Author: MichaelStephenWills

My photographic style centers on the use of natural light to visualize emotion and evoke memory. The evolution of my style began early in the year 2002, with an imperative to capture personal and fleeting memories. My son and I traveled to New York City, to view the first Saint Patrick's Day parade after September 11, 2001. My work from that parade was so successful and satisfying (see "New York Fire Department, Saint Patrick's Day 2002") I just never stopped.

Bridge Views

Exploring Dry Creek Gorge

August 27, 2022August 26, 2022 MichaelStephenWills14 Comments

Capturing photographs and videos on the fly using an Iphone, we visited Fillmore Glen State Park, Moravia, New York with our granddaughter, Nia. This is the fourth post of this series. Click me for the first post in this series, “The Space Station and the Waterfall.”.

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Gorge trails follows the path cut by Dry Creek through eons of multiple and various sedimentary rock. The work of the CCC crew (see “Presidents Millard Fillmore and F.D. Roosevelt”) makes it literally child’s play to negotiate a course otherwise impossible to do without getting soaking wet.

There were seven bridges, wooden over steel I-beams, we crossed today. The trail beyond bridge seven is closed due to hazardous conditions, don’t know what exactly. The gorge is plagued with landfalls. Much of the modern work is elaborate wooden supports of the land beneath the trail.

Delved Deep

Every step on the Gorge Trail is beneath 100+ foot walls, steep slopes held in place by the forest and every variety of native wildflower.

I took the following video from a zig-zag path over a difficult steam topography tamed by two bridges and limestone walls sourced from the stream bed.

Evidence of Plate Tectonics

Above, is a view of the characteristic right angle faulting of the limestone base of Dry Creek, faulting produced when the North American plate pressed against the African plate, released, then after pivoting 90 degrees, pressed again against Africa before finally separating with the create of the Atlantic Ocean.

Copyright 2022 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved

Legend

The Lost Mine

August 26, 2022August 23, 2022 MichaelStephenWills8 Comments

It is ironical the word “legend,” from the Latin verb “to read,” is the word used to describe the ahistorical stories, rumors really, of the Superstition Wilderness anchored, concurrently undermined, with the hard facts of geology. “Named for Paulino Weaver, a famed mountain man, scout, trapper and miner, Weavers Needle is a volcanic monolith that rises almost 1,300 feet from its base to an elevation of 4,553 feet. It’s the most recognizable landmark in the wilderness, and it’s also considered a marker for the legendary Peralta Mine.” — Arizona Highways

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Dutchmans Trail near the junction with Peralta Trail at the foot of Black Top Mesa with Weavers Needle in light of a setting sun.

“As the story goes, Don Miguel de Peralta and his family, who had come to the Superstition Mountains from Mexico, discovered gold, lots of gold, in the shadow of Weavers Needle. However, before cashing in, according to the story, they were killed by Apaches, who allegedly sealed off the mine. A few decades later, Jacob Waltz, better known as the “Lost Dutchman,” claimed to have found the old Peralta Mine, but he died before proving his claim. Since then, thousands of treasure hunters have gone looking, including Arthur Weber and the Dons of Phoenix, but no one has ever found the gold. And it’s unlikely anyone ever will — the volcanic rock out there isn’t conducive to producing precious metals. They’ll keep looking, though. Meantime, the real treasure is the trail. Especially in the springtime, when the ground is covered with gold. ” –Arizona Highways

Here is a view of part of the day’s trail. We started at 1911 feet elevation, Apache Junction, topping 2693, Parker Pass, with 2512 our resting spot with many ups and downs in between: a combined descent of 1760. Our rest was well earned. Palamino Mountain is on the left, Black Top Mesa the right. Look carefully to see the Peralta Trail surmounting Palamino Mountain ridge, descending in a zigzag to Boulder Canyon where it terminates on Dutchman Trail.

Click me for more information about the Peralta Trail from Arizona Highways.

A Time for Rest

Enter the family name “Peralta”

August 25, 2022August 23, 2022 MichaelStephenWills3 Comments

Our eleven-mile trek from Apache Junction ended here between Black Top Mesa and Palamino Mountain. Peralta trail winds up the ridge to right with Weaver’s Needle beyond in the setting sun.

