This past fall I was greatly honoured to be accepted to the Whitchurch-Stouffville Studio Tour. Since that time, I have entered into a juried exhibit, had private workshops with a professional photographer, and had my first solo exhibit of my photography at our Town Offices.
Now I have the opportunity, once again, for a solo exhibit, this time at For the Love of Joe, a local coffee shop which supports local artists, who are members of the Studio Tour, to display their art in a wonderful, relaxing setting. With great coffee, by the way!
Today, I took sixteen of my photographs and the owners did an amazing job at hanging them.
It seems this past year has been a rapid evolution for me, with so many new doors being opened. Though I photograph for my own enjoyment, I’m getting more serious about it as an exhibiting artist.
Being able to share here on WordPress has been a game changer for me. It’s an awesome, supportive community, where I can talk about my art and the experience of making my photos, get positive feedback, and interact with other artists around the world. So, thank you everybody for the part you have played and continue to play in my journey.
This week’s submission to Norm 2.0‘s Thursday Doors.
Thursday Doors is a weekly feature allowing door lovers to come together to admire and share their favourite door photos from around the world.
“Belanger House Doors – Royal Ontario Museum”
This is yet another museum door. Not a door to a museum, but a door ‘within’ a museum. I shared another one a few weeks ago. The Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto has a section devoted to Canada and included in that collection are several doors of historical significance.
This door came from Belanger House and dates back to the early 18th century. The house itself was situated outside the Quebec village of Saint-Jean-Port-Joli, on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River. The town itself is now well known for its wood carvers and it would appear that has been the case for several centuries now.
This door highlights the elaborate woodwork that adorned the main room or common room. The museum acquired the entire room around 1931 through ethnologist Marius Barbeau. The museum has two of the four walls on display. In addition to the wall panels they also have three doors, four windows, a fireplace opening, three cupboards, three boxed ceiling beams and three fluted columns.
As I mentioned in my previous post about this display, it shows that doors play an important part in our history and it’s good to see that someone had the foresight to preserve them for all to admire and enjoy.
iPhone 7 back camera @ 4.0mm
1/13sec; f/1.8; ISO 100
“Sometimes people don’t understand the promises they’re making when they make them. But you keep the promise anyway. That’s what love is. Love is keeping the promise anyway.”
― John Green
There are times when I make and image and do a quick review in the camera display, where the title comes to me and sticks. The title of this image, “Promise” was such a moment. As in the word “promise’ itself, there is a pure, innocent, potential. Something to be fulfilled.
This flower, Thimbleweed – Anemone virginiana, not quite fully opened and still delicate, spoke promise to me. I can imagine it as a fully blossomed flower. It still has obstacles to overcome, as does anything in the outdoors. It may be trampled, insects may devour it, a blight may infect it, or some other force of nature may prevent it from achieving its potential. Yet, for now, it’s a promise, something I look forward to being fulfilled, with full confidence, despite adversity.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP AF 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro 1:1 (272ENII)@90mm
1/400 sec, f/9.0 ISO 800
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“The smaller the creature, the bolder its spirit.”
― Suzy Kassem
This started out as an experimental shot, playing with the depth of field of my macro lense and trying my darndest to get a crisp hand-held image, as the lens has no vibration compensation. At this depth of field, back to front ‘sway’ is critical. As you can see, only a very narrow band (the size of the ladybug) is in focus.
As I made the image of this unusually coloured ladybug, I wondered what it was doing, just sitting on the wooden railing. Perhaps it found some microscopic treat to devour? I don’t know, because even at this close range, I can see nothing. Yet it sat there, in this position for several minutes before moving on.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP AF 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro 1:1 (272ENII)@90mm
1/80 sec, f/22.0 ISO 800
High Resolution image on 500px
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“Assuming what people want is about as controlled as using fireworks to start a fire.”
― Criss Jami
With all the recent celebrations of Canada’s 150th year of Confederation and the 4th of July in America these past few days, fireworks have been a bit of a theme. Many people have posted images and written about their country’s celebrations. So, when I made this image of a small group of Yellow Hawkweed, with a soft background, it reminded me instantly of fireworks.
