as carbon sinks ‘underestimated’

 

 

National Park and National Wildlife Refuge Links

National Parks Traveler has  House Interior Appropriations Budget Carries Ill Winds for National Park System

 

 

Wildlife Links

Perishablenews.com has Cooking Demo At James Beard House Showcases Safe Preparation Of Lionfish

NYTimes has Answer for Invasive Species: Put It on a Plate and Eat It and In Midwest, Flutters May Be Far Fewer

Washington Post has At Assateague, struggles to keep the horses wild

St Petersburg Times has Florida panther faces new danger: Its growing fearlessness

 

 

Daylilies at Brookside Gardens

Last week I spent a wonderful morning at Brookside Gardens in Wheaton, Maryland. I hadn’t been there in a while – between being on the road and the weather – I haven’t spent much time at the local gardens. So when I had a little time one morning – and it wasn’t supposed to rain for a few hours – I headed over.

What caught my eye immediately was all the wonderful daylilies in bloom in various locations in the gardens. All sorts of different colors, sizes and varieties were blooming.

Daylilies (members of the Hemerocallis genus) actually aren’t members of the Lily family. They are members of the Xanthorrhoeaceae family. They get their botanical name from the Greek for day (hemera) and beautiful (kalos). On most daylilies, a flower opens in the morning and withers at the end of the day. Often another flower on the same stalk will bloom the following day. Originally native to Asia – there are now over 60,000 registered cultivators of dayliles. Most blossoms have three petals and three sepals. The center of the flower – known as the throat – is often a different color than the petals and sepals.

Here are some of my favorite photos of the daylilies from Brookside Gardens.

© 2011 Patty Hankins

© 2011 Patty Hankins

© 2011 Patty Hankins

© 2011 Patty Hankins

© 2011 Patty Hankins

© 2011 Patty Hankins

© 2011 Patty Hankins

© 2011 Patty Hankins

Sunflowers at McKee Beshers WMA and a New Meetup Group!

© 2011 Patty Hankins

I made a quick trip out to McKee Beshers Wildlife Management Area  in Poolesville, Maryland on Sunday afternoon to check on the sunflower field. Good news – the sunflowers are coming into bloom. My guess is they will be in great shape later this week and into next weekend! Even though it was the middle of the afternoon when I was there – I couldn’t resist taking a few photos. There’s something about a field of sunflowers – I just have to stop and photograph them.

I  noticed some major changes since my last visit to the sunflower fields in 2009 (I was in Colorado during the peak bloom last year). The sunflowers are a much shorter variety than in previous years. I’m 5 feet 5 inches tall – and in the past have had challenges photographing the sunflowers since they were often taller than I am. My plan had been to bring a stepladder with me this year. Much to my surprise – this year I’m taller than the flowers that are already blooming and appear to be at full growth. Best guess is most  blooming plants were under 5 feet tall.

The other change I noted was the way the rows are planted. In the past, when you walked into the main field from the parking lot – the rows of sunflowers were parallel to the front and back of the field. This year, the rows are perpendicular to how they were planted in 2008 and 2009.  As you can see from the photos I took yesterday,  the new configuration of the rows is going to offer some interesting  possibilities for composing sunflower photos this year.

© 2011 Patty Hankins

I’m sure I’ll be making a few trips out to McKee Beshers WMA in the next week or so. I know I’ll be out there next Sunday morning at 7 AM.

I’ve set up a Meetup Group – DC Area Flower Safari – for people who love flowers and like to photograph them. I’ve described the group as

Do you love searching for and seeing wildflowers where they are growing in their native habitats? Do you enjoy discovering the wonderful variety of flowers growing in local gardens? Do you believe in not picking the flowers so others can enjoy the beauty you have seen?

If yes – then this is the Meetup Group for you. We’ll be searching out and photographing flowers at local gardens and wildflowers in the local parks. Possible outings include Lotus blossoms at Kenilworth Gardens, sunflowers at McKee Beshers WMA, and Azaleas at Brighton Dam.

Everyone is welcome to join in on the flower safaris – no matter what type of camera you use. You’re even welcome if you just want to see the flowers and not photograph them.

The first meeting of the group is next Sunday – July 17 at McKee Beshers WMA. We’ll be meeting at 7 AM in the parking lot – and heading in to photograph or just enjoy the sunflowers. If you’re in the DC area please join the group – I’d love to see you on one of our upcoming Flower Safaris.

 © 2011 Patty Hankins

If you make it out to McKee Beshers this week – I hope you have a fantastic time with the sunflowers