Recently reprocessed. This one has stuck with me for years and I'm not tired of it yet: for me it's like a sip of cool water on a hot summer day. Not the showiest of wildflowers, the Western Meadow Rue tends to disappear next to brilliant subalpine blooms like paintbrush or lupine. Isolate it against a lush background, though, and its delicacy and structure come to the forefront.
From my field guide: "Tall (18-40") and branched, with thin leaves very like those of columbine, this plant is common in open woodland and along stream banks, from BC to California on both sides of the Cascades." I found this specimen where a large grove of subalpine firs gives way to open meadows - probably very close to the highest level at which the plant can grow. Higher up the slopes, it gives way to the rare and tiny Mountain Meadow Rue.
For this shot I used an old, manual focus 105mm macro lens, Nikon D200 body, tripod, cable release. I intentionally kept the depth of field shallow so as not to create a confusing image with too much background detail. I thought that a few flowers in sharp detail would be enough. The mountains were foggy when I started shooting that morning, and I had an hour or more to shoot in this glorious soft light.
Photographed in Manning Provincial Park, BC (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission © 2006 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
Tags: Western Meadow Rue Thalictrum occidentale wildflower flower green background macro subalpine meadow wild nature mountains wilderness beautiful beauty wow soft light delicate Manning Provincial Park BC British Columbia Canada copyrighted James R. Page
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Tags: wildflower flower rice root lily green spring Vancouver Island BC chocolate lily lily flora Cowichan River Provincial Park
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Photographed in Cowichan River Provincial Park, Vancouver Island, BC (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2005 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
Tags: Chocolate Lily Rice-root Lily wildflower flower green spring forest Cowichan River Provincial Park Vancouver Island BC British Columbia Canada copyrighted James R. Page
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Although I grew up in eastern Canada, I was only dimly aware of the natural world: I didn't know a grackle from a starling, and never noticed these wildflowers, although they surely must bloom near my childhood turf. Jack-in-the-Pulpit has a wide range throughout eastern Canada and the United States. I found this specimen on a recent visit to old friends who live on 100 acres northeast of Montreal, in Quebec's beautiful Eastern Townships...
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Tags: Jack-in-the-Pulpit Arisaema triphyllum wildflower flower green woodland vertical macro woods forest wild nature Eastern Townships near Danville Quebec Canada
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Tags: Wood Betony wildflower flower subalpine mountain wild nature Manning Provincial Park BC British Columbia Canada
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