Category Archives: Nature Photography

One of the hallmarks of early spring in the New England woods is the emergence of the spring ephemerals — wildflowers that emerge and flower early in order to take advantage of the sunlight that reaches the forest floor before leaves start to unfold and form their dense canopy.

One of my favorite ways to enjoy any walk in the woods this time of year is to keep an eye out for these beautiful wildflowers. Being somewhat competitive, what I also enjoy is finding the first ephemeral before my friends do. My first this year was some trailing arbutus — a creeping evergreen plant (technically a shrub, but only a couple inches high) with sweet-smelling white and pinkish flowers.

I was feeling pleased with my find until a reader sent me a photo of some bloodroot blooming in their back woods in Exeter, New Hampshire. I was immediately both excited and jealous because I have never seen bloodroot before, despite it supposedly being a somewhat common wildflower. This is a small, white-flowered wildflower that, like trailing arbutus, inhabits our forests, humus-rich deciduous forests in particular. Theirs had bloomed at least a week before “my” trailing arbutus — beating me at my imaginary spring ephemerals competition. Bloodroot is one of the first wildflowers to bloom, beginning in late winter and continuing into early spring, so my trailing arbutus didn’t really have a chance.

Many of the spring ephemerals blooming now are white or yellow, primarily because of who pollinates them. Flying insects are just starting to emerge in my neighborhood and the majority of them are some kind of fly. Flies have limited color vision. It is thought that bright white and yellow flowers stand out as being much brighter or lighter than the surrounding vegetation and dead leaves on the forest floor — a beacon to flies. True to form, bloodroot has very bright white flowers.

Because they are blooming well before many pollinators have had a chance to recover from their winter dormancy, spring ephemerals can’t be too picky about who pollinates them-they want to attract as wide a variety of pollinators as possible. This is reflected in the form of their flowers which are often shaped like wide bowls or flat plates, landing platforms for just about any sized insect. Bloodroot, like the other early spring ephemerals play a critical role in our forest ecosystems. Their early blooms provide much needed nectar and pollen for early pollinators.

Story continues

Bloodroot is a perennial that grows up to 10 inches tall with a single leaf coming from the base that, when the plant is young, hugs the stem-perhaps to protect the plant from damaging rain or wind. The flower grows on a separate stalk. Once the bloom dies back the basal leaf often expands, becoming rounder and broader, and, like a solar panel the leaf has the ability to tilt and follow the sun. These adaptations help the plant capture as much sunlight as possible as the forest floor becomes more shaded by the unfurling leaves of the trees overhead. Even though it is done blooming for the year, the plant needs this energy to produce seeds as well as extra energy to store in roots to power next spring’s bloom.

As is true of every plant and animal in our backyards, bloodroot is an extremely interesting wildflower, worth getting to know. The name comes from the red sap that leaks from the cut root. The genus name, Sanguinaria, has its origin in the Latin word for bleeding. This red sap has been used to produce natural red, orange, and pink dyes. Bloodroot also has a long history of medicinal use as well, but the sap is an irritant and the rhizome (thickened root) is poisonous, better just to admire this beautiful little plant and then leave it be.

Susan Pike, a researcher and an environmental sciences and biology teacher at Dover High School, welcomes your ideas for future column topics. Send your photos and observations to [email protected]. Read more of her Nature News columns online at Seacoastonline.com and pikes-hikes.com, and follow her on Instagram @pikeshikes.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Trailing arbutus, an emerging sign of spring: Nature News

Graphic design MFA candidate Katie Kiesewetter’s exhibition “Gratuitous Hospitality” portrays the body as a job site through emotional labor.

---

The service industry often revolves around tips, with some servers depending on money to stay afloat. For one graphic design student, the focus of her thesis revolved around the exploitation of service industry laborers.

Katie Kiesewetter is a Master of Fine Arts candidate in graphic design with a secondary focus in photography. Kiesewetter, originally from Farmington, Illinois, graduated as a double art and English major from the University of Iowa in 2018, and worked in the service industry before she came back to school to pursue this thesis.

Her thesis exhibition portrayed the body as a job site through emotional labor. The exhibition was displayed through photography, projections, and 3D art.

Presented at the Visual Arts Building gallery, “Gratuitous Hospitality” was open for viewing April 10-15.

“Art allows me to investigate things that I’m going through. The photographs that I made explore what care work and emotional labor means to me and what it means to internalize one’s labor,” Kiesewetter said. “And even though you may leave work, the work doesn’t leave you. It’s sketched on your body.”

