January 3, 2023 by millicanphotography

2022: A Dozen Favorite Photos

2022 has been difficult for me, and many others. However, I am confident 2023 will be better. I made fewer photographs this year than in some recent years, but I still found joy in creating images. Enough that I selected a dozen to share here.

These 12 photos are my favorites, meaning they may not be the best technically, or there might be composition that does not “follow the rules”, or the subject may not connect with everyone. But, that’s ok! Each of these photos made me happy – and reviewing them still does! 🙂

1 – February: The Talimena Drive

After judging a photography competition at the Mena Art Gallery, I had enough time to travel west on the Drive. There was a lot of snow and ice, and I had always wanted to visit and photograph in these conditions. I was not disappointed!

2 – April: Indian Paintbrush, Flanagan Prairie

A visit to Flanagan Prairie usually rewards with a variety of wildflowers, but on this day there was not a great assortment. However, the Indian Paintbrush were blooming well, and that has always been a favorite to me.

I found this one in very nice light with a soft green background. Later, I used Lightroom Classic’s background selection brush and slightly darkened the background so the red-orange colors popped from the green.

3 – April: Dogwood, Devils Den State Park

A few days later, I stopped at Devils Den State Park to look for dogwoods. I had not photographed any thus far, and I knew the blooms were nearly gone. In years past, however, they sometimes bloomed in this park a little later, and this year was the same. Not that I really needed more dogwood photos; but, on the other hand, can we have too many dogwood photos? I do not think so…

4 – June: US Marshals Museum, Fort Smith

The Museum is not open to the public yet, but we are hopeful for this coming year!

But until then, it sits on the banks of the Arkansas River, looking across into Oklahoma. I see it as a striking piece of architecture and often go there to make photographs. Some of our photography classes have visited as well, and after taking a group there in May, I was inspired to return a week later and make this panorama. It is 7 horizontal images, merged in Lightroom Classic.

5 – July: “Ghost Rider in the Sky”, US Marshals Museum

This untitled and un-credited statue stands outside the Marshals Museum and looks like a Marshal from the 19th century on horseback. I imagine it’s what a criminal would see when the lawman caught up to him.

However, when I made this photo, the camera was set to overexpose the scene, and the resulting image immediately reminded me of the cowboy song “Ghost Riders in the Sky.”

6 – August: Milky Way, Talimena Drive

The Milky Way always provides a thrill, no matter how many times I have seen and photographed it. This old fire tower makes a nice foreground object, although there have been occasions when I found the access gate locked and had to find another vantage spot.

On this night, there was a little haze, but the stars still shone through for my class of 4 students.

7 – October: McWater Falls, Lake Alma Hiking Trail

In the Alma, Arkansas, City Park, a hiking trail makes a 3-mile loop around the City Lake. It is fairly rugged, and very scenic with tall trees, wildflowers, birds, and other wildlife. McWater Falls is about 300 yards off the main trail, and like many other falls, has the best flow after some good rain fall.

This photo was made in October, and the trees above the opening in the rocks were well on their way to having some good Autumn color. They also were much brighter than the waterfall area, but our modern camera and computer technology is so good that I was able to nearly balance the light in both parts of the image. This is NOT an HDR photograph.

8 – Thanksgiving Day: Arkansas Highway 59

Thanksgiving Day, after visiting family in Northeastern Oklahoma, I drove down Highway 59 from Summers to Van Buren. I had time, and the weather was nice – misty and foggy – and I decided to stop occasionally and also to drive down a dirt road, just to see what I might find.

I did find some cattle heading in for the afternoon feeding, but the favorite photo is just one of the dirt roads, bending into the forest and the fog. After making my photos, I continued driving south on Highway 59…

9 – Thanksgiving Day: Natural Dam

Natural Dam is an 8-foot-tall waterfall, located just off the highway. I have made hundreds, probably thousands, of photos here. The falls, but also wildflowers, autumn colors, the rocks, the water, and more. On this foggy, rainy day, with the sun already setting, it was getting dark, but the colors of Autumn were dark and rich…

10 – November: Cows in the Fog

A cattle rancher hired me to make photos for their website. The day began foggy and stayed that way for a while… I made photos anyway. This is probably not what he had in mind, but I liked it – and I think he did too!

11 – December: Johnson County, Arkansas

Near the Mulberry River is a twin waterfall called “High Bank Twin Falls.” This photo is of the creek flowing from the falls and headed toward the Mulberry. This was another dark, misty, and foggy morning; the exposure time was 8 seconds. I normally like a shorter length to maintain some “texture” in the water… But, I still like this photo, largely for the leaves in the distance still hanging from the trees, and for the leaves, rocks, and water in the foreground…

12 – December: Pigtrail Falls

This pretty little waterfall is right beside Arkansas State Highway 23, locally known as the Pigtrail. We only see the waterfall during runoff after some rainfall. It is such a popular spot for people to stop, the highway department enlarged the size of the parking area.

