Mike Saunders 🇺🇦

@hardwaterhacker

Photographer. Lover of the outdoors. Musician. Red Siege Principal Consultant so I can pay for my hobbies. #PhotographersUnited <- Check out this great community! IG:

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Mike Saunders 🇺🇦@hardwaterhacker· 17d

@alan678.bsky.social says the bird of the day theme is #EyeOfTheWild – piercing eye or eyes as the dominant feature of the portrait. This was a fun encounter with a Northern Saw-Whet Owl. #birds #nature #wildlife

A photo of a Northern Saw-Whete owl in a pine tree. The owl is perched on branch that goes from the bottom center of the photo to the upper left. The ow is perched on the branch, looking at the camera. The owl has a white V on the nose, extending over yellow eyes with large black pupils. The head is brown, with fine white streaking that extends around the face. The body is mostly obscured but patches of white can be seen over light brown feathers. Behind and above the bird are more pine branches.

Mike Saunders 🇺🇦@hardwaterhacker· 17d

Photos from an evening walk around Grand Marais, MN. #photography #PhotographersUnited

A nighttime black and white photo of a gas station pumping island viewed from the center of the island. The photo shows two rows of pumps three fuel pumps on a concrete pad. The island is has a metal awning over it. The underside of the awning is white, lit by bright lights. Each light has 9 beams of light radiating in a star pattern. There is a sign on the front of the awning that says MARATHON.

A nighttime color photo of a gas station pumping island viewed from the left side of the island. The photo shows two rows of pumps three fuel pumps on a concrete pad. The island is has a metal awning over it. The underside of the awning is white, lit by bright lights. There is a blue sign on the front of the awning that says MARATHON.

Mike Saunders 🇺🇦@hardwaterhacker· 19d

An Oxeye Daisy after the rain. #macro #macrophotography #wildflower #PhotographersUnited

A square crop photo of an Oxeye Daisy. The daisy has 32 slender white petals surrounding a bright yellow disc in the center. The individual florets of the disc form a spiraling pattern. The flower petals and disc are covered in large raindrops. The background is various shades of dark green, the grass underneath the flower.

Mike Saunders 🇺🇦@hardwaterhacker· 20d

The Milky Way over a northern Minnesota river. Looks like there's only one satellite in this photo. That's pretty unusual these days.

A vertical photo of the Milky Way rising above a northern Minnesota river. The river enters the photo in the lower right and extends outwards and to the left. The shore of the river is surrounded by green vegetation. Beyond the vegetation, tall pine trees are silhouetted against the night sky. The surface of the river is calm, reflecting the galactic core, the stars above, and the tree silhouettes.

Above, the Milky Way core rises through a gap in the trees at the back of the river. The bright core shines with a warm glow near the horizon before transitioning to cooler tones tinged with blues and purples above. The faint green and purple lines of air glow can be seen in the sky.

Mike Saunders 🇺🇦@hardwaterhacker· 21d

Fairy Fingers (Clavaria fragilis). This fun little fungus wasn't much over an inch tall. #fungi #mycology #FungiFriends #PhotographersUnited

A vertical photo of a tiny white fungus on the forest floor. The fungus is bone white, smooth with just a few black dots. The fungus looks like the fingers of a hand sticking out of the ground. There are 7 straight "fingers" sticking up and one that is curved into the palm of the hand.

The forest floor slopes down from right to left and is covered in moss. A moss sporophyte can be seen to the right of the fungus near the edge of the photo. In the background, near the back of the photo, golden sunlight reflects off a leaf.

Mike Saunders 🇺🇦@hardwaterhacker· 23d

@robcrank68.bsky.social says today's alternate #BirdOfTheDay theme is #Blue. Here's a juvenile Tree Swallow, just starting to show its beautiful blues. #birds #nature #wildlife

Mike Saunders 🇺🇦@hardwaterhacker· 23d

A very faint #aurora over a river near Minnesota's Boundary Waters. This one wasn't visible to the naked eye. #auoraboralis #northernlights #astrophotography #PhotographersUnited

A horizontal photo of the aurora over a river. Pine trees line both sides of the river. There is a group of taller trees sticking above the treeline near the left of the frame. The trees are silhouetted against the night sky. The silhouette is reflected in the still water of the river.

The river is the full width of the frame at the bottom, becoming narrower and curving to the right. The river disappears into the tree line about 2/3 of the way up the image. Lilly pads and grasses can be seen growing in the water.

The sky is darker near the top of the frame. The top of the aurora is close to the horizon, about as high as the tall trees. The aurora starts as magenta and transitions to a greenish yellow. There appears to be a smudge on the horizon which may be due to smoke from wildfires burning in the Boundary Waters and Quetico in Canada. The colors of the aurora and stars can be seen reflecting in the water.

