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  • Welcome to the new site. Here's a thread about the update where you can post your feedback, ask questions or spot those nasty bugs!

flower on the forest floor

i have no idea what this little flower is, but i love the delicate texture and colors, and the way the filtered sunlight plays on it...

IMG_1674sm_filtered.jpg
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Mike Spinak or Sean DeMarchant should know!

If you count the petals, look at how the leaves are arranged etc., there are charts to get the name.

Asher
 
Hi Winston,

This is likely wood-sorrel, Oxalis oregana, according to my guides. Were the leaves 3 lobed (not the technical term) similar to clover in shape?

You can find a nice textural image at:

http://www.dunngardens.org/spring/oxalis_oregana.html

Note that by textural the image captures the texture of how the subject feels on the eyes. Technically, the shot is missing a bit (poor exposure and lackluster composition).

Asher Kelman said:
If you count the petals, look at how the leaves are arranged etc., there are charts to get the name.
It is a bit more complicated than that. But these charts/tables are called taxonomic keys and they often lack pictures but can be commonly found on university websites for their local species. For more common species here in the PNW I recommend Plants And Animals Of The Pacific Northwest, An Illustrated Guide to the Natural History of Western Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia by Eugene N. Kozloff and Plants Of The Pacific Northwest Coast Washington, Oregon, British Columbia & Alaska by Pojar & Mackinnon (which is published under a different name in BC). The first book is my safety net (not 100% comprehensive but damn close ). The second has more pretty pictures and is a dash easier to use but has failed me in many species IDs which is where the Kozloff book comes in.

As an aside, Kozloff wrote Seashore Life of the Norther Pacific Coast which is biblical (not my term but many Beachwatchers call it The Bible of our local shores) in scope which is very useful. If you enjoy tide pools and know any local beaches well, then next week is a spectacular time for a night at the beach with a few flashlights (one for walking, a headlamp for camera focus, and a spare) and flash to capture nocturnal species here in the greater Puget Sound region.

Code:
Tides for Bush Point, Whidbey Island

Day        High      Tide  Height   Sunrise    Moon  Time      % Moon
           /Low      Time    Feet    Sunset                    Visible

M    1     High   4:24 AM    10.3   8:00 AM     Set  6:46 AM      91
     1      Low   8:41 AM     8.5   4:28 PM    Rise  2:17 PM
     1     High  12:37 PM    10.2
     1      Low   9:04 PM    -2.1

Tu   2     High   5:07 AM    10.9   8:00 AM     Set  7:51 AM      96
     2      Low   9:49 AM     8.5   4:29 PM    Rise  3:17 PM
     2     High   1:24 PM     9.9
     2      Low   9:47 PM    -2.3

W    3     High   5:46 AM    11.0   8:00 AM     Set  8:42 AM      99
     3      Low  10:49 AM     8.3   4:30 PM    Rise  4:27 PM
     3     High   2:15 PM     9.5
     3      Low  10:28 PM    -2.1
credit: http://www.saltwatertides.com

I know I will be going out if it is not raining as 2006 was a terrible year for the quality of my nocturnal tidepool shots. Although I did finally get a daytimee shot of Cucamaria miniata (a sea cucumber species) that I liked along with a sunburn. Their super saturated red coloring is very hard on digital sensors.

Please note that the lower intertidal area even in urban areas can be a very dangerous wilderness area and you can easily drown in 6 inches of water. The reasoning here is that a single container ship can shift a deadhead (tree in the water) and pin you down and drown you long before your whole body is submersed. I recommend scouting low tides at beaches in the PNW during Summer when the super low tides are midday. But the best shooting is in Autumn and Winter.

enjoy your day,

Sean
 
This is likely wood-sorrel, Oxalis oregana, according to my guides. Were the leaves 3 lobed (not the technical term) similar to clover in shape?

Technically, the shot is missing a bit (poor exposure and lackluster composition).

....

enjoy your day,

Sean[/QUOTE]

Sean,

i seem to recall the leaves were indeed something like clover... and while i agree the composition could be stronger, i have to take exception to your comment about the exposure. i rather like it. it's not so bright as to wash out the delicate texture and detail of the petals, nor so dark as to lose it in shadow. i shot several frames, and found i liked the soft lighting of this one best. varying the exposure much either way, to say nothing of using a flash, would have ruined the shot. but then, that's what makes photography interesting... everyone has a different idea of what they like.

