Block The Trail

Here I am, already back to a photo from Huntley Meadows. The park has two entrances; the front has a visitor center, and the back has a service road to maintenance buildings. There is also a path through the woods to an overlook at the back entrance, and a few smaller side paths peel off from that. Some are very very infrequently used and there, nature has begun to reclaim its property. As I wandered through the woods on one of them, I came across these tiny flowers in the middle of the trail. I wanted to convey their tiny size while showing the rest of the forest growing around them, and I think taking the photo at a low angle accomplished that well.

Rough Day

I suppose I discovered my love of photography at Huntley Meadows park. I've taken hundreds upon hundreds of photos there over the years. One day about six years ago, I went on a photography expedition to the park to take a photo worthy of entering in the park's photo contest. This sad-looking dragonfly was perched on the railing of the boardwalk that day. As I crept closer and closer, trying to get the perfect shot, I realized that it must have been simply too tired to fly away from me. Most dragonflies are quick to leave their perch when approached, but the lens of my camera was about 6 inches from the dragonfly when I took this photo. It ended up with an honorable mention in the contest—something which may have further spurred me to pursue photography.