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Wildflower Wonder

Thursday morning I went looking to see what might be in bloom at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. And I found even more than I had expected! What wonderful Wildflower Wonder I felt as I explored and played with making photographs while walking the familiar paths of the gardens there. Listen, whatever you see and love— that’s where you are. ― Mary Oliver, Dog Songs: Poems I also saw one of my favorite wildflowers, bloodroot, beginning to bloom in the perennial gardens as well. So today I’m simply sharing some of my favorite photos from my rambles there along with snippets Read more…

By Marilyn, ago

Unexpected Visitors

Last evening while we were eating supper I looked out the window and noticed a pair of ducks swimming and diving in the pond. I left our dinner table and picked up my binoculars to see if I could identify these Unexpected Visitors to the pond. And I was able to immediately see that they were a pair of hooded merganser ducks. I believed that they must be making a dinner stop at the pond on their migration north. Sure enough they swam and dived, swam and dived for about an hour. Then they disappeared from sight and I didn’t Read more…

By Marilyn, ago

Photo Assignment

In the photography classes that I teach I give a Photo Assignment each week to the students in my class. In our last class I chose an assignment that I found in Bryan Peterson’s book Bryan Peterson Photography School. The assignment was: Choose a subject. Using a single lens (24-70 mm, 24-105 mm, etc.) place your subject so that it falls in the middle of the frame, allowing for a lot of empty space on all sides. Make a photo of your subject. With your camera still at your eye walk toward your subject. Every 5 steps make another exposure, Read more…

By Marilyn, ago

Pond Life

As we move into April I’m seeing more and more Pond Life appearing and emerging in the pond behind our house. For the past week we’ve had visitations of wood ducks in the pond in the early morning. Most mornings there are a pair and trio of wood ducks (two males, one female) cruising around the pond checking out the neighborhood. So far, the wood ducks only stay for an hour or less before they fly somewhere else. As the weather warms I’m hoping they will stay longer and that a pair will claim the nest box across the pond. Read more…

By Marilyn, ago

Teaching and Learning

Recently I’ve been thinking about how much I am learning about photography (and about life) because I am teaching a photography class. Each week I think about and search for ideas that will challenge and interest my students. At the same time I usually discover that I am challenged and interested in whatever topics I discover and decide to share in class. The more I think about Teaching and Learning the more I realize that learning never stops. Sharing what I’ve learned is more than reciting facts and ideas about photography. It’s about revealing who I am as a person Read more…

By Marilyn, ago