“Starshine”
“Small white stars dot the deep green carpet of the forest floor, a private constellation of purity.” – Ed Lehming
Starflower (Lysimachia borealis) was what I set out to photograph earlier this week. To my dismay, the hot dry weather had accelerated their blooms and I only found a few still flowering. But it was not a total loss, the few that remained were still in good condition and I was able to make this image.
The more time I spend hiking the more keenly aware I become of my natural surroundings. I’ve seen starflower plants emerging from between dried leaves since early May, making note of where the larger colonies where, so i could return at a later date. I’ve gotten better at identifying plants as tiny sprouts and flowerless greenery.
Part of my routine now is to seek out plants that I am not as familiar with, photograph them, and study them once I get home. That was the case with starflowers only a few years ago. They seemed quite rare at the time but as I became familiar with them, I find them to be quite abundant, which I a good thing, since they are such beautiful flowers, if every so briefly.
They can be a challenge to photograph since the bright white contrasts strongly with the deep green foliage. I tend to underexpose my images and correct in post-processing.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP AF 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro 1:1 (272ENII)@90mm
1/125 sec, f/16.0, ISO 1600
Ed Lehming Photography 
Nice photo and story !
Thank you
Beautiful. I love small, shy flowers. Where I grew up in Newfoundland I used to love searching for May flowers in the spring. The flower itself is small and tends to hide under the foliage and can be challenging to find. But the scent is so nice I would pick big bouquets of them for my mother. I wish I could post a pic along with my comment to show you. since you are a forest walker you may even see them where you live. They seem to favor cooler climates though.
Hi Carol, you can post a link to your post in comments. I’m curious, since different areas have plants they call ‘mayflowers’ and they are all different. For example, my mother-in-law calls Hepatica ‘mayflower’.
Tell you what, I was planning on writing a post about growing up “back home” anyway. I will post of pic of the mayflowers with it.