CD Burnett Nature Photography

02/06/2026

01/07/2024

This is the last post on this page! I will continue to post on my personal page https://www.facebook.com/cdrakeburnett/ The corresponding website, CDBurnettNaturePhotos.com, has been deleted. Please visit my new website at UpperPeninsulaNaturePhotos.com

11/27/2023

UP Nature Note No. 13: An Eagle Shoots Back. We live on a free-flowing Lake Superior tributary, so we always know the river-run fish are spawning when the eagles show up. A couple of weeks ago, I got a few shots of this adult bald eagle out the bedroom window and some more by walking closer. As I entered its personal space, it seemed to express its opinion of my behavior by shooting back and flying off! See my work at the Zero Degrees Gallery in Marquette.

11/07/2023

UP Nature Note No. 12: Lighthouse Light. More than anything else, landscape photography is about the quality of the light in the scene. Often you just have to walk away from a subject you’re interested in for the lack of favorable light. Sometimes you get lucky, and all the factors influencing the light conspire to keep you releasing the shutter. In this case, the evening sunlight reflected red light off the lighthouse, mixing it with the blue water (colored by the scattered blue light of the clear sky) creating a complex of purples, violets, and oranges. Prints and greeting cards of this colorful event are available at the Zero Degrees Gallery in Marquette.

09/11/2023

The ruby-throated hummingbirds are busy putting on weight for their upcoming migration south. Hummingbirds beat their wings up to 200 times per second, so shutter speeds of at least 1/2,000 of second are needed to ‘freeze’ them in flight. These were shot handheld in natural light at 1/1,600 of a second to show a bit of wing blurring, creating a sense of motion.

08/23/2023

The Reciprocity of Purple and Gold.
While photographing a prairie restoration area, I was reminded of the wonderful essay, Asters and Goldenrod, in Robin Wall Kimmerer’s book, Braiding Sweetgrass, in which she explains why bees and humans perceive these complementary colors as beautiful. In this case it’s black-eyed Susans and blazing stars, but the science and the poetry are the same.

08/07/2023

Do you know the Ladies’ Tresses (genus Spiranthes)? These tiny orchids with spiralling ice-like flowers are now flowering in the Upper Peninsula’s dry fields, open woods, and disturbed areas. One needs some magnification is needed to truly appreciate their beauty.

05/31/2023

At 3 1/4 inches long, the winter wren is one of our tiniest birds, much smaller than a chickadee, but it sings one of longest and most complicated songs. Per unit weight, the Winter Wren delivers its song with 10 times more power than a crowing rooster. This one was singing its heart out on May 11th in a brushy area along a creek.

05/05/2023

I've just completed the first eight in a new series of fine art 'posters' on the Natural History of the Upper Peninsula. They're available at the Zero Degrees Gallery in Marquette https://www.zerodegreesgallery.org/ Other subjects included in the series so far are birds, butterflies, mushrooms, waterfalls, and Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.

03/31/2022

https://www.cdburnettnaturephotos.com/blog/2022/3/sensuous-twigs

Close-up photos of woody plant twigs in winter showing buds and other structures helpful in identifying tree and shrub species.