The Prairie Ecologist

Many thanks to everyone who voted on their favorite images from my first post in this series. The results were very helpful. So far, it seems pretty clear you like sunrises and scenics more than closeups (are you following the right blog?). To be fair, two of those closeups included dead animals, which I can see might diminish their attractiveness to some… We’ll see what happens when we get more into flower/insect season, I guess.

If you want to keep score at home, the top votes for January/February (in order) were for #’s 1,5,3,7,12, and 10.

Here is the second installment of my favorite images of 2020. I’m lumping March and April together, but I’m probably going to handle the rest of the months individually since I have so many photos from those months. Once again, I’d really appreciate your votes for the images that most resonate with you – just put the numbers you like best in the comments section for this post. Thank you in advance, and I hope you enjoy the photos.

1.) The Nature Conservancy’s Niobrara Valley Preserve – Niobrara River and moonrise. March 9, 2020. Nikon D7200 with Nikon 28-300mm lens @140mm, ISO 640, f/11, 1/13 sec.

2.) Leaves and melting snow, Lincoln Creek Prairie in Aurora, Nebraska. March 15, 2020. Nikon D7200 with Nikon 105mm macro lens, ISO 400, f/18, 1/400 sec.

3.) Roundheaded bushclover and melting snow, Lincoln Creek Prairie in Aurora, Nebraska. March 15, 2020. Nikon D7200 with Nikon 105mm macro lens, ISO 400, f/29, 1/80 sec.

4.) Marsh ground beetle along a wetland drainage. Helzer family prairie. March 25, 2020. Nikon D7200 with Nikon 105mm macro lens, ISO 500, f/13, 1/400 sec.

5.) Ant and wetland. Helzer family prairie. March 25, 2020. Nikon D7200 with Nikon 105mm macro lens, ISO 500, f/14, 1/640 sec.

6.) Seed head of wild bergamot. Helzer family prairie. March 29, 2020. Nikon D7200 with Nikon 105mm macro lens, ISO 500, f/20, 1/60 sec.

7.) Seed head of Illinois bundleflower. Helzer family prairie. March 29, 2020. Nikon D7200 with Nikon 105mm macro lens, ISO 500, f/18, 1/250 sec.

8.) Dormant grasses and wetland. Helzer family prairie. March 29, 2020. Nikon D7200 with Tokina 12-28mm lens @14mm, ISO 500, f/14, 1/200 sec.

9.) Ice and barbed wire. The Nature Conservancy’s Platte River Prairies. April 3, 2020. Nikon D7200 with Nikon 105mm macro lens, ISO 640, f/18, 1/320 sec.

10.) Plains garter snake. Helzer backyard. April 5, 2020. Nikon D7200 with Nikon 105mm macro lens, ISO 500, f/7, 1/640 sec.

11.) Frost on wetland plants. Helzer family prairie. April 15, 2020. Nikon D7200 with Nikon 105mm macro lens, ISO 320, f/11, 1/400 sec.

12.) Pasqueflower at The Nature Conservancy’s Niobrara Valley Preserve. April 15, 2020. Nikon D7200 with Nikon 105mm macro lens, ISO 320, f/16, 1/50 sec.

13.) Pasqueflower and sunset at The Nature Conservancy’s Niobrara Valley Preserve. April 15, 2020. Nikon D7200 with Tokina 12-28mm lens @12mm, ISO 400, f/22, 1/60 sec.

14.) Buffalo pea flowers at the Helzer Family Prairie. April 19, 2020. Nikon D7200 with Nikon 105mm macro lens, ISO 250, f/13, 1/125 sec.

15.) Rockjasmine flowers at the Helzer Family Prairie. April 19, 2020. Nikon D7200 with Nikon 105mm macro lens, ISO 400, f/6.3, 1/400 sec.

16.) Water drops on bracted spiderwort. Helzer backyard prairie garden. April 26, 2020. Nikon D7200 with Nikon 105mm macro lens, ISO 320, f/16, 1/80 sec.

Despite everything going on this year, there was still a lot of beauty to be found in 2020. I saw it in the small acts of kindnesses between people, regardless of a global pandemic and widespread political and cultural division. I was also very fortunate to be able to capture the splendor of Nebraska prairies, though I ranged less widely than I have in other years. As 2020 comes to an end, I’d like to put together something that reminds others of the beauty around us, particularly in prairies. I’m hoping you can help.

1.) The Nature Conservancy’s Niobrara Valley Preserve on January 1, 2020. Nikon D7200 with Tokina 12-28mm lens @ 12mm. ISO 500, f/22, 1/60 sec.

In the coming weeks, in addition to other blog posts, I’m going to share some collections of prairie photos from 2020. I hope you enjoy seeing all of them, but I’d also like your help in choosing the ones you think are the best. I’ll try to incorporate those select images into some kind of project (still in the design phase) that both highlights the beauty of prairies and helps people feel better about the world in general. With each collection I share, I’d love to get your feedback about the images. If you’d like participate, just go to the comments section at the end of this post and list the numbers of any images that resonate particularly with you. Thanks in advance for your help, and I hope you enjoy the photos.