Elaine and Mickey Raine can often be seen, cameras at the ready, at Meadowlands walks and cleanups, and their photography appears on this blog fairly regularly.
Although they seem a bit inseparable, we thought we would each give them their own Photographers Showcase — ladies first.
Mickey writes:
We have been passionate fans of the Meadowlands for about five years now, and being avid hikers and enthusiasts of nature in all capacities, this region had immediately captured our hearts from the very first visit to DeKorte Park.
Like many, we, too, were guilty of the negative impression cast upon the Meadowlands, generated from years and years of abuse during the not too distant past, and although the remarkable work of the Meadowlands Commission and the state was in full gear from decades ago, it was not something many folks thought about, outside of birders and those who grew up locally, seeing and knowing first-hand the great improvements being administered.
Two more photos and more commentary follow.
Elaine and Mickey's Flickr site, with more Meadowlands pix, is here.
Our introduction to the region's wonderful landscape and plethora of plant and wildlife had so impressed us that it became our primary area to visit when a craving for nature occurs, which is almost always.
Not being birders initially but passionate about landscape, the focus was primarily toward that; however, one cannot visit the locales here without the company of birds, and from observing them, with each species displaying unique traits, we were hooked.
Perhaps still not "birders" per se, for when we go out, "everything" interests us, from the smallest plants and insects to the grand landscapes and sunsets.
Why were the photos you see chosen? It made most sense to select from our two favorite spots for this first installment–Richard DeKorte Park (RDP) and Mill Creek Marsh (MCM). Each one is so different from the other, but incredible in its own way. Both sites offer wonderful birds to observe, and fantastic landscapes and sunsets, nothing like any other, but perhaps the varied, overall architecture of the land is what makes each one interesting.
Elaine's photos consist of the White Mulberry with a Ladybug at sunset in MCM (June '12), a lovely fall foliage scene of the Sweetgum Tree and the hauntingly beautiful ancient Cedar stumps at MCM (Nov. '11), and the twilight sweeping landscape view at RDP, with the Freedom Tower in the far distance ( Jan. '12).
