by Walter Ezell Jim Fowler did a great many memorable things in his 74 years, but the way he left us is among the most memorable. He left us while returning once again to Mt. Mitchell to appreciate the wild profusion of the purple fringed orchids that bloomed, once upon a time, in early July but of recent years in late June. We have this photo of him rejoicing in the profusion on the slope below the Mt. Mitchell restaurant, July 1, 2006, and this one, in the same spot eleven years later. And we have this image from 2009, showing his pickup truck parked in the same place he left it again this ..read more

In Memoriam James Alexander Fowler October 6, 1946 to June 25, 2021 The following photographs were taken by Jim on June 25, 2021 in a four-hour window that likely began in the North Carolina mountains and ended at Mount Mitchell State Park. Since there is no geolocation metadata associated with the photographs, we are unsure of the exact location at which they were taken. Jim’s husband Walter and I (Jim’s son Dylan) make no assumptions that we would do Jim justice in the post-processing of his photographs. As such, the following collection has had minimal processing. Also, instead of writing n ..read more

Staying for a few days at our tiny-house mountain cabin in western North Carolina, and it being the Summer Solstice, I figured this would be a great time to check out what was going on along the Blue Ridge Parkway. Walter Ezell and I had lots of chores to do at the cabin, but a break in the routine was just what I needed, especially since I had not had a good field trip in weeks. So, we arose early on Solstice Day, ate breakfast in the sleepy little town of Newland, the county seat of Avery County, North Carolina, and headed toward Grandfather Mountain. Most of the images included in this blog ..read more

There’s not lot going on around here the first week in June, so I decided to visit a couple of nearby South Carolina state Heritage Preserves to try to find something to photograph. The first place I decided to visit was Ashmore Heritage Preserve just off of Persimmon Ridge Road in upper Greenville County. The nearest town, if you can call it that (there is a post office and trading post) is in Cleveland, SC. Yes, we have a Cleveland! If you’ve followed my blog for any time at all, you will know that this is one of my favorite locations. Persimmon Ridge Road has a riot of wildflowers bloom in ..read more

Yes, I was just down there two weeks ago, but my good friend, Jeff Jackson, gave me a few well-placed hints that there were some nice orchids in full bloom in a spot we had looked at earlier, and that I should make another trip down. I debated with myself whether or not I should create a blog post about this trip, because I had just posted images of the same orchids just two weeks ago, but I decided that I’d do it anyway. On this trip, the natural lighting varied from direct sunlight to heavy overcast (there was even a sprinkle or two early on), and I thought that it made for some interesting ..read more

I get sooooooo many questions about my photography set up and workspace that I thought I’d prepare a post about my camera equipment and a bit about how I achieve my results. Perhaps this might be of some help to you now or in the future. This is NOT a “how to” exercise, but just my take on the process. A lot of what follows can get a bit technical, but I wanted to provide the most comprehensive information that I was capable of providing. However, it is opinionated, and I do not apologize for that, because it represents my own personal way of looking at macro photography. Disclaimer: Let me e ..read more

This will be another long blog report, so grab a snack, your favorite beverage, and buckle up!… The target species for this trip was Cleistesiopsis oricamporum or Coastal Plain Pogonia orchid. Although I knew I would be seeing many more rare and interesting wildflower species in the Green Swamp Preserve and other nearby locations, I would be a happy camper to locate good examples of this orchid species while down there. A week earlier, my good buddy, Kelvin Taylor aka “KT” had come down to check on the progress of the wildflower bloom. He reported back that he had found a couple of them in blo ..read more

It’s been a few years since I made the weekend trip to the Carolina Coastal Plain in mid-May, and I’m not sure why that is the case. There is so much going on down there, botanically. So, I contacted my friend, Jeff Jackson, who lives near the Francis Marion National Forest in Berkeley County, South Carolina, and asked if he had time to meet up on Saturday. He did, and so we did. The target species for this trip, for me, were Cleistesiopsis divaricata or Large Rosebud orchid and Schwalbea americana or American Chaffseed. The latter species is quite rare in South Carolina and elsewhere. Accordi ..read more

The morning broke calm but cloudy with a slight chance of precipitation in the late afternoon. It was the time for the Yellow Lady’s-slipper orchids to be blooming just north of us in the DuPont State Forest near Cedar Mountain, North Carolina. I have photographed them during this time of year for several bloom seasons. So, I asked Walter Ezell if he would like to join me on a day trip “up the mountain” to see them. There are two varieties of these yellow orchids in the Carolinas: Cypripedium parviflorum var. parviflorum or the Small Yellow Lady’s-slipper orchid and Cypripedium parviflorum var ..read more

In the words of Lynyrd Skynyrd: Sweet Home Alabama Where the skies are so blue Sweet Home Alabama Lord I’m comin’ home to you… Although I am from South Carolina, these are appropriate words for a state that is 3rd in endemic species and rare plants. At least that’s what I read on the Internet. And if it’s on the Internet, it’s true, right? This weekend trip took me farther afield that I’m used to traveling and into areas that are underlain with sandstone and limestone, lending to a much different habitat/environment than I normally see in the foothills and mountains of the Carolinas. It’s al ..read more