Category Archives: Chicago Nature

Information and photography about Chicago area nature, wildlife, landscapes, habitats, and biodiversity. The Chicago area includes Northeastern Illinois counties and suburbs.

My 2015 Search for Spring (and Skunk Cabbage)

Posted on March 8, 2015 by Mike MacDonald

Every March, I go to the woods in the hope that I will find evidence that spring has begun. For me, that’s when skunk cabbage emerges from the mud or, as is the case this year, through the snow. Skunk … Continue reading →

Posted in Chicago Nature, Cook County Nature, Digital Photography, Humor, Illinois Nature Photography, Macro Photography, Nature, Nature Photography, Photography Lessons, Will County Nature | Leave a comment

The Monsters in Our Midst

Posted on October 29, 2013 by Mike MacDonald

Along this tranquil autumn stream, monsters lurk in plain sight. Location: Black Partridge Woods, Lemont, Illinois Forest Preserve District of Cook County At Black Partridge Woods, invisible raindrops plummet from the gray onto a canopy of yellow sugar maples, dislodging … Continue reading →

Posted in Biodiversity, Chicago Nature, Cook County Nature, Ecological Restoration, Illinois Nature Photography, Nature | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Stop and Look Up: A Winter Daydream

Posted on March 13, 2013 by Mike MacDonald

Stop and Look Up Sun and snow on the trail, slip-sliding with ease, Stop and look up, see the lace in the trees. Take your mind off the cold, as your fingers they freeze, Stop and look up, see the … Continue reading →

Posted in Chicago Nature, Cook County Nature, Illinois Nature Photography, Nature, Nature Photography, Poetry | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Searching for Spring (and Skunk Cabbage)

Posted on March 10, 2013 by Mike MacDonald

Today, March 10, 2013, spring officially began in the Chicago area. For me, the beginning of spring does not arrive in a fanfare of color. Rather, it begins subtly, when sometime in March, speckled maroon and yellow spathes of skunk cabbage … Continue reading →

Posted in Biodiversity, Chicago Nature, Cook County Nature, Illinois Nature Photography, Macro Photography, Nature, Nature Photography, Poetry, Will County Nature | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Digital Landscape Photography: New Possibilities in Storytelling

Posted on February 28, 2013 by Mike MacDonald

Not until recently, did I begin to photograph the landscape with a digital camera, leaving behind the beauty of transparency film and the process of leaning over a light table, one eye to the loupe, to immerse myself in the colorful world living within. … Continue reading →

Posted in Chicago Nature, Cook County Nature, Digital Photography, Film Photography, Illinois Nature Photography, Landscape Photography, Nature, Nature Photography, Photography Lessons | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Transcendental Light & The Art of Landscape Photography

Posted on February 6, 2013 by Mike MacDonald

On this typical May morning, along a bluff at Black Partridge Woods, transcendental rays of new-day light fleck the verdant floor and streak across serpentine waves of woodland phlox, casting the divine onto this springtime panorama. Thirty minutes earlier, though, only flat blue shade … Continue reading →

Posted in Chicago Nature, Cook County Nature, Illinois Nature Photography, Landscape Photography, Nature, Nature Photography, Photography Lessons | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

On the Coldest Days, Winter Plays

Posted on January 31, 2013 by Mike MacDonald

There were some very cold days last week and most people stayed inside, but I know better. Because, it is on the coldest days when winter plays and her plans change to mischief and whimsy. After years of winter photography, I still never know … Continue reading →

Posted in Chicago Nature, Digital Photography, DuPage County Nature, Illinois Nature Photography, Nature, Nature Photography, Photography Lessons | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment