Wildflowers of the Pacific Northwest, which came out in 2006, continues to sell well. Its in at least its 5th printing and has sold over 17,500 copies as of December 31, 2009. If you don’t have a copy yet, or want to give one as a gift, you can order autographed copies from me online at pnwflowers.com/buy. It’s also available at most local bookstores, from Amazon or direct from the publisher, Timber Press. Continue reading
Join me on Tuesday evening, April 13, to celebrate the opening of the new Turner Photographics studio in Bellingham’s Fairhaven district. I’m having an open house from 4 to 7 pm to show off the space, meet my neighbors, and renew friendships. The studio is in Suite 205 on the second floor of Finnegan’s Alley, 1106 Harris Avenue. That’s across the street from Dos Padres restaurant and above Wild Blueberries children’s boutique. The elevator is to your right as you enter the building from Harris. Continue reading
Sex was in the air all over Pass Island and West Beach at Deception Pass State Park this weekend. Bright red female Douglas-fir cones standing tall on branch tips were calling out to the pollen-laden male cones hanging below. “Hit me with some of your dusty golden pollen,” they seemed to be saying. And with every stiff branch-shaking breeze (or human hand) the air would blaze with the pixie dust so essential to the Pseudotsuga menziesii mating ritual.
Courtship among trees is obviously a bit different than it is among more mobile species, but the basic process is the same. Sperm and egg come together, fertilization occurs, and a new member of the species begins to grow. The female, carrying the eggs, somehow has to attract the male. Plants have evolved myriad ways for this to happen, often involving third parties like insects or other animals.
Conifers are wind-pollinated. Look closely at the Douglas-fir bough. There are just a couple of red female flowers near the branch tips while there are many more males hanging down below. Since cross-pollination, mixing genes between individuals, is valuable in a long-term evolutionary sense the species has developed a mechanism to keep self-fertilized embryos from completely developing into viable seeds. I don’t understand just how that works. Try a web search on “Pseudotsuga self fertile” if you want to figure it out.
The female cones are standing upright, presumably to make it easier for the wind-borne pollen to be ensnared as it drifts by. Once the flowers are fertilized then the cones will turn downward, which is the way we usually see Doug-fir cones on the tree.
This weekend was the first time I’d noticed Douglas-fir in bloom after nearly 20 years of seeing this most common of northwest conifers. Why hadn’t I noticed it before? Probably just not in the right place at the right time. I know I’ll be looking for them in the future.
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We’re about a week away from the official beginning of spring, but here in the northwest it’s felt like spring for several weeks now. We’ve had a warm winter so trees, shrubs, and other flowering plants are farther along than usual for this time of year. That’s a pleasant change from 2009 when it stayed cold and tulips were still blooming mid-May.
I went up to VanDusen Botanical Garden in Vancouver yesterday and spent several hours meandering and photographing. Flowering cherries were just about at their peak. The video at the top of the post includes my favorites.
It was a partly cloudy day with some sun breaks and I shot with both my 70-200 and 24-105 lenses using only natural light. All of these were processed in Adobe Lightroom before importing into Animoto to make the video.
I’ll be teaching three digital photography classes this summer. Each will be limited to 12-15 students and are targeted to amateur photographers who want to learn to take better photos with their pocket cameras.
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You could just leave your camera on Auto White Balance and trust it to get the color right. If you’re photographing people or subjects with something white in the photo it may work pretty well. But you can do better by using your big brain instead of the tiny one in your camera.
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Red-flowering Currant is one of the showiest and earliest blooming of the currants and gooseberries. The Latin name, Ribes sanguineum, also reflects the red of its blossoms. In the warmest and sunniest locations red-flowering currant starts blooming in March most years. The flowers last about three weeks.
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Last month I had the pleasure of photographing two interior remodeling projects for Darin MacGillivray of Sound Woodworks. We met at Green Drinks Bellingham back in January and partnered to make both of our Home Show presentations better. He got great photos to show off his projects and I got a nice-looking booth.
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Everyone takes snapshots of their family. We want to preserve the memories of good times together, vacations in exotic locations, and goofy things our kids do. We don’t put a lot of thought into these pictures. Just grab the camera, line everybody up, and snap away.
When it comes to investing in a professional portrait it pays to spend a little time planning. What you wear, where your portrait is made, and where you will display it in your home are all important.
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Senior models for the class of 2011 are coming into the studio for their early sessions. We’ve extended the sign-up deadline to April 30 so if you’ve been thinking about it there’s still time. You get an early studio session now, a location session in June, and a family session in the fall.
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