Dorothea Dix Sunflowers

The sunflowers are expected to bloom in mid-July at Dorothea Dix Park. We will meet at the sunflower field at 8:15am.
Visitors are welcome to use any paved lot near the Sunflower field located off Hunt Drive.
Brunch spot TBD

For registration details and posting of photos, click on button below.

Franks Water Garden Creations

Frank’s Water Garden Creation is a long time favorite of the Triangle. A beautiful variety of water plants, dragon flies and a potential green frog or two.
There will be a sign in Frank’s front yard so that you don’t miss the entrance. We ask for a minimum donation of $5.00. You are welcome to donate more.
For those who are comfortable and wish to join us, we will go to lunch afterwards at the Cleveland Draft House, 6101 NC-42, Garner.
Contact Lois Makoid for any questions: (919)749-7106.
Event Coordinators: Tom & Jean Poston (postonsCNPA@nc.rr.com )

For registration details and posting of photos, click on button below.

North Carolina Zoo

DATE CHANGE DUE TO WEATHER:
The NC Zoo is nestled on 2,600 wooded acres centrally located in the heart of North Carolina, just south of Asheboro in Randolph County. With 500 developed acres, it is the world’s largest natural habitat zoo.
June 30 is a Quiet Day at the Zoo.
On Quiet Days at the Zoo, they offer a more sensory-friendly experience and invite everyone looking to visit the Zoo on a less crowded day. They will not allow reservations for large groups or field trips on these Quiet Days. They will also turn off all loud music and messaging at our entrances and throughout the Zoo.
Cost:
Adult $15
Senior & Military $13
Tickets maybe purchased online to save time at the entrance.
Zoo map can be printed from the website : northcarolinazoo.org
Park at the Africa Parking Lot
Schedule:
– 9:00 AM meet at the AFRICA sign before crossing the bridge (For a group photo)
– 11:30 AM Lunch: @ Junction Springs
– Continue shooting after lunch.
– Zoo closes at 5:00 PM

For more information, click on button below.

Photo Walk- Broad River Greenway

Nature Photo Walk, BROAD RIVER GREENWAY – RIVER TRAIL

Join me for a leisurely hike along the BROAD RIVER GREENWAY – RIVER TRAIL, of the Carolina Thread Trail. As we hike, we’ll discuss Nature First Principles, Slow Photography, and creating quality images over quantity. Members also share their experiences, personal photo locations, and plan additional outings.

Location:
Broad River Greenway, 126 Broad River Dr, Shelby, NC 28152
Date & Time:
June 17, 2023, @ 8:00 AM – 10:00 AM or until
Photo Experience level:
Open to all, including cell phones
Strenuous level:
Easy, Gravel/Crushed stone, Natural surface, Boardwalk
Cost:
Free small donations are appreciated.
For visitors who are not Cleveland County residents, the cost is $5.00 per car per day. Paid at the park and not to NPW
Sign-in and waiver:
If you are under 16 you must be accompanied by an adult
Group size:
Open
Pets:
Well behaves pets on a leash are allowed.
Equipment needed:
Appropriate shoes and clothing for the weather, beverage, snacks, camera, and camera gear as needed, a tripod if desired, a backpack or bag for carrying necessary gear, and a positive attitude. Please feel free to bring any other gear or supplies you might personally need.

For registration details and posting of photos, click on button below.

Jordan Lake Tour

We will go out with Captain David on his pontoon boat for a 2 hour tour around Jordan Lake looking for the nesting osprey (the chicks are just now hatching), eagles, herons etc.
The cost is $30 per person (you can pay me and I will give the total to David in one transaction)
Car pooling is highly recommended due to parking space and cost ($5 to park)
Normally, these tours go out at about 8:00am, but Captain David said that we could go out as early as we want. I suggest 7:00am for better light.
Directions and more details will be provided to the registrants next week.

For registration details and posting of photos, click on button below.

Jordan Lake Tour B

We will go out with Captain David on his pontoon boat for a 2 hour tour around Jordan Lake looking for the nesting osprey (the chicks are just now hatching), eagles, herons etc.
The cost is $30 per person (you can pay me and I will give the total to David in one transaction)
Car pooling is highly recommended due to parking space and cost ($5 to park)
Normally, these tours go out at about 8:00am, but Captain David said that we could go out as early as we want. I suggest 7:00am for better light.
Directions and more details will be provided to the registrants next week.

For registration details and posting of photos, click on button below.

