Jul 16
As beautiful as wildflowers may be, their backgrounds are typically very distracting. Using a very large aperture can make backgrounds into big blobs of color such as with this tiny Fleabane. It can even make hot spots somewhat pleasing. So next time you capture a flower, open wide! (Canon 70-200 (f/4 non IS) Left image at f/13. Right at f/4)
Jul 15
This gorgeous flower was captured at the Flagstaff Arboretum. I’m usually diligent about writing down identities but I forgot this one. It appears to be a geranium (Purple Sticky, maybe?) but it’s not in any of my books so it must not be a native. Anyway….the background was on the gray side so I used Topaz to convert to B/W, added grain and then brought back a little color.
Jul 14
On my list of wildflowers to scout for while in Flagstaff was the Sego Lily so I was thrilled to discover this one on the Aspen Nature Loop. The wind had really picked up and the flower was in the shade so I knew I would need crank up the ISO to capture it while it was swaying. (ISO 800. Canon 70-200@98, 1/3200 sec@ f/10).
Jul 13
Wildflowers are coming out in force in the Flagstaff area and will continue through the summer. I hiked a fairly new trail with a friend yesterday called the Aspen Nature Loop which is accessed from the same parking area as the Humphrey’s Peak Trail. We found well over 30 species! I’ll feature some of my favorites during this week. Unlike the majority of our desert flowers, you don’t need a magnifying glass to see them. Prairie Plume (Geum triflorum
Jul 11
Monument Plant, Elkweed or Deer’s Ears….whatever you call it….it is definitely one of the most interesting flowers I’ve ever seen! Since I’ve posted photos of this flower before, I decided to give this a Topaz filter treatment. Canon 24-105mm @73mm. ISO 400, 1/400 sec At f/5.
Jul 10
Found at the back of the campground. (Canon 70-200@98mm. ISO 400, 1/400th sec at f/5)
Jul 9
I’m not positive what flower this was but it looks like a Dandelion. Whatever it is, I could have spent an hour or more photographing it! I’m typically with others, though, and have to grab a quick shot. I was fortunate to have a mass of yellow flowers behind this one which really sets it off. (Captured with the Canon 24-105mm lens at 60mm. ISO 400. 500th sec @f/5.0).
Jun 22
My back-up drives are nearly full but rather than buying more storage, I decided to start culling out worthless images…..something I’ve been thinking about for some time. Lightroom makes the process go relatively quickly and so far I’ve been able to recover a considerable amount of space.
Besides enjoying a trip down memory lane, I’m also finding images I have never processed like this Icelandic Poppy and Spider from June, 2003.
Spiders will wait for prey on flowers loaded with pollen.
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