Pokagon Adventure

"This is about how we might use the medium of photography to stimulate our imaginations, to develop our intuitive and aesthetic sensibilities, to gain new insights. It is an invitation to stop and look and be refreshed."  

-- Howard Zehr in 

The Little Book of Contemplative Photography: 

Seeing with wonder, respect and humility

 This past week included lunch and a round of golf with my father on Tuesday. Can't remember the last time I enjoyed a round of golf like that. And, that same day, a Tiger's game with my three beautiful daughters. We sat up in the cheap seats and had a wonderful time. Thursday then, I had lunch with my mother at a wonderful restaurant in Goshen,IN with a wood fired oven. It was a good time with a wonderful lady.

Saturday and Sunday we were at Pokagon State Park as a family. Friends joined us for Saturday evening and Sunday morning. It was a good family time and time to connect with friends. We enjoyed the bird window at the nature center and walks through the woods enjoying the wildflowers. Saturday night we sat out on a dock on a small lake as the stars came into view. We used our phone apps to identify the planets in view and the different stars as we could see them.

The Baltimore Oriole above stood out so clearly on the dead wood in the marsh area it was hard to miss. And yet, there was a group of people who walked right past oblivious.  Photo editing software these days allows the creation of special effects that enable one to isolate a specific subject in a photo and enhance its color while making everything else gray scale. This is the effect I thought of when I looked at this picture. It was a gray day with clouds covering the sun. And I didn't need to use any special effects to get the same effect. 

These little yellow flowers caught my eye as I walked through the marsh area. And, this white Trillium was the first one I saw on Saturday. It was back off the trail a bit.

Magee Marsh Adventure

Just a little over an hours drive away is an internationally known birders paradise. It ranks as one of the top ten spots for birding watching in the United States. During the month of May, they expect 80,000 visitors in large part to view a vast array of Warblers using the marsh as a stopover on their migration north across Lake Erie. I spent the morning with Jan at the Magee Marsh along with hundreds, probably thousands of other birding enthusiasts. I told someone that we worshiped at the bird sanctuary. I was definitely in awe of the incredible variety of God's handiwork on display in the variety of birds we enjoyed.

I was thrilled to see one of my favorite birds at our first stop of the morning. A large number of barn swallows were enjoying the overhangs of the birding center. I could have hung out for hours just watching and listening to these cheerful and friendly birds. We had a pair that nested every year in our barn. They were such a delight to have around. The barn swallow in this picture was sitting maybe 10 feet away. I had one swoop to within inches of my head. Not maliciously, I think it wanted to land on my head and say "Howdy". Just the day before I received a text from a friend who was watching barn swallows swooping and wanted to encourage me to try and get some pictures of them. They have a distinctly forked tail and are quite acrobatic in their flight.

One of the "deep thoughts" of the morning came as I was reflecting on the two different times we came upon a group of people focusing their cameras and binoculars in particular direction. I knew they must be seeing something noteworthy so I stopped and looked intently in the direction they were. After several minutes of staring intently turned up nothing of significance I finally asked, "What's everyone looking at?" The first time it was an Eastern Screech Owl. It took careful guidance from my impromptu guide before I too was able to see what everyone else was enjoying. The picture above is of the screech owl. If it wouldn't have been for the group of people gathered around, I would've walked right past it. And, if it wouldn't have been for the careful and patient guidance of another on the path, I would never have seen what everyone else had.

The second occasion came right before we left. As we approached the parking lot we saw a roped off area of grass with 15-20 people standing around it looking intently into the grass. Again, I looked carefully and unsuccessfully for what they might be seeing. And again it took a friendly gentleman with eyes that had already seen, to guide my eyes to the nesting woodcock not more than 3 feet away. But there was more. I took several pictures of this nesting woodcock. When I got home I was looking through my pictures. It was only as I was viewing the pictures of the nesting woodcock, and zoomed in, that I was surprised to see a second set of eyes. There were actually 2 woodcocks sitting in that little patch of grass, right next to each other. I hadn't heard anyone talk about two. If you look carefully at the picture below you too can see the second woodcock facing the camera right behind the one in front. Two eyes and the beak.

