Midland, Michigan Senior Portrait Photographer | Eve Tuft Photography

Tag: Nature

Butterflies in Bloom With My Family

Have you ever been to see the Butterflies in Bloom event hosted by Dow Gardens? My family and I make it a point to go every year. We love the special event as it means two things for us: 1 – Butterflies! and 2 – Spring is right around the corner. Hoorah for spring!

We usually go together as a family, though there was a year when I was the only one able to get out and see the butterflies. And then there was that year when a number of us were sick. That wasn’t a whole lot of fun. Thankfully though, we were all well for this event.

Here’s Foofie Doofers looking for some flying creatures. She loves to spot them by herself, though she gets a little jumpy when they fly right at her. 😉

I love all the varieties you can spot at Dow Gardens. I especially love the large blue ones, but as soon as they land they close up their wings. I’ve never been able to get a great shot of them.

My oldest daughter thought ahead this year when she knew we were going to see them. She made sure to wear a brightly colored shirt to attract as many butterflies as she could. It looks like it worked!

We love Dow Gardens, and we look forward to this beautiful event all winter. Does your family have any special yearly traditions in Midland? I’d love to hear about them! As always, thanks for stopping by.

May 1, 2019
Golden Autumn Hues

Autumn is my absolute favorite season of the year. It’s as though everything gets painted over with an enormous, golden brush. My husband claims that fall is more of a woman’s season. It probably is. 😉 Most women I know prefer the fall. Maybe it’s the sweaters and the cute boots. Perhaps it’s the pumpkin in everything. I personally love the orchards and the cooler temperatures. But of all the things it is, it is definitely magical to me. I come from a place that is hot most of the year. We do have seasons there, but they are short-lived. Here in Michigan we have the most beautiful and drawn-out seasons, and I much prefer that.

Every year when fall comes around I get giddy with excitement over the changing leaves. My husband and I try and decide which color is our favorite, and I always come back to the golden ones. Not quite yellow. Not brown. But right in-between. Here in Midland we have some gorgeous maple trees that turn that orange-y color, and they are amazing! I hope you’re enjoying the fall as much as I am. These were all taken in my backyard.

I also love this season because this is when so many people have their senior sessions! In fact, I just took one a few days ago. I can’t wait to share them with you in the coming days. Stay tuned!

October 31, 2018
Beauty in My Backyard

We recently spent a whole lot of money on our backyard. The previous owners had a huge above-ground pool in the back, but I really didn’t feel comfortable with that since my kids are still so little. So they took it out just before leaving and left a big sand pit of death behind. My kids love sand. They love it! My husband and I (and our floors) could really do without it. I really wanted a play set, so after a little begging and whining, my husband finally gave in. 😉

In June the project was finally finished, and now, instead of a sand pit and weeds and sadness, there’s a beautiful play set and wood chips and edging. It’s perfect for our kids and fits perfectly in our backyard. A few weeks ago some friends of ours gave us their trampoline for free. So now that’s in the back, and what do you think the kids prefer? The expensive play set or the free trampoline? Yes. You guessed it. But they still love the play set and play on it almost every day, so I think we’re good.

On this particular evening I was feeling yucky and had a bad headache, so while my husband played with the kids I took the camera out to capture some of the beauty at the end of the summer. And, as always, I freelensed these because I love freelensing so much.

Just when it was time to come back inside and get the kids ready for bed, I saw my husband and youngest in the most beautiful rim light. So I’ve added that one in here as well. No matter how many times I take pictures in my backyard, I’m always able to capture it just a bit differently than before. I love the inspiration I get from being outside in the sunshine.

September 26, 2018
Roses Are Red

Roses are red is how the poem goes. These roses are very red. Or are they? Perhaps they are purple or magenta or fuchsia or some other unnamed color. Whatever they are, they are gorgeous.

My husband always gets me flowers, typically roses, for Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day. Occasionally I’ll buy myself flowers just to take pictures of them, especially in the winter when I need a good subject. Other times he surprises me by bringing home flowers ‘just because’. I love those times the best. This was one of those times.

As with practically all flowers, there are two things I always love to do when photographing them: Freelens and use my macro lens. This time was no exception. There’s something about freelensing that makes me feel unbound by the rules. As a left-brained creative, I love my rules. I love lines and shape. I love things that makes sense to my brain, and it’s hard for me to let go and just be purely creative. But freelensing helps me let go of the technical and the details and simply embrace the imperfect and flawed. Using my macro lens is always challenging in a good way. I love the tiny details, the water drops, the curves, everything that you see as you move closer in. I also love taking the time to just think and be still.

So, what do you think? What color are these roses? Red? Magenta? It seemed as though they changed from day to day, and by the end their edges were definitely straight up purple. Thanks for stopping by!

September 18, 2018
Rainy Day Macro

Man, it’s been so rainy here lately! I haven’t checked, but I’d swear that we’ve had record-breaking amounts of rain these past two weeks. There have been so many days when our percentage for rain has been small, and then we’ll get a downpour for a solid half hour. It’s been crazy. And it’s been wonderful.

Summer rainstorms are my favorite. Ever. I love rainy days, and I love them even more when it’s warm enough outside to play in the rain with your bare feet. My husband and I lived in Iowa for five years (three of our children were born there!), and the rainstorms there were out of this world. They were phenomenal. Like, there was a flash of lightning every second for a number of hours straight. I don’t mind being away from tornadoes 😉 , but I do miss the storms there. The storms we’ve had here these past two weeks have reminded me of them, and I have loved it so much. Even if the lightning wakes my kids up from sleeping.

Another reason why I love rainy days is…wait for it…I LOVE to take pictures after the rain of the tiny beads of water clinging to our plants. I LOVE it. Cue my cheap macro extension tubes. One day I hope to get an actual macro lens, but these work great for my needs. I’m sure I look pretty ridiculous to any neighbors who may be watching. Just imagine me, crouching down, inspecting every little detail. I don’t even care though when I can get images like these.

September 5, 2018