Small Worlds is a collection of my favorite macro photographs I've taken in the last decade or so. The locations span from Eau Claire, Wisconsin, Duluth, Minnesota and all the way to Glacier National Park, Montana. My first DLSR camera body was a Nikon D70 and I used it to take the first image in this list. I've since upgarded to a Nikon D5300 with better macro lenses, but I still love a lot of those older photos I've taken with older, less expensive equipment.
The goal of my macro photography is to see the world, God's world, from a different view. Sometimes we don't pay attention to the amazing details around us, sometimes even when we're purposefully trying to experience nature, we can be oblivious to the beauty just under our feet, or under that leaf, or on the tree. The next time you're in a garden, or in the woods, or even on your porch, look closely, you just mind find something amazing there.
All the photos below are available for sale directly through me in any size or type of print. You can contact me here.
They are also on display at The Accoustic Cafe in Eau Claire Wisconin. The ones there are 24x36 on canvas. Prices are below and shown at the Cafe. You can purchase them directly from the Cafe, all are ready to hang. They will be at the Cafe from June 25th - August 5th.
- Title: Forget Me Not
- Identification: Forget-me-not
- Scientific name: Myosotis scorpioides
- Info:
- "from the Greek: μυοσωτίς "mouse's ear"
- German legend:
- "In a German legend, after the earth was created, God went to each plant and animal and gave each a name. As God finished and was getting ready to leave, he heard a little voice at his feet saying “what about me?” He bent down and picked up the little plant whom he had forgotten, and said “Because I forgot once, I shall never forget you again, and that shall be your name.”
- Where: Madeline Island, Wisconsin
- My story: Took this photo on Madeline Island, Wisconsin, while camping with friends. It was taken with a Nikon D70 and a macro inverter ring (only $50) which inverts a standard lense into a makeshift macro lens. I’ve tried to recreate this photo with more expensive camera bodies and lenses, but nothing comes close. Lesson? Keep shooting and shoot often no matter what your equipment.
- Size: 24x36
- Print: Canvas
- Price: $300
Order this Print here
- Title: In the eye of the Beholder
- Identification: Orange Hawkweed
- Scientific name: Pilosella aurantiaca
- Other names: fox-and-cubs, orange hawkweed,tawny hawkweed, devil's paintbrush, grim-the-collier
- NOT Indian Paintbrush, that is a different flower.
- "They are widely grown as an ornamental plant in gardens for its very decorative flowers. It has been introduced into Australasia and North America and escaped from gardens and is considered an invasive species in some areas."
- History:
- "Orange hawkweed is native to northern and central Europe, occurring primarily in mountain meadows and hillsides. It was introduced in Vermont by 1875 as a garden ornamental and has been planted many times subsequently. Orange hawkweed has repeatedly escaped cultivation"
- My Story: This is another flower I’ve photographed several times for almost two decades. This is the only one I like, even though I’ve shot dozens more. Also, I don’t care if it’s a “weed”, it’s pretty, I like it.
- Where: Hartley Park, Duluth, MN
- Size: 24x36
- Print: Canvas
- Price: $250
- Title: Surreptitiously Hiding
- Scientific name: ignotus stilio
- This is a joke: it just means “unknown spider” in latin
- This is a joke: it just means “unknown spider” in latin
- My Story: Found this cute little guy in my parents garden. A few quick facts about spiders. The myth You're Never More Than Three Feet from a Spider, spiders drink water from your eye, you eat 8 spiders in your life time in your sleep, and Daddy Long leggs are the most poisonous spiders, but that’s ok, because they can’t bite you are all false. Ask me to explain if I’m around, but I encourage you to look these up if you have time, but a good resource is:
- Where: Parents garden: Barron, Wisconsin
- Size: 24x36
- Print: Canvas
- Price: $150
- Title: Phlebotomizing Coronary
- Identification: Bleeding Heart
- Scientific name: Lamprocapnos spectabilis
- History
- My Story: Pretty flower, looks like a heart. The end.
- Where: Chester Bowl, Duluth ,MN
- Size: 24x36
- Print: Canvas
- Price: $200
- Title: Fuzzy
- Scientific name: ignotus quamquam quod
- “Unknown fuzzy thing”
- “Unknown fuzzy thing”
- My Story: What is it? I don’t know, you tell me. Sometimes you gotta just grab your camera and point it at things that look cool and take a picture, I can’t know everything, leave me alone.
- Where: Boyd Park, Eau Claire, Wisconsin
- Size: 24x36
- Print: Canvas
- Price: $150
- Title: Six Fold Symmetry
- Info:
- "A non-aggregated snowflake often exhibits six-fold radial symmetry. The initial symmetry can occur because the crystalline structure of ice is six-fold. The six "arms" of the snowflake, or dendrites, then grow independently, and each side of each arm grows independently. Most snowflakes are not completely symmetric."