Kiesewetter said she is pursuing the performative aspects of labor; specifically, the exploitative nature of tipped work and hospitality. When first entering the exhibit, viewers are met with a mural of a cartoon character in the style of “The Simpsons” writing “I will not let money define my value” on a chalkboard. To the right of that was Kiesewetter’s 40-page in-depth written thesis.

“I wanted to make work that could relate to people,” Kiesewetter said. “When I make, I make for joy, but I also want to ensure that what I’m doing matters or means something or connects with people in an interesting way.”

Next to the written thesis were five black-and-white photos in red frames. The first photo depicted Kiesewetter topless, her back facing the camera, standing in front of cabinets. The second photo depicted $1 bills glued to Kiesewetter’s chest. The third had Kiesewetter sitting at a table with wine poured in a glass and money scattered on the table. The fourth depicts Kiesewetter grabbing at her chest. The last one was a close-up of Kiesewetter’s mouth biting a price tag.

“It was really important to me to explore the feminine body in public spaces including all folks who would identify as feminists — like women and non-binary folks — and how the way that you’re perceived affects your income in certain roles, especially in service and hospitality, but also exploring the intersections of race as well and how that affects income,” Kiesewetter said.

To the right of the red frames was a checkerboard sitting area with more black and white photos scattered on the wall. There was a theme of isolated red coloration throughout the set of photos. All photos depicted Kiesewetter and other subjects working.

There were also zines Kiesewetter designed and printed available for attendees to take as a souvenir.

To the right of the sitting area was a projection of a waitress putting an apron on.

“We take these processes for granted, especially with the way that tipping functions, with tips being lower than minimum wage and being supplemented,” Kiesewetter said. “Tips are a vital part of a lot of people’s income.”

RELATED: Student Spotlight: Dance MFA candidate dismantles space and environment by finding place for space outside of Space Place

The final portion of the exhibit was another projection. The screening consisted of interviews edited to look like silent films with vintage text cards that read things like “I just don’t want to be in a relationship right now.”

“I think as an artist, as a maker, as a writer,” Kiesewetter said. “There’s a lot of directions that I could take with this work, even though it’s still growing and expanding, I can make more things out of it, but I’ve resolved a lot of thoughts that I’ve been working on for the past couple of years.”

If you’ve ever longed for a chance to escape from the hustle and bustle of civilization, experience the wonders of nature, and live off the land for a while, then you know how exhilarating that kind of adventure can be. But with such an adventure comes some risk; how do you ensure you make it back in one piece?

Whether you’re planning an adventurous day trip or a multi-day trek in the great outdoors, the potential to get lost or stranded in a remote area is very real. To return alive and kicking, you must be well-prepared and knowledgeable about using your skills and equipment to survive. That begins with understanding how to read the terrain, find water sources, construct shelters, and signal for help. Let’s look at all these points in a broader scope.

Preparation

Research the area you are going to

Before heading out on a journey, take the time to research the area you’ll be traveling through. Looking up the most up-to-date information on trail closures, weather conditions, and potential hazards is essential. You should also read up on any local laws on navigation and safety.

Put these in your backpack

Having the right equipment is critical for any wilderness journey. Your backpack should include items necessary for navigation, food, shelter and clothing, water purification, signaling devices, and emergency supplies such as a first aid kit, knife, fire-starting tools, and compass.

While safety is above anything, don’t forget to have fun and document the trip! Use your smartphone camera to take a bunch of snaps and record videos! Once you’re back home, use VistaCreate to add music to photo online free or create an animation based on your pictures to make your adventure unforgettable!

Navigation

Knowing how to use a map and compass is essential for successful navigation in the wilderness. Learn to read a topographic map and locate yourself within it by looking for landmarks. You should also get familiar with compass navigation basics to determine direction without a map.

Shelter

Setting up a shelter quickly and safely

In the case of an emergency, it is crucial to know how to set up a shelter quickly and safely. Ideally, you will have a waterproof tarp or tent for protection. In a pinch, however, you can create a makeshift shelter using available trees, rocks, and other materials. To protect yourself from wildlife or environmental hazards, build your haven away from water sources and trail intersections.

How to stay warm and dry during a storm

Knowing how to keep yourself dry and warm when caught in the rain is key to avoiding hypothermia and other medical emergencies. Wear clothes made of materials that keep water out, such as Gore-Tex or nylon. Do not stay in wet clothes for too long, as this will increase the risk of hypothermia. If possible, build a fire near your shelter for additional warmth.

