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 2022-06-06

 

My wildflower photography season on 'the Bruce' opens in May with some wild orchids beginning to show up mid to late month. A hectic schedule over the next several weeks had me wondering how much opportunity I would have for my annual donning of the knee pads ... 

 

... and then to my surprise, a blooming Striped Coralroot Orchid right outside my door !

 

' Blooming Striped Coralroot '

 

... about 25cm tall, I had not seen one in this location before. This plant caught my eye, highlighted by the dappled morning sunlight, as I prepared for some yard-work around the cottage. I was well aware of 3 other plants in an area at another corner of the building and consciously steer clear of the area to ensure their safety, but this was a very welcome addition to property.

Perhaps it was the light, or perhaps the timing, perhaps just luck that this plant was actively blooming. I can't say that I'd seen Striped Coralroot in vibrant bloom before with it's yellow and dark coral coloured flowers..

 

' Striped Coralroot Blooms '

 

Definitely a very exciting find for me.

 

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 2020-08-10

Following a recent web presentation for Orchid Fest 2020, I turned my gaze downward on my walkabouts on "the Bruce', not just to watch for the Massasauga Rattlesnakes that seem to be more numerous this year, but to watch for some of the 44 species of Orchid that make their home there.

The season for Yellow Lady's Slipper (large & small) has come and gone this year. And I was surprised to find Striped Coralroot growing on our cottage property a few weeks back, Then a short while ago, thanks to the webinar, I noticed Helleborine growing in several spots around the perimeter of our property.

Helleborine Orchid Flower

Helleborine

 

Helleborine Plant

As you could read in the links I've provided, Helleborine (Broadleaf Hellleborine, Common Helleborine) is found widely over the North-Eastern US and Easter Canada. It's considered a common non-native species that can actually become invasive. Not as flashy as the Yellow Lady's Slipper or Showy Lady's Slipper, it can be easy to miss. The flowers are small (1cm) and generally point downwards making it east to overlook their miniature beauty ... unless you are specifically on the lookout for some of the natural treasures 'the Bruce' has to offer.

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 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 2015-06-22

Dad always liked taking pictures of flowers. I recall looking at the large number of prints and slides when he would return from vacation. Florida, Hawaii, anywhere he went you could bet there would be lots of photos of the flowers he saw. So thinking of him on yet another Father's Day, I decided to work on a recent flower image of my own.

It's the time of year for photographing orchids on the Bruce Peninsula, but I was home this weekend to spend some time with Lynn and the boys for my birthday and Father's Day .. can't think of anything better to do on these occasions.

What I did manage to slip in on Saturday morning, was a visit to a local spot a friend showed me last year and capture some images of a Showy Lady's Slipper .
 

a showy pair

Given the time of day and limited access to the flower(s), I had to be content shooting from the road shoulder, across a (cold) creek, around and under some branches with my 7DII, 300mm f/4 with 1.4x extender. The resulting capture was less than spectacular so I pushed the file around in post considerably to create this rendition.

DJE