Photo of the Week 2025-06-16

 

A few days of the cottage at just the right time allowed me to capture some of the many spring wildflowers currently in bloom. I had planned to present a selection of those photos but there are quite a few and I chose to showcase just two for this post. Others will follow on my social media streams, but for now ... 

 

' lone slipper '

' slipper triplet '

 

I shot these (on morning walks with Lynn and Sullivan) handheld with the RF 85mm f/2 Macro on an R5 at fairly wide aperture for background blur and was very pleased with the results ... some of my favourite images of the Yellow Lady's Slipper so abundant in June on the Bruce.

 

DJE 

Photo of the Week 2023-09-18

 

' chicory dew '

Roadside chicory blooms along the cottage road on a dewy morning

 

DJE

Photo of the Week 2023-09-11

 

' lace in a bottle '

An interesting empty wine bottle and a stem of Queen Anne's Lace backlit through the glass of our cottage door

 

 

DJE

Photo of the Week 2023-06-26

 

' paintbrush season '

Summer officially arrived a few days ago but I still have a few images of spring wildflowers to share.

 

This "Indian Paintbrush" was isolated, using shallow depth of focus, from a rather large patch of them along the road near our cottage. It seemed an exceptional season for this bright scarlet flower, at least in areas close to our cottage. A large number of plants showed up in places I had not seen many previously and larger "patched" in areas where I had.

DJE

Photo of the Week 2023-06-12

 

I've been waiting for wildflower season on 'the Bruce' and it's here. In the couple of weeks since my last visit, Yellow Lady's Slipper, Indian Paintbrush, Blue-Eyed Grass and Gay Wings have come into bloom and I'm on the lookout for any opportunity to make unique compositions.

Though I haven't found anything particularly different, I have found the Lady's Slippers somewhat more sparse and Indian Paintbrush more plentiful. At least that's the case in the locations I visit annually this time of year. I also noticed an abundance of Blue-Eyed Grass in a couple of surprise locations, one right out front just off the shoreline. These little beauties close up for the night and in overcast conditions, making them hard to see so I'll have to wait for the sun to come out again for a photo opportunity. In the meantime, there are Lady's Slippers ...

' a bunch of beauties '

DJE

Photo of the Week 2023-05-29

Spring wildflower season is off to a crazy start on the Bruce Peninsula. The orchid bloom is still a while away but the Trillium are in bloom, and Wild Strawberry flowers are plentiful along roadsides. Another roadside wildflower making a grand presence during my walks along the cottage road network was Wild Columbine, Aquilegia canadensis.

 

The lovely red and yellow blooms were a surprise treat this weekend. The are common, and I regularly encounter them in small clusters but this year must they dominated the side of the road along a stretch near our place. Even so, my favourite image is of a single bloom against a shadowed forest background.

 

' Wild Columbine '

I told you they dominated the roadside

 

 

DJE

Photo of the Week 2022-06-13

 

Continuing with my wildflower photography season on 'the Bruce' ...

There is a patch of Fringed polygala (Gaywings) nearby our cottage that has become a favourite stop of mine while on my spring walks with camera. The tiny bright pink blossoms wink at me from the forest floor in dappled morning sunlight. When I went to investigate a little earlier than usual, I found this pair of flowers off to the side growing out of some fallen deadwood.

 

' Gaywings on fallen deadwood '

 

' Gaywing flowers up close '

These have to be some of my favourite spring wildflowers and I've only encountered them on my treks in the bush in Northern Bruce Peninsula.

 

DJE

Photo of the Week 2021-08-02

When I think back a few years to hosting a couple of friends, Alan and Patrick, at the cottage for a photography weekend, I laugh. Not just because we had a fun time, sketching, photographing, telling stories ...

... but Patrick, who is very knowledgeable about flora and fauna, left me with a comment and observation that I am reminded of annually this time of year. It came after I mentioned that I had not been able to find many of the 40 plus species of orchid that call the Bruce Peninsula home.

As I recall, we had just returned from an outing at Sunset Park where low water levels had allowed us to carefully amble and ramble along the shoreline to make photos. Quite casually, Patrick said something like 'you know you have Helleborine out in your driveway'. I must have looked rather unimpressed until he added 'you know that's an orchid'.