As I reflected on these two similar experiences I was reminded of the way Anabaptist/Mennonites emphasize the importance of community. We believe scripture is best interpreted in community. We believe we are accountable to one another and are connected with all those who confess Jesus Christ as Lord. We are to walk with and encourage and admonish one another. We are to help each other see what we ourselves have seen.

The community at Magee Marsh was so diverse. There were first time birders right alongside seasoned veterans. There were those who could identify birds simply by hearing their call. And, there were those of us who thought it impossible to differentiate between all of the different Warblers we were seeing. Some carried cheap and woefully inadequate binoculars, cell phone cameras, and a puzzled look. Others carried $10-20,000 camera set-ups, wore fancy vests with credentials, and looked like they knew what they were doing. But everyone was friendly and polite along the way. On one occasion I was able to get within 2 to 3 feet of a particular warbler feeding in a nearby tree. I stood there clicking pictures at times, so close I couldn't get my camera to focus. Finally, the bird flew off. As I turned to continue down the trail, a woman with one of those $10-20,000 camera set-ups and official looking badge had walked up and was watching me. She smiled and said "She gave you quite a show." I agreed, and I got the sense that she was so pleased for me. Like I was a part of the experienced community now.

The picture of the mushroom above was an interesting experience. I saw this mushroom and was intrigued by its perfect shape and coloration against the dead tree. I set up my tripod and began to take pictures. Several people stopped and asked, "What are you looking at, is it that mushroom?" I acknowledged that it was and almost felt the need to apologize that it wasn't a bird. But it was fun when two others stepped up with their cameras and began to take pictures of the same mushroom.      

Getting underway

It's only my second day in and I found a gem. I happened upon this cluster of flowers driving on County Rd. 20 between C and B. You can just glimpse the purple in the lower left corner of the bottom photo. I added a close-up to give you a better look. I haven't identified them yet so if anyone wants to help me out I'm open. I think they are purple hyacinth. It's a cloudy, grey, chilly, blustery and a few more adjectives type day. I had seen these flowers several days ago. But with a day like this, although not ideal for taking pictures, I decided I needed to go get a closer look at these beauties. I'm guessing I'm going to be able to find some great wildflowers here in the next month. Although, one of the fields I was so looking forward to taking pictures of, is being tiled (you can see the black pipe) and will most certainly be cultivated and planted into corn this year for the first time in decades. :( Last year that field was bursting with color in the spring. I'll keep looking.

Yesterday was my birthday. I began the day seeing my first Eastern Phoebe of the season and I ended my day by seeing a Bald Eagle. In between I had a wonderful dinner at the Sweetwater Chophouse with my family, then returned home for homemade coconut cake and lemon sorbet. I was able to get some yard work done and figured out several new settings and features on my camera. I've ordered a remote trigger for taking these close-ups of flowers and landscapes without any additional camera shake. One thing I'm learning with photography, there is always something more to buy. A filter here, a trigger there, software, another lens would be incredible. But at some point I just need to be a better photographer. It's a humbling deal. I see these incredible photographs and think "Yeah, that's the kind of picture I want to take!" Getting from where I am, to producing that quality of image is not a hop skip and a jump. Gives me an even greater respect for people like Jim King who takes spectacular photos. The technical side of photography (focus, lighting, ISO, depth of field, aperture, shutter speed, light metering, etc...) is one thing. Then you layer in composition and perspective, the ability to see a picture in a jumble of images. Suddenly you realize the complexity of that single picture you see. I suppose I could just use one of the automatic settings provided on my camera and be done with it. And I admit, right now, I take a couple of shots with the automatic settings or appropriate pre-programmed scenes just to be safe. But my goal is to understand my camera and the technical side of taking good pictures, so that I don't need to rely on the auto features. This has led to some frustration. But slowly, I am learning the ins and outs of my very complex camera. And, I'm figuring out what works and what doesn't. Well, more of what doesn't than what does. But at least I'm learning. And continuing to learn is what matters. Sometimes it's hard to be patient with myself through this learning process.