2024-04-22 14:36
This is a photo I took at Belle Isle State Park in Detroit, Michigan, in 2020, and it brings to mind many aspects of connectivity. If you stop and think about it for a bit, a lot is going on… Read More
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Notes From The Woods Blog
grafphoto.com
Nature photography blog; postings about art, nature, technology, Photoshop, and the environment
2024-04-10 20:58
This week’s solar eclipse summoned me to return to Michigan’s Silver Lake dunes, where I was for the eclipse in 2017, to witness the emergence of ancient dune dragons. The 2024 e… Read More
2024-03-13 19:00
Botany is not one of my strong suits. Perhaps the strongest memory I have of recognizing that is from a hike some years back during a training class on vernal pools. While hiking to one spec… Read More
2024-02-29 17:04
Today, I came across a quote from Rachel Carson that I liked about the ocean. It also encouraged me to think about all the fortunate interactions with the sea I’ve had over the years… Read More
2024-02-26 01:17
A task that fell off my radar long ago was to create a bird photography gallery for various backyard, songbirds, grassland birds, blackbirds, etc, that didn’t quite fit into the other… Read More
2024-02-15 05:32
While doing some image organization in Lightroom, I came across a batch of photographs I had previously published to my site but somehow got “lost in the shuffle” when I migrated… Read More
2024-01-25 18:19
For a while now, I have been using a plugin called Subscribe to Comments that allows people to receive email notifications of replies they receive to the comments they leave here. This post… Read More
2024-01-16 22:56
I noticed today an initiative in my Jetpack app about blogging prompts, which I don’t usually participate in, but hey, new year, try new things. It is a daily theme, but I would like t… Read More
2023-12-31 21:26
This past year saw a continuation of a trend that has persisted since the Covid shutdowns – staying very close to home, if not in my backyard for most of my photography. To title this… Read More
2023-12-22 04:13
Winter Solstice for 2023 will be arriving here in EST within a short time of this posting. I have often wondered about a world that could be united around the solstices instead of any partic… Read More
2023-12-08 14:05
Dear reader – I know you have been anxiously waiting. Plans held up, redecorating put on hold, perhaps holding off on that new car color all because you needed to know what exactly is… Read More
2023-12-07 01:51
Yep! This is a post about frozen food. Just what you expected from this blog eh? It’s not quite the Salisbury steak dinner or pizza rolls you may be considering now, but indeed frozen… Read More
2023-12-04 20:43
These are photos I made in my backyard recently. Most of our trees’ leaves have dropped, and our metasequoias are dropping their needles. It makes me think about what various people se… Read More
2023-11-14 01:34
Leaves are still falling from the trees in some parts around me. Some areas are faster than others even just a short distance away. These aerial photos were from an outing at the end of Octo… Read More
2023-10-30 14:49
Autumn colors are coming to a peak (edit: now past) here in Southeast Michigan, about right on time this year. They dissipated a bit faster than I would have liked. I took an opportunity to… Read More
2023-10-11 21:24
Walking along this beach, it isn’t uncommon to look down and find a piece of fossilized coral. During the Devonian Age (359-416 million years ago), this land mass we now call Michigan… Read More
2023-09-20 15:59
It’s been one year since I returned to printing photographs at home with the replacement of my old, defunct Epson 4800 with a Canon Image ProGRAF 300 (great name 😉 ). The Epson… Read More
2023-08-16 15:21
Imagine if you will when you are born, right on your birth certificate – you are given an account number, a revolving line of credit. But instead of a financial one, it is an ecologica… Read More
2023-05-14 23:46
The Fusion Series is a pairing of my fondness for playing with multiple exposures with the aspects of connectivity in nature. With spring wildflower season well underway, it is important to… Read More
2023-03-19 15:22
Petrification is a process that always fascinated me. An organic living thing that becomes fossilized. Yet it isn’t something that becomes frozen in time, it is something that becomes… Read More
2023-02-23 23:27
Last night we were hit with a pretty big ice storm, just as forecasted earlier in the week. The weather folks can take the win on this one – they warned us well in advance. At first, i… Read More
2023-02-21 15:16
Mycologist Paul Stamets often refers to the mycorrhizal network within the Earth’s soil as “nature’s internet.” Through these mycelial pathways, author/scientist… Read More
2023-01-28 19:34
We had our first good drop of snow here in Southeast Michigan this week. Despite some brutally cold temperatures we had prior to Christmas, winter around here seemed a bit delayed – at… Read More
2023-01-19 15:13
I’ve been finding pieces of spruce trees around my backyard a lot lately. I am not sure what animal is responsible for breaking off these healthy portions of the tree, but I wish they… Read More
2023-01-15 01:46
