Learning Wildflower Photography

bluebead lily — I’m not sure why these are called bluebead lilies, since they are a pale yellow color. The forest floor was covered with them.

One of our stops during the shoot was a wildflower sanctuary where we saw many northern bluebells.

dandelion — Dandelions are surprisingly photogenic. Several of my fellow photographers got great shots of them. This was my attempt.

ferns — Ferns offer some interesting architectural elements.

forgetmenots — While we were at the wildflower sanctuary, it started to drizzle. Click on the image to see how pretty they droplets are.

lupine3 — The lupines were not quite blooming, but the water on those amazing leaves made for some great photos. I like the spot of color the dandelion provides behind the foliage.

Some of us went out to Artist Point for sunrise. With help from Bryan, who had some special sunrise filters, I got a decent shot of the sun, the lakes and the rocks.

selfportrait — Did I mention they have mosquitoes up North? Despite my expression and the swarm of skeeters, I was feeling pretty good about the day at this point.

This past weekend, I took a class on wildflower photography at the North House Folk School in Grand Marais. I’ve wanted to take a class at the school for some time, and this course on using macro-lenses to photograph wildflowers on the North Shore seemed a perfect fit.

Our instructor was Bryan Hansel, a local photographer who has taken some amazing images of the rugged beauty of the area around Grand Marais. We were a diverse group of photographers, from fellows who have been shooting for more than 50 years to relative newbies. This was my first time using a macro (closeup) lens, so I had a lot to learn, but what a great way to do it! Above is a gallery of some of the images I took. Click any image for a larger view.

Thanks Bryan and North House for a great experience!

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