Reviewing your photos annually, or any other fixed time, is a good exercise in comparing where you are today, and how your work has changed and hopefully improved.

It also helps me to relive the moments that I have preserved, and the pleasure and joy, of seeing that part nature.

I hope you do the same, and…

Slow down. Look. Prepare to be astonished!

Have a Great 2023!!

November 22, 2013 by millicanphotography

Another Visit to Cherokee Prairie

Most years, the vegetation at Cherokee Prairie is pretty much dry and dead by September, as is most flora in our region. This year, though, was different. On September 2, Labor Day, I drove by and saw late summer flowers and grasses. Walking through the tall grass, I found flowers, spiders, butterflies and caterpillars. It was a great, productive, and fun-filled couple of hours that morning…

Pearl Crescent butterfly; late summer

Pearl Crescent Caterpillar

In the background, you may have noticed a Purple Gerardia, aka Purple False Foxglove, (Agalinis purpurea). There were a number of these flowers in bloom.

Purple Gerardia (aka Purple False Foxglove) Agalinis purpurea

An aster with a Crab spider in residence

Bicyclist passing by Cherokee Prairie on Highway 60

Equipment included the Sony Alpha 77, Tamron 180 macro lens, Manfrotto tripod and Really Right Stuff ball head

June 17, 2013 by millicanphotography

Cherokee Prairie

Each spring, I look forward to visiting Cherokee Prairie, an Arkansas Natural Heritage Site. There are a number of pieces of land in Arkansas similar to this; allowed to grow naturally, with only foot traffic allowed.
This spring, I’ve been able to make several visits to the Prairie, and here’s some of what I’ve seen – and photographed.
Among the first wildflowers to bloom is Indian Paintbrush. I visited once and they were just beginning to show color; a later visit and the Prairie was nearly covered with the colorful red flowers.

Indian Paintbrush (Castilleja coccinea), Cherokee Prairie, near Charleston, Arkansas

Then, in the midst of the red flowers was this yellow version.

A yellow version of Indian Paintbrush

Here’s another image (my favorite) of the same yellow flower, juxtaposed with the red ones in the background.

Yellow Indian Paintbrush, Cherokee Prairie near Charleston, AR

Next, a few weeks later, the Purple Coneflowers covered the Prairie:

Purple Coneflowers (Echinacea purpurea), Cherokee Prairie, Charleston, Arkansas

Purple Coneflower framed by Doll’s Daisy, Cherokee Prairie, Charleston, Arkansas

Large patch of Purple Coneflowers, Cherokee Prairie, Charleston, Arkansas

There are other wildflowers there; these are some of my favorites.

And, the visitor can also see some other “flying flowers”, such as this Eastern Tailed-Blue. This was a first for me, and I appreciate our friend, Anne Sayers, helping identify it…

Eastern Tailed-Blue, Cherokee Prairie, Charleston, Arkansas

These images were all made with the Sony Alpha77, a Minolta 100mm macro lens and, more recently, a Tamron 180mm macro lens, Manfrotto tripod and Really Right Stuff ball head. And, all the water drops were there before I was… 🙂

June 7, 2013 by millicanphotography

Black Bass Lake

Every two years, the Photographic Society of Northwest Arkansas (www.psnwa.org) hosts the Mid-America Photographic Symposium (MAPSYM). This year, for the first time, I was able to attend the weekend event, held in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. Kudos to the PSNWA for putting on a first-class event, aimed at photography enthusiasts and professionals alike.

One outing I joined was an early morning “Nature Hike” at Black Bass Lake. Even if you’ve ever been to Eureka Springs, a small community built on a steep hillside, I doubt you’ve heard about this lake. At least, I hadn’t, and I overheard another participant, from the area, say the same thing. So, we drove down a steep hill on a gravel road, to the lake, and it was like going to another world; right in the middle of the community, we were suddenly in a wilderness. It was so cool! (Are we supposed to say “cool” any more? I can’t keep up, so I just say what I feel.)
The morning was typical spring for this area; cool and damp. The lake had some misty fog hanging over the surface, and fortuitously, there were two fishermen in a small boat…

Two fishermen on Black Bass Lake, in the misty fog.

