A Photographer’s Delight – The Morton Arboretum

The Morton Arboretum is a 1700 acre conservatory in Lisle Illinois.  Its mission is not only to collect and study trees, shrubs, and plants from around the world but also to display them for study to encourage the planning and conservation of trees and plants. This is a place to visit and explore, learn, and gain experience on the nature of plants, trees, habitat, and research. The Morton Arboretum has something for everyone.

The landscape of the Morton Arboretum contains nine miles of paved roads shared by vehicles, bicyclists, and runners with excellent views of the changing landscape.  Park your car at a designated area and hike the 16 miles of trails through the woods, ponds, and streams. The trails are maintained year round for hiking, cross-country skiing, and snowshoeing.  

American Goldfinch

As a member of the arboretum, I belong to the Morton Arboretum Photographic Society (MAPS).  MAPS is a non-competitive club for nature photographers. We have monthly meetings to share experiences and gain new information on photography.  The meetings have a presentation with well known professional photographers from all over the U.S. to speak about their adventures in photography. The club has periodic group outings including selected sites at the arboretum.  As a visitor you are welcome to the meetings on the second Monday of each month at the Thornhill Education Center.  Doors open at 6:00 pm, and the meeting starts at 7:00 pm.  Hint: You can gain free entrance by telling the gate guard you are attending the Monday night MAPS meeting.

The Morton Arboretum is open year round and there is no end to capturing wildlife at any time of the year.  There are large animals such as deer and smaller ones such as mink, beaver, and coyote to be 

White Tailed Deer

Juvenile Horned Owl

found in the area.  Of course there are birds.  The Morton Arboretum is a favorite resting place for migratory birds during the spring and fall. Spring and fall migrations are best. Over one hundred species can be seen during spring.  There are: Wintering Northern Saw-whet Owls and winter finches, especially crossbills. Breeding Yellow-throated Warblers, Eastern Bluebirds, and occasionally Golden-crowned Kinglets. Migrating warblers, vireos, and flycatchers can be abundant.

The Arboretum offers events and classes on nature such as bird guided tours, photographic walking tours, and various workshops on photography such as landscape photography, and golden hour photography. There even is a workshop on smartphone photography!

A very special event held every November through December is the Morton Arboretum Illumination.  The wooded area around Meadow Lake is lit with colorful lights and beams after the sun goes down for a spectacular display and a challenge for the photographer. On the return trip around the display area, a hot chocolate is waiting for you at the Gingko Café.  My fingers were frozen on that 10 Deg. F. night!

Illumination at the Visitors Center

The daytime hours during the winter season provide plenty of opportunity for some excellent landscape photography especially in black and white. Trees playing with shadows and fog, or snow falling over a stream or river.  The lakes and ponds with sunlight peeking through clouds, or the DuPage River which flows through the property with over hanging tree branches, or reflections in melting snow, or a cardinal against a snowy background sitting on a branch are all photo ready!

Spring is of course birding season.  Migratory birds favor Morton Arboretum because of the environmental opportunities for food and shelter.

  Wild flowers blooming in the woods and prairie provide the chance to photograph some rare species or species that only grow in this part of the state such as “Solitary Pussytoes” or good luck trying to find “Trailing Arbutus.”  Some think it is extirpated in Illinois!  There are plenty of other wild and garden variety flowers to photograph as well as blooming trees such as “Red Buds” and “Magnolias.”   During the summer, the prairie flowers and shrubs grow to head high, offering a chance to photograph birds and flowers without bending over! 

Summer time of course is festival time and the Morton Arboretum has a variety of events to attend.  One of my favorites is the Annual MAPS photography exhibit held each spring in April or May. Other festivals and events are Wine and art walk, Beer tasting, Sumo Wrestling, and Passport Europe, to name a few.  Enjoy live music at some of the events.   It’s an opportunity to photograph people, or take candid shots, or just enjoy the adventure. 

The Visitor Center staff are happy to answer any questions about your visit.  You can call Visitor Services at 630-968-0074

Admission:

$15 Adults ages 18–64  ($10 Wednesdays*)

*Wednesdays are discount admission!
$13 Seniors 65+ ($9 Wednesdays*)
$10 Children ages 2–17 ($7 Wednesdays*)

Children 1 and younger are free

Admission includes FREE parking. Members always enter for free with valid membership credentials. 

The Morton Arboretum offers free general daily admission year-round to active-duty service men or women with a valid ID.

More information can be found at this link: http://www.mortonarb.org  

NOTE: This post was also published in the "PSA Journal" February 2019 pp 36-38