Shadowmeld Photography

May a beautiful sunset bring a comforting smile, supportive fortitude, and enduring happiness at the end of a long day while traveling across the country. With colorful layers in the sky met by reflections of light across land and water, sunsets have a magnetic quality capable of pulling people away from a busy life to enjoy the last few minutes of daylight. Perhaps sunsets are enjoyed for the overwhelming feeling of watching a painting in the sky unfold in real-time or maybe the birth of tranquility as the sun dips below the horizon.

Eerie mist enveloping water shorelines effectively creates a spooky and sometimes strange way of looking at nature, covered in dense fog. Horizons vanish, distant land becomes a faded version of itself, and reflections in the water may become as clear as the originating source. Timing is a major factor, since foggy conditions are are dependent on changing weather patterns, which can make photography of the somewhat elusive subject tricky to time while traveling.

Sunshine peaking through the clouds on partially clear skies bring a bit of joy to long overcast days, a welcomed sight after hiking in shadowy woods for hours. With good timing and the right angle, cloud cover back-lit by the sun can create interesting effects, such as light rays, shadows, or cloud silhouetting. When out and about on trail tours, clouds in the sky interspersed by the sun is favorite sight to photograph.

A fun element to hiking new trails beyond seeing nature up close is encountering stretches of wooden boardwalks leading across marshy land and over water or small valleys. Perhaps part of the interest in seeing trail boardwalks is the irony, that trees in the area were cleared and replaced with repetitive patterned pathways made of wood. While boardwalks might represent the piece of forest replaced by forest parts for human travel, they nevertheless lead explorers further into the trek by enticing hikers with unknowns ahead.

Hiking through the woods and across landscapes to enjoy nature sometimes gives the best views up close with trees in every direction. Pictures of treescapes tell a hidden story about the forest and surrounding area that might be easily overlooked during a trek to a favorite lookout point or attraction. Documenting growth of vegetation and tree lines also help reveal how well a forest responds to fire and changing ecosystems.

In an outdoor garden, with a fairly large pond, fresh white and vibrant pink flowers bloom among lily pads on a rainy day. Calm, clear water between light showers created an opportunity to photograph multiple Water Lily plants with reflections in the pond and droplets covering their spring flowers and foliage.

As a crucial plant for insect habitats, and cultivated by humans for floss and latex, Milkweed is nutrient-rich and abundant in North America. Monarch butterflies are magnetically attracted to the plant for food and as an optimal location to lay eggs. People harvest Milkweed for floss to create clothing insulation and for seeds to grow butterfly gardens in local communities.

Growing throughout meadows and woodlands in the United States and Canada, light lavender bee balm provides a key food source for butterflies and hummingbirds. The ragged-top pink and purple flower blooms are a great subject for practicing depth of field in close-up macro photography during summer months. Wild Bergamot is sometimes grown in gardens and cultivated for a variety of natural remedies, making it an all-around beneficial plant in the wild and gardens.