A few weeks ago, I finally checked off a place I have been meaning to check out for some time. Some time ago, a client inquired if I had any images from the West Bloomfield Woods Nature Preserve, and sadly I didn’t. In fact, it was an area on the “west side” of town that I wasn’t too familiar with.
This nature area is in the northwest suburbs of Detroit and is known to be a rather affluent neighborhood. There are some really gorgeous houses around here, many in this particular spot with their yards backing to the preserve.
It is a fairly short trail system, about 2.4 miles to do the loop, with a few hilly spots. I managed to log about 7 flights of stairs worth. I really enjoyed that this area had a wide variety of habitats, from bogs and ponds to deeply wooded areas and pine canopies. It also didn’t have many of the scrub brush that plagues the woods around my house. This made it easier to find cleaner compositions for photos.
Edit Photo note: The title “March of the Mayapple” came to mind for me for this image because the use of the near / far perspectives created a bit of a sense of visual movement for me. It looks like an army of Mayapple marching to conquer the woods. 🙂
Right near the end of my walk, I ran into this oddly colored trillium. This was a first for me to see one with this green coloration on the petals, and to my knowledge, didn’t have any particular unique identification. My research seems to indicate this is a flower infected with a mycoplasma bacteria, i.e. a Variegated Trillium.
While I can now check the box for having been to this great little preserve, my first visit was inviting enough to encourage further exploration.
This detailed pictured brings me some type of relief. Your work is so inspiring, makes me want to visit this place and spend valuable time there.
“March of the Mayapple” has a cadence, poetry and ring to it. I enjoy seeing your smaller landscapes and attention to detail. I too find it interesting to find little out of the way parks and places where few others would find beauty or photograph. Your work is an inspiration in this regard, as well as others. Part of bringing out the inherent and subtle natural beauty all around us.
I like the wide-angle perspective in the mayapple image – lovely light as well. I’d happily go to a place like this with that little undergrowth. The new blog template is looking good…
Thanks Tom.
Very nice and appropriately named image. Tilt/shift lens? Lots of DOF there. Quite lovely.
This reminds me, though not by plant type, of a small area in Charlotte called Ribbon Walk. I’ve not been there in a while and have been thinking about going. Perhaps I’ll visit it on Saturday morning, just after sunrise. It’s tucked in a neighborhood, though not an affluent one and it seems that only a few people know about it. It used to be a tree farm, so one is greeted with a nice, orderly row of loblolly pines when entering. 😀
The map feature is very cool for sharing locations, but I must admit, it’s a little bit out of my neighborhood.
Thanks Paul. No T/S, just very wide angle (14mm), so it has lots of DOF by default.
Hopefully you will get out to your spot! If not, well you have a map of an alternate. 🙂
Great perspective in the first photo, Mark, and I can understand its influencing the titling of this image. I also like how the wetness of the scene has enhanced the saturation and contrast…it’s hard, if not impossible, to get that same exact effect with post-processing. During or after a rain shower is one of my favorite times for nature photography.
On other matters, your new web site theme is looking great and works well, Mark. The only thing I’ve noticed is a little slowness of loading the blog home page, but that is probably more about the crappy WIFI we’ve been experiencing at these RV Resorts. I know I’m constantly battling the load time of my own blogs home page…photo blogs. 🙂
I do love the colors as well as the smell of the air after a fresh rain. I think I feel even a little more inspired to create.
For the blog, it does load a little slower than my last theme, but I have only noticed about a second or two on my end. I’ll have to keep an eye on it. I am using all the chache gizmos, so I wouldn’t know where to look to improve it.
I used one of the theme’s built in features for adding the map to this post. One of many visual perks hope to try out.
Thanks as always for the feedback Brooks.
Love the map feature, Mark!
I’ve done the same with a few spots over the years. Places folks have recommended but I just haven’t got there only to discover, once finally visiting, that they are indeed wonderful places. One such place was only a mile away from my favorite painted trillium spot and was home to a few nice areas hosting them also. Somewhere different adds a little extra enthusiasm with the discovery of new subjects and experiences.
I feel the same way about your “March of the Mayapple”. Having the one so close and large in the lower right really feels like we are being descended upon…sort of like a herd of turtles. 🙂
I would like a good painted trillium spot! It will take years before I know it will enough to know what blooms when there, but I do want to go back in the next couple of weeks.
We found fields of trillium on a recent visit to the Blue Ridge Parkway. They are one of my favorite flowers, probably second only to the Turks Cap Lily.
That looks like a place that you’re definitely going to want to return to.
That’s one thing I don’t see often around here Tom … big fields of trillium, or at least some large patches that are somewhat uncluttered. I know they exist elsewhere in the state, just not local for me that I have found… yet! 🙂
Definitely an unusual and cool looking trillium, even if it is ‘infected’. Reminds me of our trillium challenge a few years back! Years? Wow, how time flies…..
I still think about the Trillium challenge Howard. I am not sure of the prognosis – catering the comment to your medical side. 🙂 Some articles have suggested the bacteria begin to interfere with the plants pollination / reproduction cycle and ultimately kill it.
Interesting phenomena though would be nice to have it not kill the host. Certain mycoplasma can infect humans as well, though I doubt it is the same subspecies that infects plants (remembering back my internal medicine days I think it is Mycoplasma pneumonea that gets humans.
That’s an interesting trillium As I’ve never seen one of that coloration. We do not have them out here so my only contact with them came during my 2 1/2 years in Ohio. Love them! Glad you found a new location to explore and that it’s reasonabl close. I found areas like this around the Columbus are called Metro Parks. They were havens for me. A place to find quiet and solitude.
There are many Metroparks in Michigan as well Monte, well known spots for me as they are typically great protected areas of nature amongst a lot of suburban sprawl.