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Deep shade combined with the distant sunlit needle made for a difficult photographic capture. In fact, this picture needed significant work in Photoshop. I wore the 8 megapixel Sony F828 to capture the handheld shots of this series. A few days later I dropped the camera while riding Colorado, rendering it inoperable. This was when I acquired my Sony Alpha 700 during downtime in Phoenix. Later, the F828 was repaired at Sony and is still operable.

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Gold Dust Found

Desert Riches

August 24, 2022July 13, 2024 MichaelStephenWills5 Comments

A few minutes after photographing this Stressed Mesquite I looked across the creek to the slope of volcanic rock fallen from the cliff of Black Top Mesa where clumps of dark yellow, in the following photograph of that cliff, mark clusters of flowering Mexican Poppies.

Mesquite, of the genus Prosopis, is a widespread, successful desert shrub that sometimes grows into a tree forms, as you see here. A mesquite tap root can extend 190 feet down to draw on the water table. East Boulder Creek was flowing, in this season, a few feet away. Still, this mesquite is stressed, with a loss of over half of its bark. Dutchman Trail between Black Top Mesa and Palamino Mountain, Superstition Wilderness, Tonto National Forest, Arizona

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Plentiful winter rains of 2008 trigged a profusion of Mexican Poppies throughout the Superstition Wilderness. Here is a photograph captured after our expedition.

Look carefully for a scattering of color, like gold dust, at the foot of the volcanic cliffs. That is spring blooms of Mexican Poppy (Eschscholtzia californica). This gold wonder is plentiful from the month of late February through April, varying with the rains.

Stressed Mesquite

Superstition Wilderness

August 23, 2022August 21, 2022 MichaelStephenWills1 Comment

Mesquite, of the genus Prosopis, is a widespread, successful desert shrub that sometimes grows into tree form, as you see here. A mesquite tap root can extend 190 feet down to draw on the water table.

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East Boulder Creek was flowing, in this season, a few feet away. Still, this mesquite is stressed, with a loss of over half of its bark. The ever-present Prickly Pear is in the middle distance. I prefer the image with the distant Weavers Needle, a neck of eroded volcanic rock, is brightened by the setting sun. To the left, the light-colored rock of Black Top Mesa is also of volcanic origin.

I am here on the Dutchman Trail between Black Top Mesa and Palamino Mountain, Superstition Wilderness, Tonto National Forest, Arizona.

Here is a gallery of post images, making comparison easier. All were taken with a handheld Sony F828. Walking without a pack make it possible for me to wear the camera.

Two Bar Mountain from trail 122 with corral made from mesquite trunks and barbed wire. Yucca and prickly pear in foreground.

References:

Black Top Mesa

Superstition Wilderness

August 22, 2022August 21, 2022 MichaelStephenWills

The black basalt of the mesa, for which it is named, is just visible above the lighter colored alternating layers of ash and tuff all remnants of volcanic eruptions 15 to 29 million years ago. We are on the Dutchman trail with the slopes of Palamino Mountain on the right. Ahead, other members of the expedition are just visible.

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In this view the late afternoon shadow of Palamino Mountain reveals the defile to which we are headed. Poles of young Saguaro Cactus (Carnegiea gigantean), poke from the black basalt capping Black Top Mesa. Foreground left is Stag Horn Cholla (Cylindropuntia), on the right is Prickly Pear (Optuna).

Look carefully for a scattering of color, like gold dust, at the foot of the volcanic cliffs. That is spring blooms of Mexican Poppy (Eschscholtzia californica).

References:

Ridge

Superstition Wilderness

August 21, 2022August 21, 2022 MichaelStephenWills2 Comments

Starting from the First Water Trailhead, the Dutchman trail leads over Parker Pass into a large basin at which the branches, East and West and Little, of Boulder Canyon meet.

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This southeast view is from the widest portion of the basin. You are looking toward Palamino Mountain and the top of Weavers Needle. There’s a path in there up to that Palamino Mountain ridge, note the hoodoos on right.

