Posts in Category: flowers
A bunch of Lady Slippers
Lady Slipper Orchids: Rachel Carson NWR Headquarter’s trail, Wells, Maine, May 2025 — A bunch or a cluster of Lady Slippers from Rachel Carson. Several of the historical patches of Lady Slippers along the headland trail have disappeared over the years, but this stand seems to still be doing well. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 102mm equivalent. Aperture mode with my macro modifications. f16 @ 1/30th. Processed in Photomator.
Lady Slipper
Lady Slipper Orchid: Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge Headquarters trail, Wells, Maine, May 2025 — It is Lady Slipper time again. I took advantage of the sunny day yesterday to trike out to the Rachel Carson NWR headquarters trail to see if they are in bloom. Since I hoped to be working low, I strapped my little travel tripod that folds down to ground level to the trike rack and carried into the woods with me. I don’t often use a tripod, but there are times when one just makes photographic life that much easier. Lady Slippers have a symbiotic relationship with a species of fungus that grows only on the roots of certain trees, so they are limited to patches where the conditions are exactly right. (Which is why they cannot successfully transplanted to your yard, and why you should not try. Enjoy them where they grow.) Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 126mm equivalent. Program mode with my macro modifications. f16 @ 1/40th to get the whole flower in focus. (Tripod 🙂 Processed in Photomator.
Trout Lily
Trout Lily: Emmon’s Preserve, Kennebunkport, Maine, April 2025 — This early spring flower of the New England woods has many names. Trout lily, Yellow Trout lily, Fawn Lily, Yellow Adder’s-tongue, Dogtooth Violet, or Yellow Dogtooth Violet. Dogtooth Violet is actually a different species, and is, as the name says, purple/violet in color, but many still call this yellow lily by that name. I have always called it Trout Lily. I go looking for them in late March and early April every year. I know a few spots where they grow, in addition to a couple of dense patches at Emmon’s Preserve, a short drive from home. This year I had to make three trips. The second week in April no leaves were showing. The third week I found some leaves, and only now, in the fourth week did I find the flowers. That is late. I shot photos in two different stands at Emmon’s. In one stand the pollen was yellow, and in the second patch the pollen was, as in these photos, orange. I looked it up this morning, and, indeed, there are Trout Lilies with the orange pigment, and there are Trout Lilies without. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 112mm and 114mm equivalent. The closer shot is with the Sigma Achromatic 1.75 diopter Macro attachment. On both I used my Sirui travel tripod at ground level. Processed in Photomator.
Male and Female Maple
Female and male Red Maple Flowers: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, April 2025 — I was not aware until yesterday, when someone commented on my photo of Red Maple flowers, that there are male Red Maples and female Red Maples, and that the flowers are different. I have never, apparently, seen a female Red Maple tree…or at least not looked close enough for it to register. Both of the big maples in our yard are, it turns out, male, and the ones I have photographed in the neighborhood over the years have all been male. So, of course, I had to go out to find a female Red Maple yesterday. It wasn’t hard and I did not have to go far. The neighbors behind us have at least one female Red Maple in their yard. It has no low branches so the photo above is of flowers high in the tree, taken with a long zoom and cropped in to show the detail. The second photo is male flowers for comparison. Those were on a low hanging branch. A little googling around has taught me that, not only are there female and male Red Maples, but some trees have both flowers, and some trees, apparently, change gender over the years. I also was able to confirm my impression that there are more male Red Maples in a local population than females, sometimes by a ratio of 3 to 1. That makes sense, at least to me, since maples have to rely on wind-blown pollen for reproduction, and the more pollen in the air, the better chances the female tree will be fully fertilized. I am always surprised by how little I actually know about the world around me…and delighted by how much there is to learn. Female and male maples. Who knew?
Maple blossoms
Maple Blossoms: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, April 2025 — I am always eager for the Maples in our yard and our neighborhood to blossom. The flowers often go unnoticed, and under appreciated…just a red haze in the tall maple trees. But up close they are quite beautiful. If you can find a low hanging branch, take a look. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at various focal lengths for framing. Program mode.
Crocus Spring
We had one mild, sunny spring day this week, and the Crocus buds opened for a few hours. They have been tight closed since, but they might peek out again today. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at various focal lengths for macro and framing. Aperture preferred for depth of field control (my standard macro settings). Processed in Photomator.
Orchids
Orchids: Hotel Bougainvillea, San Jose, Costa Rica, March 2025 — This was my first trip to Costa Rica during Orchid blooming season and there is no where better to get a taste of the variety of tropical orchids than the gardens of the Hotel Bougainvillea. It seemed like there was a new orchid around very corner. I don’t pretend to know my orchids and I am not sure what any of these are, but they certainly are beautiful. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at various focal lengths as needed to fill the frame. My macro settings (aperture preferred for depth of field). Processed in Photomator and assembled in FrameMagic.
Maine! Calico Aster
Calico Aster, also known as “white woodland aster” is a small flowered aster of, as you might guess, woodlands throughout North and Central Americas. It is a late summer, early fall bloomer. This one was growing in the Walsh Woods Arundel Land Conservancy. Sony a6700 with the Tamron 50-400 Di iii VC zoom at 109mm equivalent. Program mode with my macro modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! Turtlehead and bumblebees
We have good sized stands of Turtlehead in our yard, all descended from a few plants donated by one of my wife’s friends. They are in bloom right now and being tended by a host of bumblebees. I find it interesting that I have only ever seen this particular species of bumblebee around the Turtleheads. They are just the right size, and apparently have enough strength (and determination) to force their way into the open mouths of the blossoms to gather the pollen inside, and to pollinate other flowers as they gather. It is not easy. It sometimes takes them several tries before they find just the right angle to wriggle inside…where they completely disappear for severe seconds before managing to get back out to move on to another flower. Sony a6700 with the Tamron 50-400 Di iii zoom at 105mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom bird and wildlife modifications. Insect recognition auto focus. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! More Ghost Flower
I found this small stand of Ghost Flower, or Indian Pipe, in the forest along the Bridle Path in Kennebunk, Maine, where the majority of the flowers had not curled over, giving a great view of the inner parts. Sony a6700 with the Tamron 50-400 Di iii zoom at 75 and 105mm equivalents. Program mode with my macro modifications. Program shift to f10 and f11 for depth of field. Processed in Photomator.