Dandelion Explosion
Bozeman, Montana
2020

Given the explosive mindset July 4th always brings around, it’s not much of a stretch to imagine this dandelion as a bursting fireworks shell. Happy Independence Day.

False Solomon’s Seal #3
Bozeman, Montana
2020

Like yesterday’s forget-me-nots, false Solomon’s seal is another variety of flower that I think yields some quite dramatic results when rendered in monochrome. I usually think it’s best to choose either color or black and white for a photo and not to present both to the public because it makes you look indecisive as a photographer. But I’ll make an exception for this photo because, while the monochrome version is striking, the color version is, well, strikingly green.

Forget-Me-Nots #3
Bozeman, Montana
2020

I mostly post color photos of wildflowers, but it’s fun to work on them in black and white as well sometimes.

Balsam Root #2
Bozeman, Montana
2020

Snow coming down on some arrowleaf balsam root on the low ridge just behind our house. I’ve always admired rock gardens; never created one. We’re lucking to have some ready-made ones to admire so close to the house.

White Lupine
Bozeman, Montana
2020

Walking around our property, we see a lot of different shades of lupine flowers, from dark blue/purple to light blue to blue with white highlights; but once in a while we come across a few plants that are pure white.

Lupine #2
Bozeman, Montana
2020

Lupine, along with arrowleaf balsam root, are the stalwarts of our wildflowers each year. With their size and widespread prevalence, they form the backdrop for our wildflower show. Still, in recent years they have not been appearing in as great numbers as even just a decade ago. I don’t know if their preferences for moisture and temperature are consistent with the change in climate we’ve been seeing but I suspect a correlation there.

Douglas’ Wild Hyacinth #2
Bozeman, Montana
2020

We are lucky to have a plethora of wildflowers bloom on our land annually. Every so many years I go on a kick of photographing them and it seems this is one of those years. So expect to see quite a lot of wildflower photos through the rest of the summer I imagine.

Looking back, it turns out I posted an image quite similar to this one nine years ago. (The last time I was on a flower photo kick?) This one differs in that it was photographed during one of our rather common June snowstorms. It was warm enough that at first the snow melted as soon as it hit anything, but it got progressively cooler. I photographed flowers that day until the heavy wet snow got so thick that it weighed down the flowers and soaked me to the point I was ready to retreat inside.

Forest Decor
Stillwater River, Montana
2020

This branch apparently fell off a nearby tree and got hung up on the flat side of this old dead tree. It looked almost as if it hand been hung there purposefully as decoration, and maybe it had been for all I know.

Reclining Figure
Stillwater River, Montana
2020

Kidney Stone
Stillwater River, Montana
2020