References:

Learn More About Hoodoos

Named For A Horse

with Aylor’s Arch

August 20, 2022April 13, 2024 MichaelStephenWills

Dutchman Trail turns right up ahead to proceed between Palamino Mountain and Black Top Mesa, both shown in this photograph. The ridge of the mountain reminds some of a horse and there is an arch, Aylor Arch, on the southern side: here was approach the north side. Aylor is the family name of gold prospectors who set up camp on that south side close to where we will spend the night below Weavers Needle.

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View of Palamino Mountain and Black Top Mesa from Dutchman’s trail.

Black Top Mesa is named for a layer of black basalt. Look closely to see the crags on the mesa (the flat-topped mountain) are black. Gold prospectors who combed Black Top Mesa over the years found not one speck of gold.

References:

Explore Aylor’s Arch

Pam’s Begonia Basket

small, unloved, on clearance

August 19, 2022August 18, 2022 MichaelStephenWills5 Comments

Once a year when Pam’s gardens are at a summer peak, I venture out to capture her work in early morning light. For this image I used a handheld Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III SLR with the Canon lens EF 50mm f 1.2L USM. This is the fifth post of this series.

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Pam’s gorgeous Begonia Grandis hanging baskets had a humble beginning. Not quite born in a log cabin, our local Aldi was the beginning where Pam saw sad little $3.00 potted begonia’s, on clearance, that needed a home. Cherished through the late frosts of May, carefully watered, placed in the perfect light, it was no accident these are so……perfect.

One strange fact, I have not witnessed a single honey bee harvesting these blooms.

I used three Canon lenses in the course of these five posts. This lens is a portrait lens. I used a large format image for this post, enjoy!!

Iridescence and Impostors

“Here I Am”

August 18, 2022August 14, 2022 MichaelStephenWills4 Comments

Once a year when Pam’s gardens are at a summer peak, I venture out to capture her work in early morning light. For this fourth image of the begonia series, I used the same handheld Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III SLR but with the Canon lens EF 100 mm f 2.8L IS USM variable lens.

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Tiny Mirrors

Begonia flowers have no petals. The colorful structures surrounding the male and female parts are the structure in many flowers, such as roses, that lay beneath the flower petals and are green are called the sepal. These are the cover protecting the flower as a bud and, when open, can provide support. In begonias it is the entire flower and it glows.

The angle of morning light in today’s macro captures the reflections of thousands of tiny mirrors in the flowers, more noticeable in the darker undersides. Also present is a subtle iridescence, a shiny surface imparting, in this begonia, slight color changes. These are signals to the pollinators, “Here I am — this is delicious.” Also, in low light tropical environments iridescence can enhance light gathering of leaves.

Hoverfly

Woodland sunbeams are special places where I first noticed hoverflies, they have a behavior of staying motionless, beating wings a blur, in sunlight making its way to the forest floor. It was only after the fact, in the virtual darkroom of Lightroom, I noticed the tiny creature in today’s photograph.

On a quick look, it appears to be a yellow jacket, a type of wasp. Look closely and you will see the eyes are on the top of the head and touch in places. The wings stand perpendicular to the thorax, wasp wings fold along the thorax and abdomen and there are differences in the veining of the wings. The identify of this creature is a beneficial fly, a hoverfly, genus Episyrphus. The shiny black shield on the upper thorax suggests to me this is a Episyrphus viridaureus.

This fly is beneficial to humans in two ways. One we observe in the photograph, as flower pollination. It is one of the few flies with mandibles capable of crushing pollen grains and, in the course of feeding, some pollen clings to the fly to be transported flower to flower. The second benefit is less obvious. The larval form is a predator of aphids. After feeding, it transforms into a resting state, called diapause and survives the winter this way.

Human beings suppose the benefit of looking like a wasp is protection against predators who fear being stung, increasing survival of the individual.

The lens is designed for macro work and is a fixed focus, it can capture small details without needed to be close to the subject. I decided to crop the image down to emphasize the hoverfly. It was in writing this post I noticed the sepal iridescence.