Water

The most important rule regarding water is that you must always have enough of it. Carry more than you think you need to account for any unexpected delays or detours during your journey. If possible, try to find natural water sources along the way so you don’t have to carry all that weight alone. Purifying water that has not come directly from a reliable source can be a life-saving factor.

You can do it using a portable filter or tablets or boiling the water over a fire. Boiling is the most reliable method but requires more time and energy than the other methods. Whichever method you choose, make sure to do it correctly to avoid any waterborne illnesses.

Food

What to take with you in terms of food

It is necessary to carry enough food for the duration of your journey, as well as some extra for unexpected delays or detours. When choosing what food to take with you, look for lightweight, non-perishable items that provide long-lasting energy and essential nutrients.

Foraging for food in the wilderness and how to do it properly

Foraging for wild food is a great way to supplement your meals in the wilderness. Get familiar with the edible plants and mushrooms in the area and learn how to identify them correctly to avoid poison ivy or other toxic plants.

Fire

Starting a fire in the wilderness can be difficult if you don’t have the proper equipment or knowledge. Learn how to start a fire in all weather conditions and with whatever fuel is available, such as wood, paper, or dry grass. Make sure you have a fire-starting tool like matches or a lighter on you at all times in case of an emergency. Try to gather as much fuel as possible to ensure it keeps burning. Store it close to the fire in a dry area and keep it away from children or animals.

Signaling for Help

If you find yourself in an emergency, it is essential to signal for help. Carry a whistle with you if you need to make loud noises that can be heard over long distances. You can also use natural features such as smoke and rocks or trees to create signals that can be seen further away.

Bottom Line

For all the adventurers out there, we hope this article has given you valuable tips and tricks for surviving in the wild and returning to civilization safe and sound. No matter how daunting nature can seem, it can still be an incredible and rewarding experience. So go ahead, lace up your boots, dust off your compass, and explore the majestic outdoors!

In the early aughties, we often took our two older children — toddlers back then — on the Bear Valley Trail in Point Reyes. On a couple of occasions when (nap)time allowed, we went as far as Arch Rock. That’s not possible today because in 2015, a few days after fissures were reported on top of the rock, it collapsed, killing one person and severely injuring another. The spur trail to that area is closed, and the coast has been recontoured afresh after the collapse.

Nature’s toolkit of fire, water and wind constantly remodels the lands we’re privileged to enjoy, as a recent visit to the Bear Valley area reminded us. This time, we were hiking with the same two children — now in their 20s — and a more recent addition who’s now a teen. Our journey began at the Bear Valley trailhead, but at Divide Meadow, we took a right onto the much-less-used Old Pine Trail and began a gentle but persistent two-mile upward climb.

The bomb cyclones and atmospheric rivers of winter and early spring had toppled aged giants and created swampy areas and transient streams along the path. We occasionally picked our way through sucking mud, and over and through multiple trees slumped across the trail. Wind took the trees and the rains muddied the trails, and we dealt with the changes by taking them head on —the park service asks that hikers not create new trails around obstacles.

From Old Pine Trail, a turn south (left) onto Sky Trail also took us through older signs of nature’s ongoing remodel. In August 2020, the Woodward Fire blasted across these ridges and valleys, torching the trees coal black, leaving a still-lingering acrid smell of crisped carbon almost three years later. It could be an eerie experience, walking through a forest of ghost trees, charred and scarred — and occasionally toppled by the wind.

But part of nature’s toolkit is new life and growth. The day of our hike was a gem of a Northern California Sunday. In the clear, soft blue-sky afternoon, welcome sunlight fell gently over a profusion of fresh green life thriving beneath the scorched trees. The rains of winter have brought out the ferns, flowers and conifer seedlings emerging next to the ruins of their parent plants. Purple lupin and golden poppies are blooming, along with forget-me-nots, chaparral currant, red elderberry, tansyleaf suncup, Douglas iris, harlequin flower and western blue-eyed grass.

At one point along the trial, the park service has a request of visitors. In its effort to capture the ongoing changes after the Woodward Fire, rangers have set up a stop on this route for trail users to record how it looks. A sign instructs users to place their phone horizontally in the space provided and snap a photo of the landscape. Images can then be emailed to an address on the sign so that the park service can track how the landscape responds to fire.

We duly took and sent in our photo, and we can even check the evolution of the post-fire recovery on a related website. The visual record indeed confirms the ongoing greening and resilience of the burn area.

The Abilene Reporter-News scored awards in two major local news coverage categories and photojournalist Ronald Erdrich won six awards, including Star Photojournalist of the Year, in the annual Texas Associated Press Managing Editors contest.

Awards were for 2022 and announced this weekend at the organization’s annual meeting Galveston.

