Made with a Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM.
This shot is a holdover from this past Sunday. I spent a good half hour stalking my quick fire hydrangea as it lay awash in rich golden light and carpenter bees. Despite the abundance of airborne insects doing their pollinating thing it what seemed like fast forward, I couldn’t get a single carpenter bee to stop let alone face toward me. Left with just the business end of the abdomen, I’m still happy with the result.
This one took a bit of investigating. I have a prominent bush in my back yard that blooms in late summer with some beautiful and bug friendly flowers. As I type I’m certain it’s swarming with life.
I’ve had my suspicion it was some kind of hydrangea but I was never certain as it seemed a little too sparse and a little too large. Alas, my mom got to the bottom of things at a local flower shop this afternoon and came through to let me know that this here shrubbery is a quick fire hydrangea.
With all that said I look forward to more macro goodness at the feet of this flowering shrub in the coming weeks.
This photograph with its smooth bokeh and colorful pastels brings a smile to my face. Standing sentry this solemn yet proud purple coneflower is ready to live out its reign having just donned its tender floral crown. It is here I only wish all rulers would radiate such modesty and grace under the seductive weight of power and responsibility. It ain’t easy being king—even if you’re just a flower.
What? More black and white purple coneflowers? Can’t stop, won’t stop.
This is a natural successor to my shot last week; all the same principles applied rending a stark low key macro study of the echinacea flower. Approaching the shot from an angle this time allows the eye to travel through the shallow depth of field—in and out of focus—settling at the center point. It amazes me that this flowerhead was roughly the size of a nickel, and that despite its relative smallness it’s able to pack in all those stamen over such a small area. Not only that, it’s able to still create the feeling a room between them. No personal space issues here. As always nature is pretty cool.
My potted purple coneflower wins my appreciation this day. I spent a chunk of my afternoon shooting macros of a nascent cleome in my side yard making what I thought were good shots. They just weren’t as intricate and gripping as this echinacea. From the moment I saw this on my rear display I knew I was going black and white. This is a look (style?) I want to continue to develop; stark, low key still life studies with deep shadows, purposeful highlights, and enough contrast to let the negative space breathe. Photographs that accentuate clean lines and sharp edges that reach out for attention.
And just to editorialize on this image for a little bit, this totally makes my mind think of the wondrous reality that is spacetime. The fabric of space is so well represented in the stamen here; with all in its invisible grasp falling ever closer to its lightless, collapsed center.
The daisy is one of the favorite flowers. Simple, plentiful, hearty yet understated. I have two small daisy patches in my front flowerbed and since getting into this whole photography thing they’ve proven some of my favorite flowers to photograph. The reason? Versatility. From bud, to opening, to full blossom, to death, the daisy’s life is an interesting one. A watchable one. Eminently photographable and pure in its plainness, simple white daisy I will always watch you.
On a personal note, this kind of photography excites me: black and white, minimal, low key and emotive. It’s a style I wish to further develop. For me it sorta has this voodoo it factor and this is getting somewhere in that realm for me. My thoughts are vauge if only because my vision is as well.
Today was a day for flower macro stress decompression. In between course testing while working from home I picked up the camera and made my rounds throughout the yard. Stopping at the daisies, tiger lilies, and finally my backyard honeysuckle. It didn’t bloom last year so I’m happy to report its blooms are at the ready and won’t be held down this summer. No sir.
Memorial Day has come and gone and that means peony season is upon me. I have a total of four peonies scattered about my yard, unfortunately only two are set to bloom this year—not quite sure what happened (or didn’t happen) to the other two. Alas, they are set to open and they are seasonal favorites of mine; and while I’m bummed my purple peony won’t be in bloom this year, I still set my lens on this pink beauty just after I watered the lawn yesterday. Rich golden sunlight washed over the blossom and water droplets, just begging for some photo love. Having had limited time with my camera these past few weeks I was happy to oblige.
I know. I’m going nuts with the wisteria photos. This one should be it. For this season anyway.
I’ve come to appreciate my wisteria. It’s seasonal bloom makes the extensive maintenance of trimming (re: hacking) and shaping worth it. If you’ve never encountered a wisteria just know that left unattended its creepers will reach out and take over just about anything. You can work this aggressive expansion to your favor if you plan a setup accordingly, as seen here. With a little forethought it’s certainly all worthwhile. In the interest of full disclosure my wisteria is not set up accordingly. I’ve always been better at giving advice than taking advice.
As for the picture, I’m drawn to the diffuse processing; reducing the clarity lends an ethereal feel to the finish product. As I look about the photograph my whole world slows down. I better appreciate the little things that while small simply hide in plain sight.