Yellow

During autumn leaves make the tree. In a few short weeks textures and branches will be its signature. This small tree will once again be hidden under its larger neighbors.

Head to Head

As you can imagine this does not have a happy ending for the grasshopper. Crab spiders can adapt their color somewhat to blend into the flowers as they lay in wait for prey. Web spinning spiders are hard to see during the day making this spider one of my favorite spiders to photograph when looking for butterflies.

Prairie Sky and Cactus

The wide open sky draws me to the prairie over and over. This day's intermittent clouds kept the cactus flowers open and added drama to a windy day. 

Technical: On camera flash was used to brighten the flowers.

Cactus Close Up

I was in photographer's heaven shooting cactus on Thursday. Yellow is almost one stop brighter than neutral and would have been a real challenge back in the old days of film. Lightroom has solved the exposure problem although I still shoot yellow at +2/3 or +1. More to come.

Relationships

I am frequently asked what I like to shoot and the stock answer is nature, stills if it holds still and video if it moves. However the real answer is I like to shoot relationships. This  is an example of how a photograph can have more than one meaning. Is this David and Goliath, parent/child, small/big, or green/yellow? Let your mind wander, what is it to you?

Color and Texture

The golden rod and red rock seem to go together as a bouquet of color.  Recorded during a shower which enhanced the color of the rock but not my comfort. This image is in stark contrast to yesterday's blog image.

Flandrau Field

Our local state park has a unique history, serving as a prisoner of war camp during World War II, but it has very few native plants.  This field is a modest attempt to restore an old field. This image was enhanced with Lightroom and attempted with HDR processing.  The graduated filter in Lightroom was more realistic which I'm finding on most of the images that can be done with HDR.  I shoot an image within the exposure range and make necessary adjustments.

The Digital Sketchbook

I often talk about doing a digital sketchbook when teaching.  The idea is that a subject attracts my attention for a reason that is not readily apparent but through a visual exploration the reason eventually is found.  Last week this image was the final result of a sketchbook.  I lost count of the time and number of sketches during the process, part of the joy of photography. The starting image is below. Technical: no cropping, saturation -57.

Puccoon & Lupine

Each of us sees an image in a unique way. On one hand this is an image of two prairie species that frequently grow in proximity.  Another viewer might see this as a study of yellow and purple.  In either case the photographer's challenge is selecting a frame to show a proper proportion of yellow and purple to create an interesting image. 

Crab Spider on Lady Slipper

Continuing the exploration of the this lady slipper.  The spider is what originally attracted my attention with its white body on the green petal.  I would have expected it to be more camouflaged on the flower while waiting for lunch to land. The challenge of the composition was showing both the spider and flower but keeping the spider as the subject of the image.

Another View

I spent a lot of time with this lady slipper and tried a variety of angles using the hillside setting to my advantage.    The shadow in the lower left is from a leave in front of the lens that was not noticed at the time.  Technical: f8, 180 macro, on a tripod, ISO 800

Small Yellow Lady Slipper

Time for a little color. I came across a group of lady slippers while driving around in the rain last week.  After slipping on the rain gear and throwing a chamois cloth over the camera I spent an hour looking for compositions.  Technical: underexposed 2/3 stop to preserve the highlights in the flower.

Horsethief Butte

This is a view on the Washington side of the Columbia Gorge.  As you head upstream the land opens up to prairie habitat.  Horsethief Butte is a climbing and rappelling center and crowded with enthusiasts on weekends.

If I were a hammer . . .

. . .all the world would be a nail.  To a macro photographer all the world is small.  I recently visited our daughter in Oregon and while waiting for her rappelling class to finish I explored the Columbia River Gorge. Since the light was so bright and flat macro was the only way to go.

Scientist or artist?

What do you see?  Do you see bracts, sepals, and petals?  Do you see a bright, energetic morning?  That's the beauty of photography.  Photographed in Burnett Co., WI.