The Great Lakes are a bit below normal as far as ice cover for this time in January at only 2.9%. But similar to past years, a lot can change in just a matter of a couple weeks. The little t… Read More
2023-01-01 18:43
For year sixteen of posting yearly favorites, I can say I spent more time in my head (and the office) than out in the field. In fact, 2022 can also be designated as the year (perhaps the ver… Read More
2022-12-04 21:52
Viva Magenta is unveiled as the Color of the Year for 2023 by Pantone®. For me, it certainly isn’t a hue I think of when I think “magenta” – but I am influenced b… Read More
2022-11-24 18:57
Just a quick note to drop some gratitude to the readers of my little corner of the online world. I appreciate the continued visits and comments, despite my haphazard posting schedule. I wish… Read More
2022-10-29 22:26
It’s been a bit of a rare occurrence lately where I go to let our dogs out in the morning and am instantly struck by how beautiful it is outside. Like – run inside and grab your… Read More
2022-10-24 14:07
Thoughts about individualism and community weave in and out of this Leaf Creature series. While their individual characteristics manifest from the physical isolation of the black backgrounds… Read More
2022-10-12 14:00
Working on this photograph today brought all sorts of thoughts into my head. First, it was – this was a cool place, I should go back there. Then I think – wait – I made thi… Read More
2022-10-06 22:57
This week we had to have one of our trees cut down. It was a rather large maple that became infected with Verticillium Wilt and experienced a very rapid decline over the summer. We’ve… Read More
2022-09-25 19:48
As a recap of “Season 1,” I started a project photographing leaf creatures in my yard last year. It was an attempt not only to see the individual character of each of these leave… Read More
2022-09-07 21:37
It’s been quite some time since I’ve printed any photographs at home. My Epson 4800, affectionately referred to as Dusty Boat Anchor right now, served me well for a while, but ev… Read More
2022-08-17 20:48
While working on a few photographs today of Lake Huron, I began to think about how different the landscape (lakescape?) and geology are between the lake’s northern and southern ends. I… Read More
2022-07-27 15:33
Abundant pollinators and blooms were found in a recent visit to Oudolf Garden in Detroit. Since my post last year, we’ve visited a few times and the garden is really starting to fill i… Read More
2022-07-21 21:15
Over the past few months, I have been migrating my cloud backup service which triggered more than a few headaches. I’ve been using CrashPlan for the longest time, resisting change beca… Read More
2022-07-14 17:09
We are fortunate to have a number of designated wilderness areas in Michigan, which can be easy to forget when you live close to one of the sprawling metropolitan areas that seem to keep exp… Read More
2022-06-28 21:03
Back in March, I posted about how the era of my Mac Pro desktop came to an end with the purchase of a Mac Studio and Studio Display. With a good 3 months of use under my belt, I thought I&rs&hell…Read More
2022-05-31 15:34
Matteuccia struthiopteris, or Ostrich Fern, is a fern we have in abundance in our yard. Every year they seem to find a new spot to pop up. They are quite prolific. It doesn’t seem to m… Read More
2022-05-24 15:53
This is a piece of dinosaur bone I purchased a while ago when I was going a bit crazy with seeking out interesting patterns for my Stonescapes series of images. I was attracted to the unique… Read More
2022-05-23 13:44
I’ve kept the files I’ve used to make prints over the years for the longest time. The other day I deleted them – all of them. I was doing some digital housekeeping and foun… Read More
2022-05-16 13:50
While mining what seems to be a never-ending archive of photos, I stumbled on this photograph of a deer from a park about 30 minutes north of me. And while keywording the image in Lightroom… Read More
2022-05-11 13:22
This macro abstract photograph is of a gemstone known as Marra Mamba Tiger Eye, only found in Western Australia. The striking blood red color is from the Hematite content in the rock. I find… Read More
2022-05-03 15:26
My collection of warbler photographs is not very large, not very large at all. Sometimes I wish I spent more time on them, then again that pretty much applies to a lot of different subjects… Read More
2022-04-27 17:21
Sometimes I think my blood is part seawater, which is a strange statement coming from someone born in Detroit. Typically the closest we get to salt would be salt & vinegar chips or the s… Read More
2022-04-13 13:02
A quote I stumbled upon recently had me thinking about the concept of atmosphere when it comes to photographs. The quote is from Alfred Stieglitz, a photographer perhaps most well-known for… Read More
2022-04-10 21:49
We are probably a few weeks away from seeing any trillium spring up in our woods around here. However, I recently developed this image from my archives as I’ve been thinking a lot abou… Read More
2022-04-06 20:16
Michigan has the largest concentration of freshwater coastal sand dunes in the world, spanning 230,423 acres. Approximately 32 percent of them are classified as “Critical Dune Areas&rd&hell…Read More
2022-03-29 23:54