I laughed long and hard then, and smile every year when the Broadleaf Helleborine blooms in a number of locations on our property ...

 

Helleborine Trio

 

 

DJE

Photo of the Week 2021-07-05

Wildflower season has shifted from Spring to Summer on 'the Bruce'. The Yellow Lady's Slippers have given way and Wood Lily now dot the shoulders along the road on the drive into the cottage. Too, there are bunches of Perennial Sweat Pea splashing it's bright pink on green.

 

Not originally from North America, I suspect the roadside specimens have 'escaped' from local gardens on the wind, with help from birds and numerous other distribution mechanisms. Native or not, one cannot help but be intrigued by their colourful uniquely shaped blossoms. I was, enough to head out with macro lens and tripod attached to the camera ...

 

Sweet Pea

The flowers of the local Sweet Peas range from deep, vibrant pink to near-white, all with those characteristic pea blossom shapes.

Pea Blooming

 

DJE

Photo of the Week 2021-06-21

On the lookout for a Blue Flag Iris (Iris versicolor) to photograph this spring, I was surprised when the cottage neighbours found several growing along the edge of their property. Of course I took advantage of the opportunity close at hand ...

 

back-lit blue flag

A blossom's eye view of a back-lit Blue Fag Iris

DJE

Photo of the Week 2021-06-07

Blue-Eyed Grass

On my late spring walks at the cottage, I'm on the lookout for Blue-Eyed Grass along the margins of the roadway. I first encountered this lovely little perennial wildflower in the years we were driving up to 'the Bruce' while considering if we might buy a cottage there. Now, I'm treated to clusters of these little purple-blue flowers along the road just a few hundred meters from our driveway.

 

Blue-Eyed Grass in Sun

 

This year in the first week of June, I was pleased to see quite a number of the little flower buds early one morning. These flowers only open for a short period each day, closing up again in the evening once the sun begins to set. This makes them somewhat elusive to spot, as without the flowers, they look just like the other grasses in the dirt and gravel bordering the road.

 

Blue-Eyed Patch

 

Blue-Eyed Roadside

 

I'm managed to find several more patches to visit and photograph in the coming years ...

 

DJE

Photo of the Week 2021-05-31

 

There is a little patch of forest, where the morning sun breaks through the predominantly cedar canopy to dapple the ground. In spring, it is magically transformed when several large patches of Fringed polygala or Gaywings (Polygaloides paucifolia) emerge. Pushing up through the forest floor, their bright green leaves and pink flowers are like paint spattered from natures brush. A closer look reveals an amazingly complex little wildflower, with a pair of pink wing-like petals bracketing a 3rd forward facing petal tipped with with fringe (my description).

 

Gaywings

The location is one I look forward to visiting every spring now, and this year I had plans to spend a bit more time photographing these unique spring wildflowers. With my creative spirit seeming to have fled in these COVID times, the first effort did not go well. Oh, I could blame it on my allergies, raging with pollen filling the air at this time, that had my eyes watering and itchy making it difficult to focus (literally and figuratively), but more likely, I've just gotten lazy with my photography. Firing off exposures, not really paying attention to the basics of composition, shutter speed, aperture, going through the motions is no recipe for a good image. It showed in the initial results when I reviewed them back at the cottage.

 

With a better plan, more aware, more focused, more determined to create an image I could be satisfied with, I settled in to enjoy the process and let it flow. The result above may not be to everyone's liking. Some may critique it's lack of focus on all parts of the plant, but I find it hearkens back to my earlier shallow depth of field (DoF) imagery.

Following are some additional, more conventional images from the outing.

I've seen these flowers at various locations along another trail, but not in the large patches I see in this favourite little patch of forest in my northern backyard.

 

DJE

Photo of the Week 2020-06-22

Slippers ... slippers ... slippers ...

Spring is a wonderful time on 'the Bruce' with the wildflowers making an appearance to add splashes of colour along trails, in the woods and along the roadways. Special among these flowers are the orchids and their most common variety the Yellow Lady's Slipper. They emerge and delight for only a brief period before fading and ultimately dying off for another season.