Mike Saunders 🇺🇦@hardwaterhacker· 24d

Grand Marais Liquor - Grand Marais, MN. #photography #PhotographersUnited

A horizontal photo of the Grand Marais Liquor storefront. The store is viewed from the middle of an intersection, looking at the front corner of the building. The building's walls are dark blue steel siding with vertical ribbing. In the center of the photo is the store entrance. The entrance section is made of horizontal composite panels made to look like wooden boards. Sliding glass doors are placed on both sides of the corner. Blue signs with a white border and white lettering reads "GRAND MARAIS LIQUOR Est 1934" are placed above each entrance. Light bars placed at the top of of the wooden section light the entrances with warm light. The highlights are bloomed a little bit because of heavy wildfire smoke in the air.

Four concrete steps lead up to the entry way from the sidewalks that flank both sides of the building. In front of the building, on the sidewalk, sits a green, round trash can with a rounded green cover. Large, black granite rocks sit behind the trash can.

Windows to both sides of the entry have glowing neon signs. On the right, beneath the windows, a concrete ramp with a metal railing leads down to the sidewalk. Beneath the windows, more slabs of granite and plants line the area between the sidewalk and the sides of the buildings.

Above the building, the sky is dark.

Mike Saunders 🇺🇦@hardwaterhacker· 25d

I made this photo Sunday night near the Boundary Waters. The wildfire smoke is so thick now you wouldn't be able to see the night sky. They're getting some much needed rain today to hopefully help get the fires under control. #astro #astrophotography #Minnesota #PhotographersUnited

A vertical night sky image of the Milky Way over an inland lake. In the foreground, there is a bush on the left and a bush on the right, with a gap between them. The galactic core is centered in this gap. The light of the core reflects of the lake's surface but no individual stars can be seen in the water due to a light wind causing many ripples.

On the horizon, tall pine trees line the lake's shore. The pines are completely silhouetted. The galactic core rises above a small hill along the shoreline. The Milky Way extends up and to the left, exiting the image at the upper left. Subtle waves of green and purple air glow can be seen. At least ten satellites can be seen.

Mike Saunders 🇺🇦@hardwaterhacker· 29d

Here’s a throwback to a wonderful night in the Sheyenne National Grassland from a few years ago. #astro #astrophotography #milkyway #PhotographersUnited

A vertical night photo of the Milky Way. In the foreground, tall grasses lead to a windmill. The windmill is silhouetted against the night sky. The galactic core rises above a tree line on the horizon to the right of the windmill and extends upwards and over the windmill.

Mike Saunders 🇺🇦@hardwaterhacker· Jul 11

It's going to be 100F this weekend. Hard to believe this photo was just 3 months ago. Anyone missing the snow yet? #birds #nature #wildlife #PhotographersUnited

A horizontal photo of a Dark-eyed Junco standing on snow. The snow is smooth, clean, and brilliantly white. Some of the snowflakes sparkle in the morning sun.

The Junco is standing at the center, looking to the right. We see the Junco at nearly eye level. The bird has a slate gray head, brown back and sides, a white belly, and a pink bill.

Mike Saunders 🇺🇦@hardwaterhacker· Jul 9

Mama Mallard engaging in a little self care. #birds #nature #wildlife #PhotographersUnited

A photo of a hen Mallard preening. The duck is standing in shallow, calm water. The hen's body is angled slightly away from the camera, pointing towards the upper left. Her head is twisted around and she is preening feathers at the base of her neck. The hen is brown overall, with lighter marking near the center of the feathers. A patch of dark purple feathers, the speculum, is visible near the end of her wing.

Mike Saunders 🇺🇦@hardwaterhacker· Jul 8

A Green Frog (Lithobates clamitans). I found this one along the Centennial Trail near Minnesota's Boundary Waters. #amphibian #nature #wildlife #PhotographersUnited

A Green Frog sits in water stained red with iron deposits. The frog has light green around the mouth and on the legs. The rest of the frog is a greenish-brown color, withdark spotting on its legs. The eyes have a gold ring around the pupil. The irises are dark with gold flecks throughout. There are several mosquitos on the frogs nose.

Mike Saunders 🇺🇦@hardwaterhacker· Jul 7

Twofer Tuesday! Two fuzzy Mallard ducklings I got to see on vacation. #birds #nature #wildlife #PhotographersUnited

Two Mallard ducklings swimming on calm water. The ducklings are beside each other, one duckling behind the closest one and only partially visible. The ducklings are fuzzy and brown, with yellow spotting, yellow throats and faces. They have dark lines through their eyes and the tops of their heads are brown.

Mike Saunders 🇺🇦@hardwaterhacker· Jul 6

One of two hen Mallards that came down the shoreline every afternoon with their chicks. It was a relaxing time of listening to loons while waiting for them to come along the shore. #birds #nature #wildlife #PhotographersUnited

A horizontal photo of a hen Mallard and five ducklings. The hen is in the back and in focus. Her five ducklings closer to the camera and in front of her. Due to a shallow depth of field, only the hen is in focus.

