March 2021 Photography
And just like that, the snow is gone, the days are longer, and we’re moving into Spring! Unfortunately for the outdoor photographer, March is one of the two times of the year where the landscape leaves little to be desired because of the lack of greenery between those piles of dirty melting snow. But I don’t let that stop me from finding things to photograph on my weekends!
Here are the highlights from March!
The last fleeting glimpses of Winter
Winter didn’t stick around too long into March before things started to warm up a bit. We had one really gorgeous week of weather that melted the snow away. But before that happened, I was able to squeeze in a few outings for some winter scenery: one on a foggy forest walk to the Saugatuck dunes, and then another day to capture the ice flow that was still lingering down in South Haven.
Birds of Prey and the Water
I know this has been a heavy focus of my blogs so far this year, but hey, you never say no to a good wildlife shot. I first had some fun photographing the ducks in South Haven, particularly the Mergansers and the Mallards. The ladies were desperately trying to social distance from the over eager gentlemen that day.
Then on the drive home from South Haven, we took a detour past Lake Allegan to see what else we could spot, and then we encountered a group of about 20-25 Mute Swans, so that made for some great bird watching.
Then the next weekend, I heard through Facebook that a Snowy Owl became the newest resident at the Outdoor Discovery Center down the road from my house. After two months of keeping my eyes peeled for the elusive critters on my hikes, one just falls into my lap five minutes from my house. You may think it’s cheating, but the creative photographer can make a great image of any creature if they know what they’re doing.
Admittedly, I’m a little ashamed of myself that I haven’t taken advantage of the ODC before, it’s so close to home, and other than one time when I went catch-and-release fishing in the pond there with a buddy, I’ve never bothered to take advantage of the photographic opportunity of this place before. Along with the snowy owl, they had 3 other species of owl, 2 species of falcon, 2 species of eagles, vultures, and 3 species of hawk. I’ll definitely be paying another visit in the future to taken advantage of its green summer landscapes as well.
A Visit to Meijer Garden
It’s the time of year when the butterflies are blooming at Frederick Meijer Gardens. Last year I was able to get there right before the world shut down for COVID. This year when I tried to go, there was an hour long wait to get inside, then once we were inside there was a 2 hour wait for the butterflies because of interior COVID restrictions. By the time we would’ve gotten in, the gardens would be closing, and I wouldn’t have had the time I wanted with the butterflies, so instead we walked around outside in the gardens.
Home Studio Creation time
My first art show is coming up on April 10th, so I spent some time prepping a few extra pieces of the newest work to add to my inventory. At the start of each year, I take the time to go through my inventory and move some of the oldest stuff to clearance to make room for the newest stuff. Here’s some of the new pieces I made this month, plus a few prints I put together for my aunt who loved the recent water bird shots I’ve made and was with me when I made all of them. I even got to make some of these pieces with my nieces when they spent one weekend over at our place. It was a joy to show them what I do with my photos.
Bible Verse Photos of March