It was such a quick and simple composition and I was not thinking fireworks when I made it. I just liked the bright yellow against the green forest background. I still find myself constantly amazed at the structure of so many wildflowers, that I did not notice at first. This is not my first photo of hawkweed, but for the first time I noticed that the petals, rather than being completely flat, start out as tubes and flatten into a scoop-like structure, with five pointed frills (ligules) at the end.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP AF 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro 1:1 (272ENII)@90mm
1/640 sec, f/9.0 ISO 800
for more images like this, please visit my Facebook page:
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A quick image of bell flowers along the road.
“It’s just some instinct as old as fear: you seek the dark when you hide, you seek the light when the need to hide is gone. All the animals have it too.
― Cornell Woolrich
Here’s a slightly different composition of the bug that photobombed my daisy images a few days ago. This time it’s a bit closer image, with just the back of a single daisy and its resident beetle. I’m not sure what kind of beetle it is. I suppose the more macro photography I do the more I need to learn about the inevitable insects within the photos. I suspect this is some form of weevil, but would value the advice of anyone who knows for certain.
In the end, the composition with the bent flower stalk worked out well, revealing the underside of the daisy clearly as well as the beetle.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP AF 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro 1:1 (272ENII)@90mm
0.8 sec, f/40.0ISO 100
High Resolution image on 500px
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“I must have flowers, always, and always.”
― Claude Monet
I’ve seen these pretty clumps of pink flowers along the roadside before. Many times. I’ve just driven by, last year I saw some and turned the car around to make some photos, but they turned out to be quite disappointing, a bit out of focus, and not showing the characteristics of the flowers well. They are quite pretty and really stand out because of their moderate height and large pink blossoms.
This year I found a few along a local roadside and took the time to gather a few for studio work. It was a hot day, so I carefully clipped them and placed them on the passenger seat floor, in a box to keep them cool, hoping they would not wilt too much. When I got them home, I place them in a vase for a few minutes, though they did not seem to have suffered much from the short journey home.
I made a few images from different angles, but as is usually the case with my compositions, the first, intuitive shot was the best, showing the nature of the flower, with it’s frilly pink petals, a partially emerged blossom and a group of buds, not yet opened below. To this point, I had no idea what type of plant it was, the buds looked a bit like holly-hock. So, as I always do, I went to my wildflower books and found out that it is a musk mallow. I found that a curious name, till I gave it the ‘sniff test’. Yes, musk mallow is indeed a good name for this. So, one more mystery plant identified and documented.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP AF 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro 1:1 (272ENII)@90mm
0.8 sec, f/40.0ISO 100
High Resolution image on 500px
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“Don’t hide yourself from the world and don’t let the world hide himself from you!”
― Mehmet Murat ildan
Photographing anything in or from the wild almost always offers a surprise. In this case, as I was photographing some daisies, a small beetle decided this would be a good time to come from its hiding place and see what all the commotion was about. For a while he was careful to put the stem between him and the camera, so I kept rotating the flower, but the composition was not good. Finally, he tired of the game and stayed put long enough for this image.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP AF 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro 1:1 (272ENII)@90mm
0.8 sec, f/40.0ISO 100
for more images like this, please visit my Facebook page:
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This image is a bit of an oddity for me. I’m usually sharing images of plants, wildlife, landscapes or some of my abstract impressions. Today, I’m sharing a snapshot of a moment in my life. You see, today Canada celebrates 150 years as a nation. A nation I am so proud to call home. A nation where I can travel freely, enjoy incredibly diverse environments. A nation where, quite frankly, I can simply enjoy life, with friends and family. Times where we share our days, our experiences, often over a cool beverage at the end of the day.
This image was an impromptu iPhone composition, made while sharing a beer with my neighbours. The ‘stubby’ beer bottle disappeared from Canadian breweries in the early eighties, in favour of a ‘better’ design. The long necked bottle, yet there is a nostalgia, Canadiana to the stubby.
