February 2010 Photo of the Month Contest - post entries here

[Bulucanagria]

Found these while scoping my fungi pics. These are from last Feb.

[havalotta]

They look so soft....

[jpdenk]

Originally Posted by Bulucanagria

Found these while scoping my fungi pics. These are from last Feb.

Those look like Orange Mock Oyster mushrooms, Phyllotopsis nidulans.

Nice shot!

John

[jpdenk]

Here are a couple shots that I took last Friday. They're Eastern Skunk Cabbage, Symplocarpus foetidus,a weird, fascinating and attractive (to me anyway) plant that grows in seep springs, fens and swamps around here. They actually generate heat internally and send up their flower spathes usually beginning in February, around here. They are Arums, related to Jack in the Pulpit and Calla Lilies. The little flowers are on the spadix, a club-shaped structure inside the hood (spathe), and are visible inthe second photo in the plant on the right. These were at Pilcher Park in Joliet, IL growing in seep springs in the woods. They're my first botanical sign of approaching Spring.

John

[havalotta]

VERY nice!

[dapjwy]

Originally Posted by jpdenk

Here are a couple shots that I took last Friday. They're Eastern Skunk Cabbage, Symplocarpus foetidus,a weird, fascinating and attractive (to me anyway) plant that grows in seep springs, fens and swamps around here. They actually generate heat internally and send up their flower spathes usually beginning in February, around here. They are Arums, related to Jack in the Pulpit and Calla Lilies. The little flowers are on the spadix, a club-shaped structure inside the hood (spathe), and are visible inthe second photo in the plant on the right. These were at Pilcher Park in Joliet, IL growing in seep springs in the woods. They're my first botanical sign of approaching Spring.

John

Attachment 14612 Attachment 14613

Yes, it is one of the first signs of spring that I look for... I'm always happy to stumble upon them while waiting for spring. I'd love to get some for my own property.

I also feel spring is on its way when I see the sap rise in the maples and their red buds...the yellow rising in the willows, and the first red-winged blackbird. My 9th grade Biology teacher told us (years ago) that they are a true harbinger of spring more so than the robin which can be a year round resident. The males arrive first and two weeks later the females (and SPRING!)

[Bulucanagria]

Hmmm, we're not too much farther north than you, I'll have to get out and check my spot to see if they're coming in yet. Of course, I'll have to wait for the snow/rain to end. Snow I can handle and rain when it's warm but mix the two and I'm indoors.

[Bulucanagria]

Regarding the (possible) Orange Mock Oyster mushrooms photos, I thought about increasing the saturation a bit to really show the colors as they were. I'm usually careful not to push that past the line of photography and into the realm of graphic art. I would have done so here but, in a thread that is also a contest, it just didn't feel right. Plus, I forgot to.
Did anybody notice all the tiny bugs all over the mushrooms and snow? Those are some tough guys, huh. I tried to get a clear picture of them for ID purposes but was unable. Maybe I'll pst these pics over at bugguide.net. They should be able to tell me something about them based on the date and location. We'll see.

[jpdenk]

Originally Posted by dapjwy

Yes, it is one of the first signs of spring that I look for... I'm always happy to stumble upon them while waiting for spring. I'd love to get some for my own property.

I also feel spring is on its way when I see the sap rise in the maples and their red buds...the yellow rising in the willows, and the first red-winged blackbird. My 9th grade Biology teacher told us (years ago) that they are a true harbinger of spring more so than the robin which can be a year round resident. The males arrive first and two weeks later the females (and SPRING!)

Yeah, they're really interesting plants, and I look forward to seeing them every year. I wish that my high-school biology teacher had taught us about local natural history, but he didn't, just stuck to the book and nothing more, I had no idea back then how interesting things were around here, darn it.

I live across the street from a small marsh, and I agree, the Red-winged Blackbirds are my Spring harbingers of birds. Robins do sometimes hang around all winter here too. The birds that give me the most Springtime thrill are the Sandhill Cranes though. It always makes me happy to hear them calling way up high as they pass over, or rarely, come in for a landing in the fields near where I live.

Originally Posted by Bulucanagria

Regarding the (possible) Orange Mock Oyster mushrooms photos, I thought about increasing the saturation a bit to really show the colors as they were. I'm usually careful not to push that past the line of photography and into the realm of graphic art. I would have done so here but, in a thread that is also a contest, it just didn't feel right. Plus, I forgot to.
Did anybody notice all the tiny bugs all over the mushrooms and snow? Those are some tough guys, huh. I tried to get a clear picture of them for ID purposes but was unable. Maybe I'll pst these pics over at bugguide.net. They should be able to tell me something about them based on the date and location. We'll see.

As long as the colors aren't crazily saturated, I think it's OK. I adjust saturation to represent what I remember the scene looking like, but I do like strong color. There are enhanced-color films, so it's OK to crank the color a little with digital too.

I'm willing to bet that your little, black snow bugs are Springtails. I don't know much about them off-hand, but I have read about them a bit and forgotten what I read other than they're tiny and sometimes appear on the snow surface. They used to be considered insects, but the taxonomists changed their minds so now the Springtails are not insects.

John

[havalotta]

So what are they then........If not insects!