- "A snowflake is either a single ice crystal or an aggregation of ice crystals which falls through the Earth's atmosphere. They begin as snow crystals which develop when microscopic supercooled cloud droplets freeze."
- "Snowflakes are symmetrical because they reflect the internal order of the water molecules as they arrange themselves in the solid state (the process of crystallization). Water molecules in the solid state, such as in ice and snow, form weak bonds (called hydrogen bonds) to one another. These ordered arrangements result in the basic symmetrical, hexagonal shape of the snowflake."
- "A non-aggregated snowflake often exhibits six-fold radial symmetry. The initial symmetry can occur because the crystalline structure of ice is six-fold. The six "arms" of the snowflake, or dendrites, then grow independently, and each side of each arm grows independently. Most snowflakes are not completely symmetric."
- My Story: Snowflakes are very hard to photograph. That is an incredible understatement. Also, it’s cold outside in the winter. So, when trying to get the perfect photo of a snowflake, one is outside for long periods. ALSO, one is hunched over or kneeling for much of it to get that tiny little thing in frame and in focus. I probably looked ridiculous on my porch in my snowpants.
Where: My front porch, Eau Claire, Wisconsin
- Size: 24x36
- Print: Canvas
- Price: $250
- Title: Bob the Bee
- Identification: Not sure, could be an American Bumble Bee or Golden Northern Bumble Bee. Or neither. Or a robot controlled by an alien species unsuccessfully attempting to make first contact.
- My Story: This little guy landed on the log I was sitting on while I was eating lunch on a camping trip. I brought my little 40mm macro lens just in case and I was happy I brought it. He stuck around for a good fifteen minutes just exploring that log. I named him Bob and we had some good times.
- Where: Glacier National Park, Montana.
- Size: 24x36
- Print: Canvas
- Price: $200
- Title: Juicy Secret
- Identification: Columbine
- Scientific name: Aquilegia canadensis
- Info:
- "native to woodland and rocky slopes in eastern North America"
- Native American tribes used various parts of red columbine in herbal remedies for ailments such as headache, sore throat, fever, rash caused by poison ivy, stomatitis, kidney and urinary problems, and heart problems.
- quite attractive to hummingbirds.
- "native to woodland and rocky slopes in eastern North America"
- My Story: The bulbous ends of the pedals contain a surgery fluid, like honey, that tastes great. I likes to eat them. You should too.
- Where: Over there? No idea. Somewhere in Minnesota or Wisconsin.
- Size: 24x36
- Print: Canvas
- Price: $250
- Title: Lunch in the Sun
- Identification: Eastern Tiger Swallowtail
- Scientific name: Papilio glaucus
- Info:
The male is yellow with four black "tiger stripes" on each forewing. Females may be either yellow or black, making them dimorphic.
- My Story: The best way to get a photo of a butterfly is to cheat. Find a butterfly house that has a crap ton of butterflies trapped in an enclosure and just walk around taking pictures of them. Work smarter, not harder. Also, for stupid, skittish insects that fly away when you just want to get a damn photo, you might need a zoom macro lens. They’re not cheap, so I’m sorry. I acquired mine through my sister who found it about to be thrown away. Lesson? Have a sister who is a doctor.
- Where: Butterfly House at the Beavercreek Nature Reserve, Wisconsin.
- Origianl Canvas Print
- Size: 24x36
- Print: Canvas
- Price: $300
Order Prints here
- Title: Innocuous Sandalus
- Identification: Cedar Beetle
- Scientific name: Sandalus niger
- Info:
- "Adults are active in the fall where they congregate in large numbers on the trunks of elm and other trees."
"Evidence of beetle colonization, though often difficult to see, includes the presence of very fine boring dust in bark crevices and around the base of the trunk. If boring dust is present, distinct galleries can likely be detected by removing a small section of bark. The gallery pattern will be etched into the face of the sapwood" fs.usda.gov
- My Story:
- I hear a lot of "eew, gross" when some people see this pic. But I like him! He's so cool, he looks like a tiny robot. And he doesn't bite, and it doesn't sound like they're all that harmful to trees. So, lay off him, he's fun! Found this little guy in Duluth when I was just walking around with my camera. I actually have a video of him, so maybe I'll put that up at some point.
- I hear a lot of "eew, gross" when some people see this pic. But I like him! He's so cool, he looks like a tiny robot. And he doesn't bite, and it doesn't sound like they're all that harmful to trees. So, lay off him, he's fun! Found this little guy in Duluth when I was just walking around with my camera. I actually have a video of him, so maybe I'll put that up at some point.
- Where: Chester Bowl, Duluth
- Size: 24x36
- Print: Canvas
- Price: $150
