My Photography

Me and My Stuff

It was a cloudy October morning when I went up to Bald Knob. When I reached the top, I took a moment to enjoy the view--after all, I'm not just there to do photography. I'm there because I like it. Then I attached my general purpose 24-85 mm zoom lens to my Nikon D70, and mounted the camera on my Gitzo tripod. If you look closely at the top of my camera body, you might see a little green spot: It's my "double bubble," which is a level (see below). I use it almost all the time for landscapes. With the D70, I used an infra-red remote to trigger the shutter. WIth the D200, I have a cable. Thus, I can snap the shutter without touching the camera, which means less vibration, and a sharper image.

Double Bubble

A diffuser helps soften the bright sunlight. I use it mostly for closeup wildflower work.

My friends inspire me to get out before sunrise, thus catching some of the best light.

Photographing a Landscape

Click on this image to see my contact information.

Sometimes I do photography trips with my whole family, and sometimes with either boy.

Sometimes I go far from home and do photography with my friends.

How it Started

I have been photographing wildflowers since the late 1980s, back when I began my graduate research in ecology at the University of Iowa. I’d decided to study wildflower pollination in the springtime forests of eastern Iowa under the direction of my advisor, Henry F. Howe. I’d been a chemist prior to taking on this task, and I knew next to nothing about wildflowers. So I started out with Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide, a notebook, and my $99 Cosina SLR camera with one zoom lens. The book helped me identify the species, while my notes and snapshots helped me remember what I’d learned.

As time went by, I began feel more and more disappointed with the quality of my photographs. Sure, I could identify the plants (most of the time), but the pictures were often blurry, improperly exposed, and rather clinical. I got some screw-on close-up lenses that helped me do a better job of filling the frame with my subject, but the clarity of the images was poor. Around this time, I also began to think more about the background and how to make it less distracting, and where to place the subject within my frame. My shots remained clinical but at least they had improved.

After a few years, I bought a second-hand Cannon AE-1 and a few lenses to go with it. Most importantly, I bought a set of Cannon macro lenses (a 50 mm lens with an extension tube adaptor to convert it to a 100 mm lens). With this combination, I could shoot “life size,” which means that the image on the film could be the exact same size as the object I was photographing. And the clarity was very good. For wildflowers that are as small as clovers and violets, this was extremely helpful. Macro was the way to go.

And then a couple years later, on a trip to Colorado, I bought a Sigma 200 mm macro lens for my Cannon AE-1. By moving to a longer focal length lens, I increased my “working distance,” and was better able to isolate my subject from the background behind it. My very first shot of a coneflower convinced me that I had found the lens for me. At least for now.

Eventually, I decided to switch to Nikon mostly because I’d always wanted to shoot Nikon, and I had recently learned about the Nikon 200 mm “micro” lens, which was one of the best lenses I could buy for close-up work. So in 1998, I got the Nikon N-80, one of the medium-low end Nikon SLR film cameras, along with a couple zoom lenses (24-85 mm, and 70-300 mm). A few months later, I got the 200 mm micro. About a year after that, I got the Nikon 85 mm tilt-shift. I still use all four of those lenses now. Around this same time, I started attending Rod Planck photography workshops, where I learned many things, especially about composing high quality photographic images. As a bonus, I and also made a few photography friends who, hundreds of miles between us, I still hang out with as often as I can.

In the fall of 2004, I traded my film camera for the Nikon D-70, a mid-level digital SLR, and in Dec 2006, I switched to the Nikon D-200. And now, instead of filling drawers with slides, I fill flash cards and hard drives with digital images. Instead of scanning slides to make digital images, they come directly from the camera. I love working with digital images because it’s so easy to use my images when preparing newsletters, pamphlets, greeting cards, prints, and websites. I also got an Epson Stylus Photo 2200, which allows me to make impressive large prints. I started selling my photographs this year (2007) at local festivals and art shows, and I feel pleased with the enthusiasm and compliments of folks who see my work.

Preparing to Make Fisheye Photos

Here I am back in March of 1987, leveling the camera so that I can take a fisheye photo of the sky above the forest floor. The fisheye lens captures a 360-degree view of everything above it. By digitizing the images, I could then get a relative estimate of how much light the wildflowers got each day as the season progressed. If you look closely, you can see plastic red tent pegs, which I used to "stake out" my plots.

One advantage of studying wildflowers as a graduate student was the limited amount of time during which I could collect my data. Unlike my buddies who worked nearly 24 hours a day (it seemed) in a lab, my workday was limited to the daylight hours, and only lasted three months per year. This left lots of time for hanging out, shooting pool, and taking graduate level writing classes on the side.