an interesting, if off-topic, discussion of tidepools, as well. having grown up and lived all my life in the Puget Sound region, and spent a great deal of time on the beaches here, i had to chuckle a bit at your description of urban beaches as a "dangerous wilderness", though... now, if you're talking about the stretches of rocky shoreline between, say, Cape Alava and La Push, the wilderness designation is appropriate. but if you're simply prowling among the rocks along the shore of Puget Sound at night, the only real danger is slipping on seaweed or tripping over some unseen obstacle (which can happen just as easily during the day, especially in rough, rocky places like Rose Point near Deception Pass...). as for container ships and deadheads (which do not approach shore, as a rule... they are too waterlogged, and usually ground themselves well past the low-tide line), ordinary, floating logs can pose some small risk, but unless you're standing in the water next to one, nothing a ship can do will make it move enough to pose a hazard; freighters move so slowly in the sound - limited to 7 knots or less - that even their wake is little more than a gentle wave by the time it reaches shore.

in any case, if it weren't so bloody cold on winter nights, it might be intriguing to follow your advice and go have a look at the critters and such that inhabit the intertidal zones here. but since i am A) not fond of freezing my garbanzos off while stumbling around in the dark, and B) not really all that interested in crabs and sea anemones anyway, i think i'll take a rain check. however, since it appears today may be clear and sunny, i might pack up my long glass and head for the local park... there are usually mergansers, wood ducks, and herons to photograph, and often other species as well...

cheers!
Rocky
 
Winston Rockwell said:
Sean DeMerchant said:
This is likely wood-sorrel, Oxalis oregana, according to my guides. Were the leaves 3 lobed (not the technical term) similar to clover in shape?

Technically, the shot is missing a bit (poor exposure and lackluster composition).

The paragraph deliniation here was not what I wrote. The "Technically ..." was tacked on to the paragraph about the linked image. Which after a second look is questionable in exposure and looks like it was clipped by auto-levels.

My apologies if you were offended, that was not my intent. Nor was the slow response.

Winston Rockwell said:
Cape Alava and La Push, the wilderness designation is appropriate.

I live on Whidbey Island and I assume the Western Side of the Puget Sound, Admiralty Inlet, The Straught of Jaun De Fuca are all similar. The reason for this is that there no train tracks on stabilized slopes of large rocks at the bases of bluffs. This is a land of shifting sands and deadheads washed up upon a shore. 2 foot waves can accur in 30 MPH sustained winds (wind speed is a guess) when that mixes with larger occassional tidal surges on a fast tide and a two foot wake or higher off a container ship and that large sandy beach becomes very dangerous. People to not walk at the bases of the bluffs when the tide is in, it is easily lethal from a simple mistake. You do not need to be at the base of a cliff to have nowhere to go to get out. Quicksand like water and large logs being shifted by the waves is not fun. Once you start mixing in the Straight of Jaun De Fuca you get lots of water moving past.

These areas are wildernesses. There are no marks of man except garbage. No permanent structures. Humanity is a visitor there.

Winston Rockwell said:
...nothing a ship can do will make it move enough to pose a hazard; freighters move so slowly in the sound - limited to 7 knots or less - that even their wake is little more than a gentle wave by the time it reaches shore.

I live near and often hike along Admiralty Inlet which is the body of water to the west of Whidbey Island (the Puget Sound is to the south of Whidbey Island on every nautical chart I have checked (not too many but a few)). And along Admiralty Inlet you can regularly get 3 container ships going past in a short interval. 3 foot waves coming in is not unusual but not normal along the shipping lanes.

Winston Rockwell said:
since it appears today may be clear and sunny, i might pack up my long glass and head for the local park... there are usually mergansers, wood ducks, and herons to photograph, and often other species as well...


I hope it went well.

enjoy,

Sean
 
"clipped by auto-levels"... hmmm. since it was never processed in Photoshop, and the only PP done was a quick pass through NeatImage to clean up a bit of noise, i'm not sure how auto-levels could affect it. in any case, i'm not seeing anything that looks like clipping... perhaps you could describe to me what it is you see that looks that way? i'm seriously curious, because on my monitor, nothing looks clipped at all.
 

Ray West

New member
Hi Winston,

You have misread Sean's post - or maybe, Sean was not clear in what he said, but he explained it later.

Sean's comments were directed at this linked image _not_ at yours.

oxalis_oregana_je.jpg


Note that by textural the image captures the texture of how the subject feels on the eyes. Technically, the shot is missing a bit (poor exposure and lackluster composition).
The paragraph deliniation here was not what I wrote. The "Technically ..." was tacked on to the paragraph about the linked image. Which after a second look is questionable in exposure and looks like it was clipped by auto-levels.
Best wishes,

Ray
 
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