My old Mac Pro finally has a replacement. Over the years, people may have noticed my remarks about my system getting up there in years. Apple’s recent product announcements happened to… Read More
2022-03-20 22:56
The vernal equinox is upon us again and that means it is a great time to pay attention to the often-overlooked flooded areas in our forests and even small woodland areas. What some consider… Read More
2022-03-11 18:33
One thing that has been on my to-do list for ages has been to photograph more of the Clinton River here in Southeast Michigan during winter. The amount of progress I made in furthering that… Read More
2022-02-26 13:58
Another planet with orbiting moons and other distant planets is what I see when gazing into this piece of Polka Dot Agate. But this special agate is grounded (or ungrounded?) here on Earth… Read More
2022-02-23 03:22
In honor of 2022-02-22 or 22-02-2022 but certainly not the bizarre order of 02-22-2022 (apparently we Americans don’t do metric and we can’t get our dates in a logical order like… Read More
2022-02-19 21:52
February 19 marks a particular anniversary for me, not exactly a celebratory one. It marks the date in 2019 when I started digging into widespread copyright infringement on Facebook and bega… Read More
2022-02-10 16:57
Season changes bring some turbulent and chaotic weather in the Great Lakes. Lake Superior is known to be particularly temperamental. Recalling a day from 2015 when I was in Michigan’s… Read More
2022-02-02 23:06
When I was doing a little research for my Dune Dragons series years ago during the last solar eclipse, I become more interested in Chinese Astrological symbolism – but it sort of fell… Read More
2022-01-31 03:17
Sometimes I wish I had a more systematic way of mining my archives. The logical assumption would be to simply go through month by month looking for photos that I haven’t developed yet… Read More
2022-01-27 15:50
While archive mining today, I came across this undeveloped photograph from New Year’s Day in 2008. It is difficult to remember the specifics of that day, but the photo does offer some… Read More
2022-01-21 17:42
These little rascals may raid your bird feeders, entertain with acrobatics in your yard, or simply visit your campsite for a handout. Whatever your love or hate relationship is with these li… Read More
2021-12-31 20:12
Traditions have never resonated strongly with me for some reason or another. However, I suppose summarizing yearly favorites has become one of the sorts. I regret a little I didn’t sta… Read More
2021-12-21 21:18
On this Winter Solstice, temperatures have been somewhat typical here in Michigan. December always seems to be a bit of a roller-coaster ride of weather here as winter starts to assert its d… Read More
2021-12-09 20:25
Pantone® announced their Color of the Year for 2022 yesterday, Very Peri. As Pantone always eloquently describes their picks, Very Peri is intended to be “a carefree confidence and… Read More
2021-12-07 20:47
Walking one of our dogs this morning when it was 19°F (-7°C) certainly made it perfectly clear that winter is coming, by the calendar date anyway. Of course, meteorological winter al… Read More
2021-11-16 14:59
With our first snow arriving yesterday, I am sensing my subjects for this project will soon be retreating into the soil for the season (with or without the help of our electric mulching mowe… Read More
2021-10-26 22:41
As I have been accumulating photographs of these strange little beings in my yard, I have been thinking about a good way to group them together. So here is a brief slideshow of some of my wo… Read More
2021-10-20 14:09
Creature Feature was a television series of back-to-back movies popular in the 1970s/80s that was broadcast nationwide and here in Detroit on UHF WKBD Channel 50. (How many of you remember U… Read More
2021-10-12 16:50
Continuing with my previous post on this new project exploring the shapes, textures, and colors of some fallen leaves in my yard, this post includes a few more “characters” to be… Read More
2021-10-09 20:28
Leaves have started to drop on some trees here, but Autumn colors are only just getting started. Some trees always seem to want to get a headstart, especially a few in our yard. While leaf p… Read More
2021-09-28 23:26
Since my last major website redesign in 2018, it seems like I have been in a constant “tweaking” mode. Part of it was learning two new platforms (Divi and NextGen Gallery) to bui… Read More
2021-09-23 00:29
Shoreline erosion is a growing concern in the Great Lakes area, especially after having record high lake levels in the past few years. Beach Grass, also known as Marram Grass, is quite symbo… Read More
2021-09-13 14:38
Mental health is of course no joke, and I didn’t intend on coming across such a term yesterday. I was actually searching for the meaning of something else and Anatidaephobia came up as… Read More
2021-09-07 19:07
Last summer, the area planned for a new “designer garden” on Detroit’s Belle Isle didn’t look like much. High water levels in the Great Lakes contributed to some sign… Read More
2021-09-01 16:51
September started with a cool nip in the air this morning, and a cooler nip is forecasted for tomorrow morning. Down to a nice 54°F/12°C. A change that I’ve been craving&hellip&hell…Read More
2021-08-25 23:52
Large format photography is something that never caught on with me. My loss I know. I suppose by the time my interest really kicked in with photography, I was so inundated with 35mm film equ… Read More
