Dogwood Photography Tips

There are lots of ways to interpret dogwood trees and their blooms. Your imagination is the limit really. Here are some random thoughts on what you might do to step out from the ordinary dogwood photo.  Remember these white blooms are prone to over-exposure and the loss of all texture. I like to underexpose, then bring back the brightness in post-processing. 

Ordinary but Photographed in Cutting Evening Light

Isolate Single Blooms for Impact

Why Not Bottom Shots? 

Explore Backlight, Bokeh, & Natural Frames

Add Magic to Your Wildflower Photos

While the flower is the point of the composition, but the context provides the magic, the sense of the eternal. Most have a first impulse to take photos where the entire flower fills the frame. Over time, I have gone the other direction. I want to express the flower in context, and clearly in a moment in time, meaning a moment in light, something given and ephemeral.

I was drawn to this composition by crossing light, that dead limb setting the flow of the picture, the unusual purple blue of this bloom, and the amazing curly grass.

If we get it right, a composition captures the magic of nature. We never really get "the picture", we are given "a picture". Cultivate the habit of looking at context as well as subject, look for the magic given, heaven in a wild flower. Feel the magic, accept the photo given in a moment of light.

“To see a World in a Grain of Sand 

And a Heaven in a Wild Flower, 

Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand 

And Eternity in an hour.” 

― William Blake, Auguries of Innocence

Horned Violets Ponca Wilderness

Wild Iris Lost Valley Trail

Dwarf Crested Iris -- Lost Valley Trail

Wild iris are a favorite wildflower with photographers. They are up now, and will be gone soon.

Wildflower seas is on full gear now. Don't forget the butterflies. Shooting is very good now.

Butterflies & Flowering Trees

Hummingbird Moth on Wild Plum

I mentioned butterfly photography on the blooming trees. This is an example of one picture I got today. These little guys are pretty hard to get. There was only one of them today and I got him in a pose that I like.

Think about the flowers as well as the butterfly. I think the spray of blooms, filtered light, and bokeh make this picture.

Flowering Trees, Wildflowers, and Waterfalls are Going Strong

Horned Violets, Ponca Wilderness

Waterfall photo fans often use flowering trees to improve compositions. Red Buds, Serviceberry,
Wild Cherry, and Wild Plum trees are now peaking.

Early wildflowers are also peaking.  This year the bloom is very strong due to ideal rain conditions. Don't miss it.

The water table is still high so waterfalls are flowing well.

I would say this is the best year in many years for all these things coming together.

This weekend is also perfect for floating and hiking.  Get here now. The magic of the early spring season is upon us and this is an exceptional year.