Shawnee Photography Workshop: August 23-25, 2019

Early morning fog  mists the edges of a small lake within Shawnee State Forest. Fragrant water-lily, Nymphaea odorants, blankets the water's surface.

If you've read this blog much, you've likely heard talk of the amazing Shawnee State Forest in southern Ohio's Adams and Scioto counties. Indeed, the prior post mostly deals with this place. I've been to this area a lot; it's my favorite region of the state. The biodiversity is mind-numbing, and it's all encased in exceptionally scenic habitats.

Debbie DiCarlo and I are doing one of our field-based photo workshops here on August 23-25. This is a time of riches, photographically speaking. We will also seek out some of the lesser known creatures - read on for a few examples. We've got a few spaces left, and would love to have you. All of the details are RIGHT HERE.

Shawnee and vicinity hosts a bounty of butterflies. Twenty-five species or more would not be surprising on a good day. This is a red-spotted purple, one of the showiest butterflies and one that is quite common here.

This region is botanically superb, with 1,000+ native plant species. Thus, the animal diversity is staggering. Cardinal-flower, Lobelia cardinalis, should be in good shape at the time of the workshop and it draws spicebush swallowtails (seen here) in big numbers. Ruby-throated hummingbirds are also frequent visitors. We may be able to see some very interesting "albino" cardinal-flowers as well.

A focus of this workshop will be moths and other creatures of the night. It's easy to draw moths to properly illuminated sheets, and that's what we'll do. This is an Io moth, one of many species that make for fantastic moth portraiture shots. We should see a stupefying array of moths, and learn solid techniques for photographing them, as well as interesting ways of viewing these creatures.

If you want photos that few people have, this may be the workshop for you. Part of our nocturnal pursuits will involve caterpillars and we should find many, of numerous species. Most caterpillars are nocturnally active, the better to avoid daytime predators such as birds. This is a black-spotted prominent, an utterly fantastical bag of goo. We found it on last year's Shawnee workshop, within sight of the lodge and cabins (where we stay). It was just one of many exceptionally photogenic cats that we encountered.

We also have an EXTREMELY COOL photo opportunity arranged, that will wow you and anyone you share your work with, but I'm not saying what it is for now :-)

Again, for full details and registration info, CLICK HERE.

"Winter Wonderland" photo workshop produces some wonders!

Debbie DiCarlo and I just concluded our 2nd annual "Winter Wonderland" photo workshop (more on our workshops RIGHT HERE) in southeastern Ohio's gorgeous Hocking Hills. Last year's event was more springlike than wintry, with no snow and scarcely an icicle to be found. But, the water levels in streams were high and the myriad waterfalls looked as photogenic as I've ever seen them.

This workshop just past lived up to its name. Snow and ice was everywhere, and cliff faces were draped with icicles and various fantastic ice formations. Tree branches and limbs were dusted with snow, and hemlock boughs were capped in the fluffy white stuff. Our group was great, and we saw many interesting sites and everyone made lots of nice images. By the way, if you seek a fantastic bird-filled WARM photo workshop, take a look at our February "Birds of Florida" trip RIGHT HERE.

While scouting the day prior to the workshop, we came across this trio of fine horses in a snowy field and couldn't resist stopping for a few photos. At least one of them is heavy with foal.

A scene along the gorge at Old Man's Cave. Landscapes like this were everywhere, and it was hard to leave this place, one of the most scenic areas anywhere in the Midwest. This shot shows a big hemlock tree that recently crashed into the gorge from its perch on the rim above. Hemlocks are shallowly rooted, and when weighted by snow and ice, very vulnerable to blow-downs.

Invigorated by snow meltwaters, a carpet of common polypody ferns, Polypodium vulgare, cloaks the upper reaches of a sandstone cliff.

Conkles Hollow is always a sensational place to visit, and especially so in winter. Added bonus: far fewer people. Here, a fantastic series of icicle formations cascades down a tall cliff face.

A perk, and something absolutely new to all our attendees, was the supra-nivean (supra = above; nivean = snow) insects. Above is a winter stonefly. The larvae live in streams, and come the dead of winter, the adults emerge and head out onto the snow's surface to seek mates. It was about 30 F when I made this image, and the stoneflies were numerous and even flying about.