The ducks are swimming on calm water, the only ripples caused by their movements. The water looks green due to the reflection of trees along the shoreline. The right side of the photo has a golden band from sunlight reflecting off trees.

The hen has a mottled dark and light brown appearance overall. She has a darker cap and line that runs through her eye. Her upper bill is mostly dark, with some orange spotting, while her lower bill is a dull orange. The chicks are yellow and brown, with strong dark eye lines.

Mike Saunders 🇺🇦@hardwaterhacker· Jul 5

I finally saw a Gray Wolf! I've heard them many times and seen tracks from them walking past my campsite, but this was my first time actually seeing one. It was quite wary but it paused long enough to get this shot through the windshield. #nature #wolf #wildlife #PhotographersUnited

A horizontal photo of a Gray Wolf standing on a gravel road in the forest. The wolf is in the center of the photo, its body facing away and its head turned towards the camera. The wolf is mostly tan, with white visible on the belly. The back has a base of black and is punctuated with white, gray, and brown. The wolf's face is tan, with a broad snout and nose patch, and rounded ear tips.

Mike Saunders 🇺🇦@hardwaterhacker· Jul 4

We found this lovely Snowshoe Hare a a popular Boundary Waters entry point. #nature #wildlife #Minnesota #PhotographersUnited

A horizontal photo of a Snowshoe Hare sitting on a gravel surface, surrounded by grasses and flowering white clover. The hare is on the right half of the photo, looking to the left. As the photo was taken in July, the hare is in its brown coloration phase. The hair is a warm brown, with a darker base visible in spots. The hare's eye reflects the blue sky and trees.

Mike Saunders 🇺🇦@hardwaterhacker· Jul 4

We left the cabin before sunrise (5 AM) to go on a wildlife tour. We saw a beautiful fox that I didn't get a photo of. A while later, we saw this beauty who let us admire her for about 20 minutes while she grazed on aspen. #Minnesota #moose #nature #wildlife #PhotographersUnited

Mike Saunders 🇺🇦@hardwaterhacker· Jul 2

A Bee-mimic Beetle drying out on an Oxeye Daisy. #macro #macrophotography #insect #invertebrate #nature #PhotographersUnited

A macro photo of a Bee-mimic Beetle in an Oxeye Daisy. The Daisy has many white petals that form a circle, cupping upwards. The central disc florets are yellow.

The beetle is black, with a square-shaped abdomen with two horizontal white lines on each side that run from the margin to the center. The thorax curves downwards on the sides and is covered in fine yellow hairs. The underside of the beetle is also covered in fine yellow hairs, much more densely covered. The beetle has six legs.

Mike Saunders 🇺🇦@hardwaterhacker· Jun 30

We're on vacation and got rained in yesterday. I took an opportunity between the rains to photograph these tiny Forget-me-not flowers. #flower #wildflower #macro #macrophotography #PhotographersUnited

A horizontal photo of two Forget-me-not flowers. The flowers are small, less than half an inch across, and are arranged so that the left flower is facing the camera and the right flower is angled about 90 degrees to the right. The flowers are on the left side of the image, with the stalk angling down and exiting the photo at the bottom left corner.

Each flower has five wide, blue petals that have a rounded tip. The margin between each petal is white, giving the impression of a five-pointed star. The center of the flower is yellow and is made up of five yellow oblong structures arranged in a ring. Inside of this ring, more yellow flower parts can be seen. The petals are covered in small raindrops.

The background is completely out of focus. Blue highlights of more forget-me-nots in the background punctuate the green from the surrounding grasses.

Mike Saunders 🇺🇦@hardwaterhacker· Jun 29

Blue-eyed Darner (Rhionaeschna multicolor). I believe this is a blue-form female. Found in the Sheyenne State Forest, ND. #insect #nature #wildlife #PhotographersUnited

A horizontal photo of a blue-form female Blue-eyed Darner dragonfly. The dragonfly is perched on a stick near the center of the photo, it's tail near the bottom left, facing towards the upper right. We see the dragonfly's top side. The dragonfly is a larger dragonfly with an orange abdomen. The abdomen has a series of orange and black triangles repeating along the length it. In between the back set of wings, there is a blue band on the abdomen.

The wings are clear except for a thin orange band on the leading edge of each wing, near the tips. The large eyes are brown, rimmed in yellow-green.

The background is out of focus, showing branches, bright green leaves in sunlight, and dark green in shadow.

