I made this photo just a few hours ago in our backyard and started working on it this morning. We have a healthy population of Ostrich Ferns (Matteuccia struthiopteris), a native woodland fern here in Michigan. They’ve been the subject of many photos over the years. But I’d never quite landed on an image of a newly emerged fiddlehead that really felt right.
Despite having plenty to choose from, there always seems to be something: the fiddleheads are at different stages, the scene is too cluttered, the wind won’t cooperate, or my patience runs thin. It doesn’t take much to talk myself out of trying again.
Modern tools help chip away at some of those excuses—tilting screens for low angles without kneeling, or focus stacking to manage distracting backgrounds. This morning, though, a lot of those “circumstances” seemed to fall away. The ferns weren’t going to wait—they were already beginning to unfurl. With recent rain and warming temperatures, everything felt like it had shifted into overdrive. Spring energy was everywhere.
I grabbed my camera and my trusty, nearly 20-year-old Nikon 200mm f/4 ED-IF AF Micro-NIKKOR (picked up on eBay back in 2008). Even with its beautiful subject isolation, backgrounds can still be a challenge in a suburban backyard. I started searching for the right subject—just the right amount of curl, in just the right spot. After working with a few single fiddleheads, that familiar feeling crept back in that it just wasn’t coming together.
Then I noticed a small group of them, backlit by the rising morning sun. It felt like a perfect expression of that early spring energy—everything pushing upward at once.
Technically, they were nearly aligned on the same focal plane, but the background still wasn’t ideal. Stopping down the lens would have brought in too much detail from the yard, including some not-so-photogenic elements. Instead, I kept the aperture wider open and let the background dissolve into a soft glow from the sun. A focus stack brought the fronds into crisp detail while preserving that light.
There’s something about this time of year. Maybe it’s the same energy driving everything upward, but for once the tools, the timing, and the subject all seemed to flow together just enough to make an image I’d been chasing for a while.
I think this is an amazing image, Mark, with incredible color and detail. I think you nailed it, and I hope it meets your standards. You’re correct when you say modern tools eliminate some of the excuses we use to stop trying to get the image we want. Unfortunately, I still sometimes walk away from an image I find too difficult to get, but now I find myself coming up with a whole new set of “reasons” to do so. It never ends! 🙁
I definitely find myself wanting to kneel less, and having a tilt screen helps with that a lot. The past week I also faced some wind situations that just made it too frustrating for macro, even though I cranked up the ISO. Keep in mind this is also all in the convenience of my backyard, so no travel hassle. LOL. Soon the mosquitos will be out, so I’ll have that excuse, heh. But I am happy with this one. Of course many other exposures I made the same morning I am not thrilled with.
The light brings out the details and adds contrast, looks really good.
Thanks Tom. I did like how the backlight lit up some of the details.
I love Fiddleheads (to photograph). Did you know they are edible? I’ve only had them at one restaurant but they can be a nice addition to a salad or as a side. No, they don’t taste like chicken, although it’s been a while and I don’t remember a lot about how they taste. 😉
I did know that. I found out they were edible when they appeared on a seasonal farm to table restaurant nearby but they were out of them. So I never got the chance to try them. Guess I should take the opportunity now, eh?
It looks great to me. The time and the focus stacking was just the thing. Thank you for your patience and for sharing! I hope you enjoy this spring!!
It always seems to fly by too quickly. Thanks Monte.
Beautiful photo, Mark, and as you know, a subject that’s near and dear to my heart. I find ferns hard to photograph in a way that truly captures their nature and beauty, but this photo is a winner. Glad you had some sunshine as well after all the rain you’ve gotten recently. Have a great weekend.
I agree, it is difficult to portray them adequately in a backyard type setting. Macro helps solve some of that. The rain was welcome for sure and all the plants are energized.
It screams spring, Mark (in a quiet sort of way). I’m reading this while my yard greens and grows more each day, perfect timing.
Good, that’s what I was going for and hoping not to do it too loudly. Our trees are really leafing out early.
It was worth the wait….and the effort. A marvelous shot and that background light is really amazing!
Glad you like it Howard!
Well, you got it this time. That’s not unusual – you can spend a long time trying to get some subject to come out right and it never seems to work. Then it does. Happens to me all the time. Good work Mark.
If only we could bottle the “then it does” part right? ha.