2021-08-19 17:46
This classic line from Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (one of my favorite films) is from a bewildered Han Solo as he was trying to get the Millenium Falcon to jump to hyperspace to escap… Read More
2021-08-12 13:42
Contemplating what draws us to certain subject matter can be quite a thought-provoking exercise. For many photographs, there is typically a careful, deductive thought process going on. Wheth… Read More
2021-07-25 14:09
2021-07-22 16:05
A bit of a blood donation and luck contributed to this image of this 10-point white-tailed deer the other day. Sadly we don’t have them in our backyard much anymore. Ever since getting… Read More
2021-07-08 17:48
This image is a variation of a beach rock photo I did nearly 10 years ago. Checking the time stamp, it was exposed about 15 minutes before the one I developed back then. It’s a bit dif… Read More
2021-06-24 14:13
For those unfamiliar with Europa, it is one of Jupiter’s 79 known moons with a water-ice crust. There is a hypothesis that life could exist in the oceans beneath this crust. I read a b… Read More
2021-06-15 14:25
One of my favorite quotations is from Claude Monet stating: In order to see, we must forget the name of the thing we’re looking at. I’ve seen this sentiment appear in advice from… Read More
2021-06-12 03:24
I could be a tree. What would be in it for me? I could rest all winter long, awakening to bird song. Spring brings renewal, fresh and awake I get a bit taller and the world a little smaller… Read More
2021-06-03 16:21
Cleaning up old images and deciding if I want to keep them around on my site seems to be a never-ending chore. This may have been one of the very first sunrise photos I was ever happy with b… Read More
2021-05-25 00:00
Fifty-thousand watts! That is an amount of power that I typically only associate with some warning on a big red sign at an electrical plant or the laboratory of Dr. Frankenstein. Yet, on a r… Read More
2021-05-13 21:44
Well, I really meant to not let so much time lapse from my last post – but you know the saying it goes on the best-laid plans. I’ve been busy integrating a newly adopted dog into… Read More
2021-04-11 18:07
While sitting in my yard this past week on a breezy, warm spring day, I was hearing a lot of objects falling to the ground, much like you would expect in a hail storm. My first assumption is… Read More
2021-04-06 12:52
Of course, in a broad sense, I know I’ve been to Joshua Tree National Park in California. However, in reviewing some more of my archives, I found photographs that I have zero recollect… Read More
2021-03-17 19:27
Bird photography is something I haven’t spent a lot of time on in the past few years. However, I have a lot of bird photographs in my archives. Many of them based on 35mm film, and mor… Read More
2021-03-09 15:44
We’ve had a bit of a roller-coaster ride here in the Great Lakes region as far as ice cover this year. For the vast majority of the 2020/21 winter season, the lakes remained largely op… Read More
2021-03-01 15:43
It is probably safe to say my season of winter photography has come to a conclusion. While March brings some highly unpredictable weather, and freezing temperatures are still in the forecast… Read More
2021-02-22 20:04
Temperatures are rising this last week of February, giving a possible hint the coldest spell of winter in Michigan may be coming to an end. Of course, now that I have typed that statement, i… Read More
2021-02-13 18:43
Over the many years of photographing ice on Lake St. Clair, I’ve certainly learned that you have to take what you can get when you are out there. It isn’t a very welcoming enviro… Read More
2021-02-03 23:01
Blue ice is in the headlines of various news stories about Great Lakes winters over the past 5 years or so. While it is often referred to as “rare,” I haven’t found any sub… Read More
2021-02-01 20:57
As I’ve already whined about on social media, I had a hard drive failure this past week. I’ve been pretty lucky when it comes to hard drives. Usually, they fill up and need to be… Read More
2021-01-21 18:19
Next week I am scheduled to take my FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot Recurrent Knowledge exam. It’s hard to believe two years have flown by since I obtained my drone pilot license. This is ne… Read More
2021-01-05 05:03
Yesterday was the first day I made any new exposures since November 20. We had a nice sticky snowfall overnight, so the woods behind us were quite beautiful. The kind of snow where every bra… Read More
2021-01-01 18:49
Before starting this post, I thought it wise just to go back and take a look at my Twenty Nineteen post of yearly favorites just to get a sense of where I was then versus now. I complained l… Read More
2020-12-15 17:47
The wait is over… amongst all the turmoil and uncertainty this year, I know you all have been anxiously waiting for Pantone to reveal their pick for 2021. What could it be? Vaccine Vi… Read More
2020-12-11 14:56
Perhaps you had a surprise today waiting for you in your email inbox? If you received an email from Facebook stating content you posted was removed for copyright infringement, perhaps even s… Read More
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