“After few days of of showing their bright pink faces to the warming sun, the Spring Beauties take a rest, allowing the cool spring rains to refresh them till the sun returns again.” – Ed Lehming

It’s mid-April and every day can’t be warm and sun-filled. These cool and rainy days are all part of the growing cycle and it has been, till now, quite dry in the local forests, so the gentle rain is most welcomed. I don’t mind being out on these days, particularly if it’s not pouring. Cool and rainy days provide me with other opportunities to observe the living forest and to note the behaviors of wildflowers at a time when most people remain at home and dry. The dull, soft light is also ideal for photographing wildflowers. Bright sunshine often washes out details.

The Spring Beauties have been blooming steadily for the past few days, providing me with lots of photo opportunities. These same cheerful little ephemerals close up in cool or rainy conditions, dropping their heads and protecting their pollen form washing away. It also protects them from cool evening, and now, daytime temperatures.

These conditions also force me to look for alternate compositions that don’t focus on open blossoms. This one seemed quite natural and shows nice details of Spring Beauty plant structures that are easily missed when focusing on pretty blossoms. I enjoy spending time with images like this, appreciating the hidden details that reveal so much about the environment in which the plants grow, like the wet, partially decomposed leaf that the plant has pushed up from the ground, exposing the soil to sunshine and providing opportunity for other seeds to germinate.

At this time of year I can almost hear and see the slow eruption of life from the forest floor, there is such a profusion of growth, even on rainy days like this.

Nikon D800
Tamron SP AF 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro 1:1 (272ENII)@90mm
1/100 sec, f/22, ISO 800