Mike Saunders 🇺🇦@hardwaterhacker· Jun 27

Western Salsify flowers are so much fun to shoot. So many different possibilities for depth of field, composition, and editing. #macro #macrophotography #monochrome #blackandwhite #PhotographersUnited

A horizontal monochrome macrophotography photo of a Western Salsify flower. In this image, we see the core of the seed head, with dozens of long stems connecting to a central structure and fanning out like spokes from the center of a ball. The seeds are textured with rows of dots running along the length of the seeds. Light and shadow cast by the parachutes of the seeds add to the texture. Further above the seeds, the parachutes of the seed head are completely out of focus. While out of focus, they are closer to the camera, giving a feeling of depth. They appear here only as soft white highlights.

Mike Saunders 🇺🇦@hardwaterhacker· Jun 26

Dead Man's Fingers (Xylaria polymorpha). This was a fun find on a recent hike. #macro #macrophotography #fungus #PhotographersUnited

A horizontal photo of Dead Man's Fingers fungus growing on the forest floor, surrounded by vibrant green moss. The fungus gets its name because it looks like fingers growing from the forest floor. This fungus is young, so it is still white, looking like a curved hand with fingers sticking out of the floor. The fungus is white, with yellow-white tips that look like nails. There are two groups of the fungus visible. Each group has 4-5 "fingers".

Mike Saunders 🇺🇦@hardwaterhacker· Jun 25

Another look at Western Salsify. These are always fun to photograph. #wildlflower #macro #macrophotography #PhotographersUnited

A square photo of a Western Salsify flower gone to seed. The end of each seed is a structure like an inverted parachute. The edges of the parachute are white and fluffy. Inside the parachute is a delicate, golden rib structure. The seed grows at the end of a long stem. There are dozens of the seeds visible here in the center of the photo.

Mike Saunders 🇺🇦@hardwaterhacker· Jun 25

Western Salsify (Tragopogon dubius). These flowers look like giant dandelions, both when they're flowering and once they've gone to seed. The seed heads are a little smaller than a baseball and are a great study in texture. #wildflower #macro #macrophotography #PhotographersUnited

A square photo of a Western Salsify flower gone to seed. Each seed is attached to a structure like an inverted parachute. The edges of the parachute are white and fluffy, visible in the photo as faint white lines. Inside the parachute is a delicate, golden rib structure. Some of them are visible, others appear as golden highlights. The seed grows at the end of a long stem. There are dozens of the seeds visible here in the center of the photo. The seed shafts are long and covered in rows of bumps.

Mike Saunders 🇺🇦@hardwaterhacker· Jun 23

After my hike through the Sheyenne National Grassland, I found this Eastern Kingbird waiting for me in the parking lot. #birds #nature #wildlife #PhotographersUnited

Mike Saunders 🇺🇦@hardwaterhacker· Jun 23

The #BirdOfTheDay them is #BirdsInTheirElement. This Greater Prairie Chicken is perfectly colored to blend into the native prairie it calls home. #birds #nature #wildlife

A horizontal photo of a Greater Prairie Chicken sitting in tall prairie grasses. The bird's breast has dark brown bars and alternating white bards. The back is brown, with tan at the edges of the feathers. The bird has long feathers, called pinnae, along the neck. The throat and cheeks are white, while the top of the head is brown with thin white stripes.

The bird is sitting amongst tall prairie grasses. The grasses, growth from the previous year, are gold and brown. The bird is partially obscured by the grasses, showing just how well the bird is camouflaged for its environment.

Mike Saunders 🇺🇦@hardwaterhacker· Jun 22

A White Admiral butterfly in Maplewood State Park. #insect #wildlife #nature #PhotographersUnited

A horizontal photo of a White Admiral butterfly perched on a leaf. The butterfly is facing to the right, situated near the middle of the photo. The wings are pulled back. The underside of the wing has a rusty red color. The outer edge of the wing is dark brown with small white dots. Next to this layer is another dark brown layer, with a two-lined pattern. The outer pattern is two small, thin silver lines. Next is a repeating series of single lines. This pattern appears like small smiley faces.

Next, a line of more intensely red blocks, like squares with rounded edges, spread across the wing. A line of rectangular white cells cross the entire wing surface. The inner surface of the wing is rusty red with a mix of red and silver blocks.

Part of the upper surface of the far wing is visible. It is black with a purple sheen. The white bars also appear on the upper surface of the wings.

The body is fuzzy and black with white dots. The eyes are a coppery color with black dots.

The background is out of focus leaves, showing darker green leaves and more yellow leaves.

Mike Saunders 🇺🇦@hardwaterhacker· Jun 21

An Eastern Kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus) scouting for its next meal in the Sheyenne National Grassland. #birds #nature #wildlife #PhotographersUnited

Mike Saunders 🇺🇦@hardwaterhacker· Jun 20

Nature's little ball of sunshine, a Northern Yellow Warbler. #birds #nature #wildlife #PhotographersUnited