Creative Eye Workshops

01/24/2025

THE MILKY WAY OF EMPHEMERAL BALLOONS:
Read my ode to a freezing stream here:

THE MILKY WAY OF EPHEMERAL BALLOONS: Mike's ode to an icy galaxy found on Indian Creek at Reed-Turner Woodland in Long Grove, Illinois.

10/27/2024

A BUNNY'S VIEW OF A SPRINGTIME WOODLAND

(Note: My photographs are FAR more dramatic when viewed full-screen on your computer.)

In the woodlands of early May, shy waxy white blossoms of mayapples hide under their umbrella-like foliage. Their parasols obscure our view of the flowers from above. But the bunnies below can see them just fine.

Mayapples with one umbrella cannot flower. The plant needs two umbrellas to collect extra light energy to do the job. The flowering mayapple in the center clearly shows the leaves rising from the central stalk.

I've been photographing nature for thirty-one years, now. And for much of that time, I've been searching for an opportunity to showcase these flowers in the form of a landscape. However, due to the logistical and compositional challenges of setting up a clean shot from ground level, many conditions need to be met, much of which I have no control. Therefore, I don't waste time actively searching for the unlikely perfect scenario. Rather, I enter the scenario into my brain's pattern-recognition system with the instruction to subconsciously search for the proper conditions and to sound the alarm when they're met.

In May of 2008, the alarm went off, and I composed an image that I thought I'd never beat. Then in May, sixteen springs later, the alarm went off again. With this image, I may be able to switch the alarm for good.

(If you enjoy the photography, don't forget that I offer these unprecedented images of Chicago's natural wonders as limited-edition prints.)

09/22/2024

IT CAN TAKE DECADES

(As always, maximize the photo for greatest enjoyment.)

This is an image that I've been trying to get for over two decades.

You're seeing a couple of wetland habitats here. The area nearest the camera is the seep of a habitat known as a fen. As the name suggests, the seep is where water seeps from the gravel hill located behind the camera. (You can see a similar hill in the far distance.) This is a hanging fen because the seep is backed up against a hill.

That little stream running out of the seep (near the top) feeds water into another wetland habitat know as a sedge meadow. The term "meadow" can be misleading because, when I think of a meadow, I think of grasses and flowers where people can frolic in the afternoon sun, maybe hold a picnic. But if you tried that here, you'd likely need rescuing after you and your checkered tablecloth get stuck in magnetic mud. And it should come as no surprise that the dominant plant in a sedge meadow is the sedge.

The gravel gives the water a high alkaline content, and not every plant can tolerate that kind of chemistry. Therefore, the flowers can be uncommon or rare. Here we have Ohio goldenrod, sphynx lady tresses orchid (two spikes of white flowers), and Grass-of-Parnassus (whitish flowers sprinkled throughout the seep).

Illinois Beach State Park
Illinois Dunesland Preservation Society
Illinois Nature Preserves Commission
Illinois Department of Natural Resources
Friends of Illinois Nature Preserves

09/19/2024

“OH SO YUMMY” IMAGES TO CELEBRATE OUR REGION’S NATURAL BEAUTY AND BIODIVERSITY

(As always, to get the full experience, view the picture large, preferably on a monitor. It’ll make a huge difference.)

My approach to landscape photography is to intimately communicate the essence of a scene and to share my experience and emotional response to it. Yet this is extremely difficult to do this around here due to the gloriously chaos of flora that are randomly strewn across our flat panoramas. Nature is beautiful in all its chaos. A nature photograph is only beautiful in the absence of chaos. Nobody ever says, “Mother Nature, go clean your room!” So that’s what you’re up against if you photograph our region’s natural landscapes. Getting a decent picture of a mountain scene is easy. But here, aiming the camera at an endless vista of flowers is never enough. Yes, it’ll look okay. People will get the gist. But it's not calendar-photo material. And Chicago nature deserves and requires that kind of quality.

Part of my mission is to demonstrate to the rest of the country, force-fed on myriad mountain shots, that our region is just as beautiful. And once I have them hooked, the goal is to deliver the message that our region is at the very pinnacle of native plant biodiversity, with more native plant species than ANY of our nation’s national parks. One way to get people’s attention, so that I can deliver that remarkable message, is to team up with the sun, using it to shine a spotlight on my fascinating subjects. When I refer to the light, I’m not referring to a colorful sunrise or sunset. I’m talking about all the beautiful light show that’s happening behind your back as you ogle at a low sun.