June Monthly In-Person ICM

5:30pm – Meet at Jason’s Deli for dinner if you like
6:30pm – Begin to gather and setup the room at Brier Creek Community Center
7:00pm – 9:00pm – Discussion and Sharing of Intentional Camera Movement (ICM) photos. You will be asked to upload one normal photo of a scene, and up to 3 photos of the same scene using ICM.

For more information, click on button below.

Nature Photo Walk Ecusta Trail

This event is being held with the Ecusta Trail in Hendersonville, NC. We will be walking an unfinished section of the trail to create images for the Ecusta Trail to use in their social media to support the trail.
Representatives Frank Porter, Board of Directors, and Lisa Calloway, Social Committee for the Ecusta Trail will give a short update on the trail and answer questions along the walk.
We will gather at the Post Office in Horse Shoe located at
3740 Brevard Rd, Horse Shoe, NC 28742
Please park along the west side and carpooling is recommended.
We will hike along Hunters Glen Rd to the old unfinished Rail Road bed that will soon become the home of the Ecusta Trail. The trail is unimproved and mostly Rail Road Ballast material that is uneven and can be hard to walk on in sections of the trail. Please wear closed-toe shoes with ankle support.
Photo Experience level; Open to all, including cell phones
Strenuous level: Easy
Cost: Free small donations to Ecusta Trail are appreciated
Sign-in and waiver: If you are under 16 you must be accompanied by an adult
Group size: Open
Equipment needed:
Appropriate shoes and clothing for the weather, beverage, snacks, camera, and camera gear as needed, a tripod if desired, a backpack or bag for carrying necessary gear, and a positive attitude. Please feel free to bring any other gear or supplies you might personally need.
RSVP and more info at
https://www.meetup.com/nature-photo-walks/events/293103374/

For registration details and posting of photos, click on button below.

Swan Lake and Iris Garden

Swan Lake Iris Gardens
Welcome to Sumter’s Swan Lake Iris Gardens, home to the only public park in the United States to feature all eight swan species and some of the most intensive plantings of Japanese Iris in the United States.

Teeming with life all four seasons of the year, Swan Lake Iris Gardens offers tranquility and enchantment to visitors of all ages. A gift to the Sumter community from the Bland and Heath families, the gardens encompass 150 acres, with more than 120 varieties of iris that explode into a late-spring burst of color. The gardens also feature a rainbow of other seasonal blossoms, including colorful camellias, azaleas, daylilies, and Japanese magnolias. The gardens are a birdwatcher’s paradise of swans, Canada geese, matters, wood ducks, muscovies, anhingas, herons, egrets and other wildlife.

A Sensory Trail enables the sight-impaired to enjoy the scents and sensations of the gardens, a talking tree trail shares stories of today and yesterday, and showcasing a Rose Garden, Azalea Garden, Butterfly Garden and Chocolate Garden visitors of all ages are sure to find something delightful around every turn.

Swan Lake Iris Gardens is also home to numerous sculptures, including several by famed artists like Zan Lee Wells and Grainger McKoy.

The garden hosts several annual festivals throughout the year, including SC’s oldest festival, the Iris Festival, Earth Day Celebration, an Easter Egg Hunt, the Taste of the Gardens, Fantasy of Lights, and more.

Admission to the gardens is free. Photography is allowed (see other garden facts/rules).

The Sumter area Visitor’s Center is also located onsite as you enter the main gate. They have additional walking tours, maps, community information and a souvenir shop. For more info, call 803-436-2640.
https://www.sumtersc.gov/community/swanlake

For registration details and posting of photos, click on button below.

Witherspoon Rose

https://www.witherspoonrose.com

https://www.witherspoonrose.com/shop/roses/.

The above websites are for Witherspoon Rose ,the general site and the purchasing of Roses site.
Witherspoon Rose Culture are professional gardeners, retail and an internet source of a beautiful collection
of rose plants and roses.
This collection is in very large fabric covered huts. The fabric allows the light through as a photographic diffuser.
So the sun, no matter how bright is not a problem
In these huts are many variations and varieties of roses , hybrids with all sorts of colors.
It is Rose Heaven for photography.
You will be excited walking and shooting throughout the entire collection

Date: Thursday May 18th 2023 at 10 AM
Where : 4800 Garrett Rd Durham 27707

Lunch : Foster’s Market. at 11:30 -( about 5-10 minutes from roses.)
2694 Chapel Hill Blvd. Durham 27707

For registration details and posting of photos, click on button below.