Mothers Day Wildflowers

One of my ongoing battles in photography is to try and present, common things in a different way.  That's why light, to us photographers, is so important-it can change a dull everyday scene into something special, or at the very least, much more interesting.  My love of the outdoors takes me...well, outdoors, and at this time of the year, I like to see nature coming back to life from a long tough winter.  Maybe that's why turkey hunting has become such a great thing for me-it has me out in the Wisconsin woods all spring breathing in the seasons' change.
A tough nut for me to crack is making good pictures of wild flowers.  I mean, I do it every year and it's almost something that I have to do, I mean-"Look at all that color, those cool shapes, I need to take pictures of those!"  I come back, download and stare at hundreds of images and just a couple make the cut.  "I took those same exact pictures last year" I think to myself.  But, that struggle in photography never ends, sometimes, you just have to press the shutter to get those images out of the way and behind you (each year?).  What follows are some I like, or maybe one small thing is different from others I've taken.....in any regard, my Stan Tekielo "Wildflowers of Wisconsin" book comes out, I learn to identify a few new flowers and have a good excuse to spend more hours outside.

Yellow Trout Lily

The Trout Lily seem to be everywhere this spring.  The forest floor is just carpeted with them and each night, they close down, only to open wide in the sun and warmth of the next day.

Spring Beauty

Cow Slip or Marsh Marigold

Of course, these are the first spring flowers I see and the ones that signal it's time to head out the door with camera.  In some places, they just blanket the wet swamps with yellow and an amazing sight to start the spring.

Bloodroot

Another very early spring flower which can grow in large patches, anytimes, amoung Yellow Trout Lily, as seen here.  The stems, when broken, seep "blood" from their veins.  Another flower, like the lily, that open and close each day.