The scene in the photograph depicts a handful of white flowers against a canvas of greenery and sand. Sounds like a boring story. And in even lighting, it wouldn’t compete for a national calendar shot. Publishable? Yes, thanks to the composition. National calendar shot? Not a chance. But with that light, it is OH SO YUMMY!

When people tell me that my pictures make the ordinary extraordinary, this is what they mean. But in my mind and in my heart, nothing about Chicago nature is ordinary. And that’s why I will never depict it as such. Chicago nature deserves my best.

08/13/2024

ChicagoNatureNOW! on TV

My FREE wildflower reporting platform, ChicagoNatureNOW!, is again being featured on reruns of WTTW's "Jay's Chicago."

The "Out In Nature" episode can be viewed here:

- Thu, Aug 15 at 1:30 PM on WTTW Prime

- Fri, Aug 16 at 12:30 AM on WTTW Prime

- More conveniently, but not as exciting as watching the broadcast, here's a link to the video:

Jay meets passionate nature lovers. And he makes friends with an unnervingly large insect.

07/05/2024

MAGICAL LIGHT ISN'T JUST FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS

This May scene from Illinois Beach State Park is special, home to the rare Waukegan (creeping) juniper and bear berry, among other plant species. Yet the star of the show is not any of these plants. It's our star, Earth's star. Given the inherent lack of floral color at this time of year, this scene appears quite ordinary, Then comes the sun!

There are only a few moments when sunlight and shade perfectly paint the scene, after which time shadows are overwhelmed with brightness, and the magic is gone.

To increase your appreciation of nature, don't take midday hikes when the hot glare of the sun engulfs the senses. Instead, explore the prairie in the early and late hours of the day, when the light is soft and low. Walk and wait, and suddenly it will appear, the moment when everything you find familiar is new once again, and the world is transformed into magic.

Beautiful light is not just for photographers. It's for anyone who wants to experience nature's beauty at its finest.

10/01/2023

A NEW CHICAGO NATURE EXHIBIT BEGINS THAT CELEBRATES DUPAGE COUNTY!

Today, the first of October, is when my six-month immersive exhibit ends and a new national exhibit begins, featuring just one image. The photo is called "A Peculiar Parade" from Waterfall Glen's Sawmill Creek to celebrate the month of October and, most proudly, Chicagoland's natural landscape inside the 2023 Sierra Club Wilderness Wall Calendar.

Here's the image's caption from my book "My Journey into the Wilds of Chicago":

Every October, I am drawn to the banks of Sawmill Creek for the annual celebration of golden maples. On this particular day, the stream turned to a trickle, its rocky bed transformed into the staging area for a colorful, yet peculiar, parade—one that waits for rainfall in order to proceed.

09/25/2023

LAST WEEK TO SEE MY IMMERSIVE EXHIBIT!

The six-month exhibition of "My Journey into the Wilds of Chicago" runs through Sunday, October 1st.

Immersive exhibition entitled "My Journey into the Wilds of Chicago" by internationally published photography Mike MacDonald (https://ChicagoNature.com). NOW...

08/31/2023

IMMERSIVE EXHIBIT EXTENDED THROUGH SUNDAY, OCTOBER 1ST

My "My Journey into the Wilds of Chicago" exhibit was to end today, August 31st. But now you have a renewed chance to experience it with your friends and family. It's a beautiful time, and Lincoln Park is a beautiful place. Learn more at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum website:

Known for his groundbreaking book about Chicago's natural wonders, photographer and author Mike MacDonald ignites a love for nature inside nine chapters of pictures, poetry, and prose.

08/03/2023

ONLY THREE WEEKS LEFT TO EXPERIENCE MY BIG PHOTOGRAPHY CELEBRATION OF CHICAGO NATURE:
The immersive art exhibition of my Chicago nature photography at Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, entitled "My Journey into the Wilds of Chicago," runs through Sunday, August 27. The museum is open every day from 10 to 4 with free admission on Thursdays.

Check out this powerful 48-second video:

Immersive exhibition entitled "My Journey into the Wilds of Chicago" by internationally published photography Mike MacDonald. Learn more at (https://ChicagoNature.com/immersive-exhibits/).