The Lake County Forest Preserves recently began putting on a seasonal photography workshop, aimed at highlighting the local flora and fauna, as well as landscapes at a particular forest preserve for that season. In doing so, it gives photographers a chance to photograph these seasonal occurrences, as well as interact other photographers, both amateur and professional. The workshop is headed by LCFPD staff naturalist, Allison Frederick, and professional photographer, Chip Williams.
For the spring Phenology & Photography workshop, we met at Captain Daniel Wright Woods/Half Day Forest Preserve near Mettawa, Illinois. Rain showers the night before meant a lot of the foliage had nice water droplets, and the vernal ponds (temporary pools of water that form from snow melt and spring rains) were a bit fuller, which provided some excellent photo opportunities. Being able to walk through a forest preserve (often off path, something usually not allowed) and photograph and learn about seasonal flora and fauna, that I otherwise probably would never have been exposed to was a lot of fun. I am certainly looking forward to the next workshop, as the whole experience, especially the photographic opportunities, were fantastic.
You can head over to the Phenology & Photography Flickr Pool to check out some images from myself, and the other photographers in attendance.