HIllside in an Eastern Iowa Woodland (4/18/87)

This was the view in mid April 1987, looking up a wooded slope from one of nine plots where I studied Spring Beauty in eastern Iowa. The leaves had started to fill in the branches and the forest floor held scattered patches of green. This was a slow year for the wildflowers. Usually mid April sees more growth. I used to spend hours at a time out there in the woods, counting flowers, observing pollinators, and later counting seeds.

On a cool but sunny day, I would stop working for a while, lie down, and look up. Sprawled flat on the ground beneath the wind, I could feel the warmth rising from the leaf litter and the heat of the sun beating down. 1987 was the year when I first learned about these wildflowers, and the first time in my life that I felt truly inspired.

Snow Trillium

Here is a wildflower that I've only seen in eastern Iowa, not far from the Coralville Reservior. I've heard that snow trillium grows in certain forests of Ohio and other midwestern states, and eventually I hope to find it again so I can get a better shot. I made this photograph back in the days when I was shooting both slides and negatives, typically one type of film in each of two Cannon AE-1 bodies. I probably used my Sigma 200 mm macro lens. Slide film was good for the wildflower presentations I used to give during the springtime, but negatives were better for making prints. In addition to presenting slide shows, I used to lead nature walks each spring in a forest not far from where this snow trillium grew.

Snow Trillium (April 1994)

Praying Mantis

I found this praying mantis in my back yard in Sept 2005. It was late in the afternoon, not long until sunset. I grabbed my camera and tripod. I got this shot using my 24-85 Nikon zoom lens that has some "micro" (closeup) capability. I was able to get close enough to let this little mantis fill the frame. I had to open up the aperture pretty wide, so there is not much depth of field. The important part was getting the eyes in focus.

Red-Spotted Newt

It was around noon when I was walking with a friend, heading back from a 2 mile walk to a waterfall on a cloudy day in June. As we came around the corner, my friend saw this bright orange newt on the trail. We had our cameras with us, of course, so I got mine out. I set up the Nikon D200 on my tripod and attached the 200 mm micro lens so I could focus close. Due to the dark conditions, and the movement of the newt, I had to open up the aperture somewhat. This reduced my depth of field, so I focused on the eyes and shot.

Cinnamon

In this shot, Cinnamon is about one year old. He was the fourth of four kittens in his litter, and he was the runt. We adopted him and his sister shadow when they were about six weeks old. I used my Nikon D200 and 24-85 zoom.

Snowball

I got this picture of Snowball in the late 1970s. It was a film camera, of course, and I used a Focal brand flash attachment that fit on top. Being somewhat new to photography at the time, I did my best to figure out the proper setting for the aperture based on the distance between the subject and my camera. With a white cat, it was important not to over expose!

Shadow on Cinnamon

Here are the kittens when they were just a couple months old. They loved to cuddle and play, and in this shot, Shadow took the initiative. I got this shot using my Nikon D70 and my 24-85 mm zoom lens.

Prairie Dog

I found this prairie dog in the Badlands of South Dakota. It was late in the afternoon and the sun was nearly ready to set. This little brave dog came right up to me as I sat there in the field. It even nibbled on my tripod leg. Later that day, I realized I had been bitten by fleas.

Sphinx Moth Caterpillar

I found this caterpillar nibbling on a branch in a bog in Seeney National Wildlife Refuge in the UP Michigan. I used my Nikon D200 and 200 mm micro lens.

Tortoiseshell Cat

Buttercup is a Tortoiseshell cat. She is also very shy. For this shot, I used Cannon AE-1 with a "Focal" brand flash attachment. I had to set the aperture settings based on the type of film I was using and the distance between the camera and my subject.

Afternoon Dragonfly

This guy is also shown on my UP Michigan page. I found this dragonfly at Seeney National Wildlife Refuge in August 2006.

Dew-Covered Butterfly

This butterfly also appears on the UP Michigan page. I found this butterfly early one morning in a dewy field. It was too cold and heavy to fly away so I had plenty of time to "work" with it.

Ant Lion Hole

I know this might seem a bit strange, but this is one of my favorite photos from my very first trip to UP Michigan. It was August 2002 and I attended my first Rod Planck workshop that year. This is also one of the first shots I got using my micro 200 mm lens. In those days, I was using a Nikon N80 and Fugi slide film.

Caterpillar on Rosy Twisted Stalk

I found this caterpillar while walking along a trail in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. I love the way this photo shows camouflage in action. As usual, for a small subject, I used my Nikon 200 mm micro lens to get in and focus closely. It was April 2006 and I was using my Nikon D70 camera body.

Prairie Dog

Yup, it's the prairie dog again. I need to upload some more photos before I can add more critters to this site.

Candian Goose

I know these birds are rather common, but I still enjoy photographing them. I positioned myself on a hillside near a pond with my Nikon D70 mounted on the tripod, and used my 200 mm micro lens. I didn't need the micro capability for this shot, I just wanted to zoom in. I had to use a rather quick shutter speed to stop the action as the goose swam by.