Over the last couple of weeks, I spent some time capturing the Yellow Lady's Slippers I see in the area close the cottage, before they wither and disappear for another year.

burgundy sepals

fading beauty

DJE

Photo of the Week 2020-06-15

There are a number of forest scenes along the roadside that always catch my eye while on my morning walk. The light is always changing with time of day, time of year. I'm fascinated by the way it penetrates canopy to highlight areas below. Add to that the emergence of wildflowers in spring and it can be pure magic.

Slipper Patch

This particular area had a large number of Yellow Lady's Slippers out in full bloom. I happened to pass by at just the right time when morning light was spilling through an opening in the forest to wash over some of the patch.

DJE

Photo of the Week 2019-07-01

There are a great many wildflowers to see and photograph on the Bruce Peninsula once spring arrives and although summer arrived over a week ago, the temperatures are still on the cool side with spring flowers still lingering, some even just blooming ...

Forget-me-not

Herb-Robert

These beauties bloom in patches scattered around the cottage property adding to it's serenity with their colour. I don't like when the vegetation grows to the extent that I need to trim it to keep mosquitoes away ... it means many of the Forget-me-not's will be taken out and some of the Herb-Robert as well.

Before firing up the weed trimmer, I fired up the macro lens and got down on my knees for some hand-held closeups.

DJE

Photo of the Week 2017-06-05

Driving north for the weekend, I was eager to see if the orchids had begun to bloom since our last visit. Only a week ago there was hardly a suggestion of their presence. Even those leaves that had begun to push up, reaching for sunlight, precious few. With "everything 2 weeks behind", as Lynn frequently comments, I wondered if this year's Orchid Festival (June 2-4) on the Bruce would be a bust. Encouraging signs started to appear along Hwy 6 when we had passed Dyer's Bay Rd. Here and there, tiny splashed of yellow were visible along the road allowance. There was hope ...

Though seemingly not as numerous as in past years, at least yet, those familiar splashes of yellow became more frequent the further we drove. On a morning walk after overnight rain had freshened the vegetation making greens appear more lush, I encountered a number of yellow beauties including this bunch posing at the base of a stump (painterly effect chosen to present something a little different).

Posing Beauties

DJE

Photo of the Week 2016-06-27

I do so enjoy the cycle of nature, the coming and going of seasons, wildlife emerging and the arrival of their offspring, the leafing out of the trees and forest. Spring wildflowers emerging bring colour to freshen the landscape and I search in familiar places for those found in previous years.

As spring gave way to summer, I've been watching a spot along a familiar roadside for the return of the Blue Flag Iris. Driving along as we arrived for our stay, I noticed that it now fully emerged since our last visit and knew I would have only a short time to capture it in full bloom. Returning the next morning with my 5DIII and 150 Sigma Macro, I spent as much time as Murphy would allow, trying to get some decent shots of it.

 

Blue Flag Iris - I

Blue Flag Iris - II

I first found this delicate little beauty on my morning walks up north where it was there to greet me as we started our days ... but only for a short time ... until it's season is done.
 
DJE

Photo of the Week 2014-06-23

There are some interesting wildflowers on "the Bruce". The "Indian Paintbrush" caught my eye last year and I was on the lookout this spring for their return ...

a collection of brushes

I found this collection of brushes in a large patch along the side of the road leading to the cottage and spend a while trying to capture the feel of the scene.

DJE

Photo of the Week 2014-05-26

A week of vacation started Saturday morning with a leisurely drive to the cottage in Tobermory after making sure I had enough photo gear packed ;-)

We arrived around noon, unpacked, then got settled in and just kicked back for the rest of the day. Then, after dinner I went down to the shoreline to check out sunset and possibly make a few images. Being careful to watch my footing on the uneven rock while looking for a suitable point of view, I noticed a small flower growing out of a crack in the dolostone. For reference, I grabbed a quick shot of it and made a note to come back in the morning with my macro lens. 

Admittedly, I'm far from an expert when it comes to identifying flora and fauna, but I am learning and intend to photograph many of the species I encounter on the Bruce. This time with the help of my wildflower reference book and I was able to determine that the pretty little specimen was Bird's-Eye Primrose or Dwarf Canadian Primrose.

Bird's Eye Bug

I've noticed several other flowering plant species so far during the weekend's outings. It should be fun photographing these spring beauties and learning along the way.
 
DJE