Based on Sunday circulation, Abilene now competes in Class 1A.

The Reporter-News took second place in community service for its coverage of the national abortion issue that came to bear here as an effort to declare Abilene a “sanctuary city for the unborn.” The effort to bring forth an ordinance gained traction in the spring and ended with a winning vote in November, with ordinance leader Scott Beard then announcing his bid for City Council.

The newspaper was third in team effort for its coverage through the year of LGBTQ events and challenges in the community. Those ranged from the city’s first Pride Parade to efforts by some to determine what books were appropriate in the public libraries.

Reporter Brian Bethel, Editor Greg Jaklewicz and Erdrich were central in coverage of those two major newsmakers last year.

The Reporter-News continued its recent excellence in these top categories. The ARN was first in community service in both 2020 and 2021, both years for its coverage of the city’s Black community and how the city dealt with racial issues and opportunities.

The judge said of Erdrich’s Star Photojournalist of the Year entry, “Good selection and variety. Nice moments. Good emotion. Good job.”

In addition, Erdrich took first and second place in news photography. His winning photo was a shot during one of two fires that destroyed what was left of the former St. Ann’s Hospital in north-central Abilene.

“A beautiful photo and moment that captures humanity’s delicate relationship with nature. Really nice compositionthat offers a unique perspective of a regularly-occurring breaking news topic. The matching pattern of theburning pieces and the fire ladder & water make for a particularly compelling visual congruence and juxtaposition,” the judge said of Erdrich’s first photo.

Story continues

He was third in photojournalism.

Erdrich received two honorable mention awards, for features and sports photography.

Jaklewicz also picked up several individual awards.

He was second in Star Opinion Writer of the Year, third in opinion writing and received an honorable mention for headline writing.

And honorable mention went to Dylanne Weese for her Sunday Page 1 designs.

This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: ARN wins two major state awards; Erdrich dominates in photo categories

© Provided by Parade

The supermodel is connecting with nature in her latest springtime snap.

This spring, Gisele Bündchen is making sure she stops to smell the roses—and the pink oleander. 

The supermodel recently showed her social media followers how she is embracing spring this season, connecting with nature in an ethereal new snapshot. 

In the Instagram post shared earlier this week, Bündchen looked utterly beautiful in a candid shot that showed her breathing in the aroma of the flowers on a bright springtime day. In the pic, the 42-year-old was practically glowing, with her skin looking radiant and her wavy blonde locks draping down her back. 

“The same storm that knocks down the leaves, also makes the seeds sprout.,” she wrote in the caption, sharing the same lines in Portuguese. 

View the original article to see embedded media.

As always, Bündchen’s followers were awestruck by her beauty, with many taking to the comments to fawn over the former Victoria’s Secret Angel. 

“The most beautiful! ,” one user commented, while another follower added, “You are light!!!! Love .” 

But an overwhelming amount of her fans were preoccupied by the flower in the photo, identified as pink oleander, which is known to be highly poisonous. 

“Hope she’s knows how f—–g toxic every part of [the plant] is. I would be afraid to touch it,” one user pointed out.

“Toxic plant. Be careful,” warned another. 

Someone else pointed out that the specific type of flower actually doesn’t even have a scent, negating the stunning image of her holding the plant up to her face to smell it. 

“Gisele, nice photo, however [these] kind of flowers don’t smell,” one comment read, while another added, “you are right they don’t have a fragrance and are highly poisonous too however she looks beautiful and so do the flowers .” 

Poisonous or not, Bündchen’s gorgeous flower moment clearly makes for a great photo! 

Next: Gisele Bündchen Just Proved She’s Living Her Best Life

© Photo by Chuck Carpenter
This photo was taken on Crystyl Ranch Drive in Concord.

CONCORD, CA — Patch reader Chuck Carpenter shared this image of a majestic oak tree. Does it look familiar to you? Chuck told Patch he took the photo on Crystal Ranch Drive in Concord.

Thank you so much for sharing, Chuck!

It’s Your Shot: Pictures You Take and We Share

Have you got the next incredible photo? If you have an awesome photo of nature, breathtaking scenery, kids caught being kids, a pet doing something funny or something unusual you happen to catch, we’d love to feature it on Patch. We’re looking for high-resolution images that reflect the beauty that is the East Bay, and that show off your unique talents.

So, bring ’em on. No selfies. Not here.

Send your photos to [email protected]. In your email, please be sure to include information about when and where the shot was taken and any other details about what was going on.

The article Where In Concord Was This Photo Taken? appeared first on Concord Patch.