Walking one of the trails around the lake, I photographed this C-curved blade of grass, with a dew drop hanging on. Those that know me, and especially those that have sat through a class with me, have heard me stress simplicity…

Dew drop clings to a curved blade of grass, alongside Black Bass Lake, Eureka Springs, Arkansas

There were also a number of these purple flowers; according to Don Kurz’s Arkansas Wildflowers book, it’s called the Leather Flower. Cool flower…

Leather Flower along Black Bass Lake, Eureka Springs, Arkansas

So, it was an interesting weekend. I learned a bit about how Hanson Fong takes portraits, saw & listened to Nikon’s Mark Kettenhofen deliver an awesome keynote presentation, and more. Glad I went. 🙂

Camera used was the Sony Alpha 77, Sony 16-50 f/2.8 (I love this lens!) and Minolta 100 macro, Manfrotto tripod with Really Right Stuff ball head.

December 23, 2012 by millicanphotography

Red Reflections

I first saw reflections in water drops in a magazine – probably Outdoor Photographer. The photos were fascinating, and I decided it was a subject/technique I needed to learn. There were a number of failures over the years, until this photo.

On the day I took this, I was visiting Cherokee Prairie Natural Area. In fact, I had been there for a while, searching the Prairie for just the right combination of water drops, grass tangles, flowers, and light. I had no success, and was walking back to my truck, when at the very edge of the parking area was a perfect arrangement. I set the tripod up in the short grass of the parking area, and made a number of exposures…

One of the problems with making these photographs is that all of the vegetation – grass, flowers, shrubs, briars – is connected! Setting a tripod up without causing the water drops to fall is sometimes impossible. Often, I get it almost just right, move the tripod – or the camera & lens – and bump or pull something, causing the water drops to disappear. So, finding this at the parking lot was exciting! Ever since that day, I always look around the parking area before heading off into the grasses of the prairie…

Wild rose reflected in water drops on grass
Cherokee Prairie State Natural Area, near Charleston, Arkansas

I have always like the sharpness of this image, but would like to have the same situation again; I think it deserves some different compositions, and would like to shoot it with one of today’s higher resolution cameras. However, photographs are the reflection of a moment, then it’s history. As much as we might wish to relive our past, we cannot… 😉

Minolta Maxxum 7D, Minolta Maxxum 100 mm macro lens, Manfrotto tripod.

December 16, 2012 by millicanphotography

Reflections

Each spring, I look forward to going out to locate, and photograph dew drops reflecting, preferably, a wildflower. Of course, any breeze, even one barely felt on skin, is the enemy. So, we hope for no breeze, large dew drops easily photographed, and a colorful wildflower behind…

On this morning, I found a spiderweb covered in dew, and in the background was a black-eyed susan wildflower. However, there was a nearly imperceptible breeze – just enough to move the spiderweb. I took several photos, trying to time the exposure for the least movement. Here is one of the best, but because of the air movement, I was unable to keep all in sharp focus.

Dew drops on a spider web reflect the black eyed susan flower in the background.

I took this photo at Cherokee Prairie Preserve State Heritage Site, near Charleston, Arkansas, using the Sony Alpha 700, the Minolta 100 mm macro lens, Manfrotto tripod. The shutter speed was 1/320th second, in an attempt to freeze the movement from the breeze, at f/8.

June 15, 2012 by millicanphotography

A Morning at the Nature Center

The Janet Huckabee Arkansas River Valley Nature Center, actually. That’s a mouthful; so those of us in the area simply say “The Nature Center.” Regardless, it is a marvelous nature resource for the Western Arkansas region.

Recently, Jim Nieting and I spent a few morning hours walking some of the trails at the Nature Center, with cameras in hand. Once again, I was amazed at the resource this is for us. We saw or heard a number of bird species, numerous butterflies, a cottontail rabbit, and more…

At the Visitor Center, the staff has installed housing for Purple Martins, and it is very active. Here are a couple of nestlings looking for their parents.

Looking for their next meal on the wing

Also, near the Visitor Center, are a number of Canada Geese. Most of us have more photos than we’ll ever need of this species, but I usually cannot resist taking another.

Canada Goose at the Nature Center

From the Visitor Center, we headed out on the Beaver Creek Trail, where we heard and eventually found probably the highlight of the morning: a pair of yellow-billed cuckoos. Here’s one of them.

Yellow-Billed Cuckoo, with snack

Lots of butterflies, including this Pipevine Swallowtail:

Pipevine Swallowtail, enjoying the sun

On the Wells Lake Trail, we found this Cottontail Rabbit, very near Wells Lake. He posed for us for quite some time.

