Tiger Swallowtail

Dramesi Park

Gloucester Township, NJ

One of my favorite photographic spots is the Leonard Dramesi Sr. Memorial Park on Hider Lane in Gloucester Township, NJ. This photo was taken one day when we stopped to see what birds we might find there. I ad my 300mm lens plus a 1.4x teleconverter with me. I once read that you can get decent closeups of flowers using a 300mm lens. This photo has been cropped and the swallowtail still looks pretty good.

Pitcher Plant

Pine Barrens, NJ

If you walk along the many trails of the New Jersey Pine Barrens it is inevitable that you will come across a pitcher plant. Bill took this photo in the early 1980's while it still had one blosson still open. It blossoms May-June.

Monarch and Milkweed

New Brooklyn Park

Winslow Township, NJ

There are plenty of places to walk at New Brooklyn. One day when the water was easy to cross we made our way onto this spot where milkweed and wildflower and butterflies lived. It was wonderful.

Water Lily

Pine Barrens, NJ

This water lily was taken in the pine barrens of south jersey 24 years ago. I scanned it in from the original slide today. I think the color has held up well from all those years ago. It's why I like slides. I don't paint well but I tried my hand a painting of this picture using acrylics. It's so-so. I like photography better.

Sundew and Water Droplets

Pine Barrens, NJ

In the swampy area of the pine barrens we found several different types of sundews. They were covered with water droplets and Bill took a photograph of this spatulated sundew. The tiny hair-like fibers on the leaves capture water of early morning dew.

Moth Mullein

Gloucester Township, NJ

The moth mullein can be found along roadsides and open fields. When we lived in Gloucester Township we would strike out along the roads walking with our cameras and sometimes we'd come across beautiful wildflowers. Bill liked taking flower pics and for years we were lucky to have this huge open field next to our apartment complex. It was finally sold for a strip mall and miniature golf course. There are several vacant stores there now and that miniature golf course lies abandoned but, the open field still shines vibrant in our pictures and memories.

Purple Coneflower

Pine Hill, NJ

I noticed the purple coneflowers beginning to blossom in the wildflower garden. Bill took this photo in 2005. I watched as he cropped it into a square shape and removed some hotspots.

Deptford Pink

Gloucester Township, NJ

Bill loves this photo he took one day down the street where we once lived. It's the Deptford Pink.

Spatterdock

Pine Barrens, NJ

Today is the first day of June and the spatterdocks are beginning to bloom. These aquatic flowers are also called yellow pond-lilies. This image was taken by Bill when we were walking in the pines near the Mullica River. I don't know where the name spatterdock comes from and none of my guidebooks mentions where the name comes from. Howard P. Boyd's guidebook, "The Field Guide to the Pine Barrens of New Jersey" lists it as yellow pond-lily, spatterdock or bullhead-lily. It will bloom from now through early September.

Virginia Meadow Beauty

Pine Barrens, NJ

This time of the year is beautiful. A walk in the Pine Barrens in New Jersey can show some of the most beautiful flowers in the state. While walking one of the many trails we came across this beautiful meadow beauty.

Golden Club and Log

Pine Barrens, NJ

Bill and I can see an a scene and each shoot that scene differently. Earlier in our blog there is another image of a golden club. That was my photograph and I shot it looking straight down on top. I had liked the way the flowers were laid out on the ground. Bill saw this one, "Golden Club and Log".

Rose Pogonia
Pine Barrens, NJ

Bill and I were walking along the Batona Trail when we paralleled a swamp near the Batsto River. I'd never seen a swamp and we took a quick look at it. Bill spotted this orchid like flower and shot it using a hand-held camera. When we got the film back we began to try and identify it. Using Howard Boyd's "A Field Guide to the Pine Barrens of New Jersey", we were able to identify this as a rose pogonia. Most of our guides say that rose pogonias are pink or rose colored. Boyd states that they are also known to be white. The one we photographed is a very pale pink.

Wildflower in Snow

Gloucester Township, NJ

I wanted to create that stark black and white image shown by this dried wildflower against snow.