ALLAN BOVEE - PHOTOGRAPHY
ADVENTURES IN NATURE PHOTOGRAPHY
JUNE, 2003
WASSUP?
This colloquial greeting has good use for a wildflower photographer.
Once the snow melts and flowers begin to appear one must continuously explore
the woods to find what's up. The early
wildflowers are so quick to emerge and
flower you must repeat walks in the different areas twice a week to stay on top
of the parade.
Part of the reason for this rush is the plants are trying to get up and flowered before the leaves appear on the trees of the forest. In a few weeks the towering trees will keep the under story in shade for the rest of the summer and most of the sun will be lost for these plants. Other wildflowers just take longer to grow and bloom such as the orchids and the beautiful Michigan lily.
One particular flower I have been working on for the last few years is
bloodroot. This flower is in the poppy family and produces a reddish liquid in
its roots reportedly used for war paint by Native Americans. The flower emerges
as a rolled up leaf on the forest floor and slowly unfurls to a pure white
blossom which only lasts a short time until the petals fall off. Bloodroot
is among the first to appear in Spring right along with the hepatica and
skunk cabbage. When I found a good group of them just recently bloomed in
northern Michigan, I made a note to come back the next year and photograph them.
But, the next year I was too early and didn't get back later to see them. Then,
I found some in Highland Recreational Area near my home here last year, again
too late to photograph. This year I figured I would go out every evening if
necessary until I had the timing down perfect.
Although I did time it right, it was more complicated than I thought. I like to
photograph wildflowers in the early morning light. The light has the best
quality then and there usually is no wind. This works great for
marsh marigold
or trilliums for example, and I find great specimens the night before and return
before dawn to shoot them. The bloodroot however folds up at night and won't
open until the sun is up and bright. Even if open the flowers may close if the
sun goes behind a cloud. Also, the wind is howling by then so photos won't work.
What I did this year was get out an old "diffusion tent" I used with hepatica
flowers years ago. This tent is composed of a cloudy plastic that lays
over two tent poles and is staked to the ground. When I find a bloodroot flower
that is open, I set up my tent over it. The plastic diffuses the harsh sunlight
and softens it to imitate the dawn daylight I so desire, as well as stops the
perpetual wind which would blur my photos. Its hot inside and you have to hurry
as the flowers think a cloud has passed overhead and start to fold up, but I got
the results I wanted.
I went up to the Jordan River Wilderness Area and photographed some marsh
marigold and river scenics with my medium format RZ. I also found a lot of
Dutchman's breeches, a wildflower named for its looking like a bunch of pairs of
pants hanging on a clothes line. This is a wildflower that stays open all night,
so I could photograph it in the morning with my 35mm.
In the meantime, I will keep looking about for "what's up".
Bye for now,
Allan
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Date of this page: June 01, 2003