Cottontail Rabbit, near Wells Lake

Among the butterflies, we saw Hummingbird Moths. Hard to photograph, because they never stop moving – and they move fast! 🙂

Hummingbird Moth at the Nature Center

Finally, as I was heading home, I saw this Scissor-Tailed Flycatcher on a high-line wire. Technically, not at the Nature Center, but close enough to count as part of my morning adventures…

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, near the Nature Center

The Janet Huckabee Arkansas River Valley Nature Center is one of 4 the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission has built across the state of Arkansas. In Western Arkansas, we are appreciative of and thankful for the facility. As you can see, there is a large variety of fauna as well as flora to be seen here; I’ve only touched on a small portion of it.

All photos were taken with a Sony Alpha 77, and a Tamron 200-500 lens. Yes, I used a tripod, built by Manfrotto.

Also, a big thank you to my fellow photographer, Jim Nieting. Definitely a better birder than I; several he saw and identified before I knew they were around. 🙂

May 2, 2012 by millicanphotography

Of Waterfalls and Wildflowers

In late March, I took a week off from work. The first day, I went to see a waterfall along the Mulberry River. It’s one of those only showy during the rainy season, and the week before, we had substantial rainfall; unfortunate for those on spring break, but a nice set up for waterfall hunters. 🙂 Three years ago, my friends Mike Leonard (www.michaelleonardphotography.org) and Jim Anderson showed this particular waterfall to us, and Gayle and I were fortunate to sell some prints from this location.

So, I drove there again this year. Here’s what I found.

To get to this spot requires a climb of about 150 feet up the side of the steep hill. I think it’s worth the effort. After a series of photos at this spot, I moved to the other side, and further up the hill:

What I didn’t notice in this image were the white wildflowers at the lower left. My excuse is that I was concentrating on the waterfall and on not falling! It was steep and slippery…

So, recently, Mike Leonard was printing this photo for a display at Bedford’s, and pointed out the flowers to me. I looked them up in Audubon’s Guide to North American Wildflowers on my iPhone. They are “Eastern Shootingstar.” I’d never taken a photo of them. But – they bloom from April to June, so a few days ago, I went back to see if they had bloomed again.

Back up the hill. This time, the waterfall was only a trickle. No shootingstars bloomed. Not surprised, but I was disappointed. However, the spiderworts were in full bloom and everywhere! 🙂

Spiderworts have long been a favorite of mine, and I seldom pass on an opportunity to photograph them. After this photograph, and others, I headed back down the hill, then the short walk back to where I had parked. Beside the road, so close that my tripod was partially in the road, was this little flower.

Looks to me like a freshly bloomed Eastern Shootingstar! There was only one bloom, but to the left are several buds. I didn’t see any others in the area, nor during the walk back to the car. So… my biggest disappointment that morning was that the enemy Time passed far too quickly. 🙂

All photos were taken with the Sony Alpha 77. For the flowers, I used the Minolta 100mm macro lens; the waterfall photos were shot with a Tokina 11-16 f/2.8 and a Tamron 17-50 f/2.8 lens.

April 10, 2012 by millicanphotography

Dogwood Blossoms

After photographing the cattle in the morning fog (see “Pastoral Morning“), I continued south on Highway 71. But, since I had a late start – at least, later than intended – and I had stopped for the cattle photos, I knew I wouldn’t have the good early morning light on the Cossatot. So, I decided to explore a bit. (Exploring is good!)

Despite having driven this way many times, I had never been to Lake Hinkle, near Waldron. I took the road to Hinkle Dam, and found it a very pleasant & pretty drive, with a stream alongside the road much of the way, farms and farmland, and woodlands with dogwoods blooming.

After visiting the dam & the lake, I stopped on the return trip near a patch of dogwoods. From the road, there was a slight slope down to the stream, so the dogwood trees were at eye level or slightly below. Perfect! In addition, most of the area was in shade. I couldn’t have asked for much better conditions.

Here are a couple of the dogwood images:

“Dogwood Parade” looks like the blossoms are lined up ready to say “look at me! look at me!” I like the dark background, but wish the stems & branches behind the blossoms weren’t so noticeable.

by the numbers: Sony Alpha 77, Minolta 70-210, f/4 @ 1/200 sec, ISO 200

The next image, “Dogwood Song”, really does sing to me – or maybe makes me want to sing, which is not a good thing. I shot again at f/4, to limit the depth of field, leaving the most predominant blossom the sharpest, and the others gradually getting softer. Camera & lens the same…

Feel free to offer your opinion as to which you prefer. Comments are certainly welcome…

Next time, we’ll discuss another image from another time…

Larry

Millican Photography

Photography by Larry & Gayle Millican

wildflowers