Penning Photography Daily

From a February jaunt through Carpenters Park, prior to the explosion of Spring green that we’ve been experiencing of late.

I was about to pass by this tree when I stopped short, staring at the round bulge in the trunk. It reminds me of the full belly of a pregnant mother, expectant with new life, ready to burst into newness.

The wonder of it is wrapped up in the mystery of the bulge. Why is it so? Sometimes the wonder has it’s mystery revealed, and the delight is increased at the complexities of nature, othertimes the mystery remains, leaving the wonder of the why unanswered, yet still wonderful.

Wonder abounds all around, and I find delight in seeing it. Mystery revealed or not.

Perhaps it’s my twinge of OCD. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

I find myself drawn to the sky, clouds, sunrises and more often (being a night owl), sunsets. I marvel at the beauty found when looking up. The light changes the scene by the second.

A constant chaos of beauty.

This sunset is from February 7. I had worked late on a vexing problem, and needed something to refresh my soul. I saw that the sunset would be worthy of my attention and headed to a favorite spot west of town.

There’s a flat spot, prepared for building with roads and drainage ditches installed, that makes for a perfect sunset location.

I put three frames together that I noticed I had bracketed exposures, at the time preparing to do a high dynamic range or HDR photo composition in post processing.

It’s been gray around here of late, much rain and overcast skies. This was a gift for my eyes.

A bit of the wonder of nature on display for me.

I saw this and stopped my car.

It was a lone tree in a large farm field.

There was a line of shade spreading out in a thin line from either side of the tree. The sun was overhead.

The sky was mostly clear, giving this tree the stark contrast that called out to me.

I passed this up as I was processing the day’s photos before this. I went back over the photos and it called me once again.

Worth a second glance, and another chance.

What caught my eye, was a submerged tree limb, poking up and down in the waves of the lake.

The waves were pushing the branch up and down in the water. That was causing a competing wave to ripple out.

The result was a pattern of ripples, giving the normally placid lake a texture of chaos.

What lies beneath intersects with all around it, adding to the noise of life.

There’s a river birch tree right at the corner of our garage. This is a flowering seed catkin, ready to send it’s winged seeds into the wind.

The tree used to have two big trunks, but a wind storm last year, caused one of the two to break off. Now the remaining trunk looks like a forelorn tipsy gent, sad at his missing mate.

These flowers – or catkins, are full of tiny winged seeds, which are hidden in the catkins bracts (yeah, I learned something new too). Wikipedia sure comes in handy when trying to learn. I now know that these pendulous things are flowers called catkins and have bracts which hide winged seeds. They’re just pretty to me, especially when viewed up close.

I saw them yesterday, and thought them a good subject for a macro, but held off due to the high wind gusts. Tonight I held them steady in my left hand with the camera in my right. I still had to still myself and wait until a moment of no movement. I posed them against the lush green lawn, which makes them pop with color.

Nature sure is a wonder, when I take time to pay attention.

I took the road less traveled to find this scene tonight.

The sky was overcast and it had been raining much of the day. I was looking for a new growth forest, where I could still see through the trees.

I had both my windows open, as the rain had slowed to tiny, sporadic drops. I had my worthy and pocketable Panasonic LX3 with me, due to the forecast for rain. It’s easier to protect in my pocket.

I grabbed several frames as I went along the road, and this one sparked my interest during processing. I enlarged it and discovered a small stream in the valley between two tree covered hills. That put this particular frame into today’s group.

I love this time of year, where the leaves are still just buds or very small. The bright green of new growth is everywhere, but I can still see through the trees to the forest floor.

That new green, soon turns into a covering canopy of shade, which blocks most of the forest from the casual glance. The soon-to-be-hidden brings out the fascination of nature.

My brother John, the artist, and dear Karen Sue.

John is a renaissance man, highly educated, extremely well read, versed in politics, a writer, and full of charm. He took up the art of wire-wrapped gemstones and they are beautiful to behold.

John travels to juried art shows in the midwest, based out of Springfield, Illinois. He invited family and friends who had the time to come by to this weekend’s show at the Illinois State Fairgrounds. We came by!

Karen picked up a few things as gifts for others and just a pair of earings for herself. I admired the artisans craft and the setup of his display.

It was nice to see my brother, to keep in touch. Family does matter. While we were there, our son Chris and his bride Jennie came by. Small world.

If you’re interested, John’s website shows his work.

Safe travels to you, John!