RSS Feed- A Tribute to Dune Succession December 6, 2024The Cowles Bog Trail at Indiana Dunes National Park exemplifies dune succession, a concept pioneered by Henry Chandler Cowles. The process begins with marram grass, which stabilizes sand and enriches soil over time, allowing diverse flora, from flowers to oaks, to develop. This ecological transformation highlights the area's significance in American ecology. Continue reading → […]Mike MacDonald
- A Bunny’s View of a Springtime Woodland November 18, 2024In the woodlands of early May, shy waxy white blossoms of mayapples hide under their umbrella-like foliage. Continue reading → The post A Bunny’s View of a Springtime Woodland appeared first on The Heart of Nature™ by Mike MacDonald.Mike MacDonald
- It Can Take Decades September 22, 2024The image here showcases a hanging fen and a sedge meadow, two unique wetland habitats Mike has been trying to photograph for over twenty years. The fen, fed by a gravel hill's seep, features rare plants like Ohio goldenrod and sphynx lady tresses orchid, adapted to its alkaline water conditions. Continue reading → The post […]Mike MacDonald
- Go With the Blow February 1, 2024Go With the Blow Well, I did my first below-zero photo shoot of the winter season on January 15. It was one below, so it qualified. Most of the time, the wind is my nemesis. But on this bitter afternoon, … Continue reading → The post Go With the Blow appeared first on The Heart […]Mike MacDonald
- Winter Red January 31, 2024Winter Red So far this winter, the magic of frozen white was nowhere to be found. So, I tried to photograph it, anyway. With dense fog predicted for the morning of Dec. 24, I visited Illinois Beach Nature Preserve in … Continue reading → The post Winter Red appeared first on The Heart of Nature™ […]Mike MacDonald
- From Dreary to Dreamy February 11, 2022From Dreary to Dreamy Just in case you’re unaware, all of my images are available as big, beautiful photographic prints. More than just pretty, they tell elaborate stories that celebrate Chicago’s wondrous habitats and inhabitants. Click here for more information. … Continue reading → The post From Dreary to Dreamy appeared first on The Heart […]Mike MacDonald
- Sometimes You Just Need A Little Distance February 11, 2022Sometimes You Just Need A Little Distance The great blue heron is one of Chicago’s most recognizable and elusive birds. Pass by any wetland, and you’ll probably see one off in the distance, hunting motionless, like a statue in the … Continue reading → The post Sometimes You Just Need A Little Distance appeared first […]Mike MacDonald
- The Extraordinary in the “Ordinary” February 3, 2022The Extraordinary in the “Ordinary” I am both haunted and fascinated by a phrase that’s often used to praise and describe my work. It all came to a head one day after I performed my one-man show about Chicago nature. … Continue reading → The post The Extraordinary in the “Ordinary” appeared first on The […]Mike MacDonald
- The Boy and the Waterfall: A Photographer’s Story and Message of Hope January 1, 2021This is an inspirational true story about photographer Mike MacDonald, who unwittingly gives a little boy a deeply needed gift. Continue reading → The post The Boy and the Waterfall: A Photographer’s Story and Message of Hope appeared first on The Heart of Nature™ by Mike MacDonald.Mike MacDonald
- Light in Landscape Photography: A Matter of Life & Depth June 25, 2014Good light can bring shape and depth to a photograph. In particular, low side-lighting or “glancing light” can be used to transform your landscape photographs and make them come to life. In Photo A (below), the feathery June grass, yellow flowers of hoary … Continue reading → The post Light in Landscape Photography: A Matter of Life & […]Mike MacDonald
- A Tribute to Dune Succession December 6, 2024
Category Archives: Nature Photography
Landscape Photography: Use Your Mind’s Eye
A photograph is a facsimile of reality and our experience. Sometimes it represents the moment quite accurately; at other times, quite poorly. Landscape photography can be more like the latter. This article is about how to photographically communicate the drama and the … Continue reading
Landscape Photography: Sometimes It Just Takes Two
Landscape photography sometimes requires two shots to capture the drama of a single scene. Here in the woodlands of Will County, this afternoon landscape of bluebells along the stream would have been impossible to convey with just one photograph. Those who … Continue reading
The Digital Darkroom: Image Capture is Only the Beginning
Like it or not, capturing the image with your camera is only the beginning. Digital darkroom work is needed to best convey the truth of your experience. That’s because, straight out of your camera, digital images are inherently flat, lacking the … Continue reading
Stop and Look Up: A Winter Daydream
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
Searching for Spring (and Skunk Cabbage)
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 Black Partridge Woods, Closeup Photography, Forest Preserve District of Cook County, Joliet, Lemont, Pilcher Park Nature Preserve, Winter Photography
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Digital Landscape Photography: New Possibilities in Storytelling
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 Bluff Spring Fen, Elgin, Fen Photography, Filters, Forest Preserve District of Cook County, HDR Photography, HDR Software, Photomatix, Split Grad Filters
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Transcendental Light & The Art of Landscape Photography
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
On the Coldest Days, Winter Plays
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 Animal Tracking, Closeup Photography, Cold Weather Photography, Forest Preserve District of DuPage County, Ice Photography, Waterfall Glen Forest Preserve, Winter Photography
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New Nature Photography Blog: A Celebration of Biodiversity & The Art of Nature Photography
It’s a new day and a new year, and with them come a fresh new resource, a nature photography blog that speaks to the avid photographer and the lover of nature. I call it: The Heart of Nature. The purpose of this blog is to share my insights about photography … Continue reading
Posted in Biodiversity, Chicago Nature, Cook County Nature, Digital Photography, Ecological Restoration, Film Photography, Illinois Nature Photography, Landscape Photography, Macro Photography, Nature, Nature Photography, Photography Lessons, Wildlife Photography
Tagged Bluff Spring Fen, Elgin, Fen Photography, Flower Photography, Forest Preserve District of Cook County, Prairie Photography
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