In celebration of Canada’s 150th anniversary, one of the breweries, Molsons, which makes Canadian Lager, brought the stubby back for a brief time. So, it was a great opportunity to capture this memory. The stubby bottle of Canadian, with a muskoka chair and my neighbourhood in the background as an appropriate starting point to the upcoming celebrations. Happy 150 Canada.
“I am so grateful to be here on this awesome planet with it’s diverse life – everything we need to not just survive but to thrive. I am excited to continually learn more about it, and always curious to see what is going to come up next.”
― Jay Woodman
What better image to post for Canada’s 150th Birthday? I have several, but this Canada Thistle seemed quite appropriate. Despite its name, it is not a native plant, much like many of the citizens of this great country.
When doing my research, if found that of the twelve thistles that grow in Ontario, only one is native. I see it as an analogy to Canada’s people as well. We all came from somewhere else, but you’d think we’ve been here forever, a part of the county’s nature. We become part of our communities, creating a diverse and rich culture, a landscape of people, if you will. Though the country has gone through some bumps along the way, it’s a great place to live and I could not think of anywhere else I’d rather live.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP AF 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro 1:1 (272ENII)@90mm
0.8 sec, f/40.0ISO 100
High Resolution image on 500px
for more images like this, please visit my Facebook page:
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“He imagines a necessary joy in things that must fly to eat.”
― Wendell Berry
A final look at this fleabane plant and accompanying wildlife. The Crescent butterfly, now satisfied, flies off to its next destination, while a small bee arrives to repeat the cycle.
I like the movement in this image. It nicely illustrates the activity that goes on, even around a single plant, all day long. Each visitor, in its turn, partaking of what the plant has to offer; in return, the plant sends its pollen along to neighbouring plants, a hitchhiker tagging along with the hungry visitors, anther cycle. It’s quite a thing to watch, and much of it is missed, since the smaller flies and bees are so small and fast, that they are merely blurs to the naked eye, frozen here, to enjoy and wonder at.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP AF 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro 1:1 (272ENII)@90mm
1/500sec, f/7.1 ISO 400
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“Silence
It has a sound, a fullness.
It’s heavy with sigh of tree,
and space between breaths.
It’s ripe with pause between birdsong
and crash of surf.
It’s golden they say.
But no one tells us it’s addictive.”
― Angela Long
I’m revisiting a Crescent which posed on a clump of Fleabane. My previous post had the butterfly drinking nectar from the flower, with an accompanying bee. In this image, the butterfly simply sits, its wings spread wide, warming in the sunshine. The image also serves to illustrate that even slight changes in a composition can change the whole feel of the image.
While the prior post was filled with activity, this one is quite serene and just pretty to look at. It brings a sense of calm with the pink flowers and the soft green background. Plus, there seems to be something about butterflies at rest that invokes that same restfulness in the observer.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP AF 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro 1:1 (272ENII)@90mm
1/500sec, f/7.1 ISO 400
for more images like this, please visit my Facebook page:
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This week’s submission to Norm 2.0‘s Thursday Doors.
Thursday Doors is a weekly feature allowing door lovers to come together to admire and share their favourite door photos from around the world.
“Zaragoza 20 – San Jose del Cabo”
These weather worn doors are the entrance to La Panga Antigua, a restaurant in the Art District of San Jose del Cabo in Baja California, Mexico. See here for what lies behind these ‘rustic’ doors. You’ll be surprised. I was and now will have to return to sample the interior. I’m also including a Streetview link so you have some context of the neighbourhood.
When I made the image I was simply intrigued by the chunk of wood suspended above the door. It just seemed odd and out of place. Now, as I look up the address and the name of the establishment, it all makes sense, sort of. A Panga, modern derivation traditional dugout fishing boat. Generally, if you say panga, it’s simply interpreted as ‘boat’.
Now it makes sense, La Panga Antigua means “the old boat” and the chunk of wood is actually a piece of an old wooden dugout. Anyways, that mystery is now solved and I can reflect back on the numerous interesting and unique doors in this area of San Jose del Cabo, the Art District. Each vendor trying to differentiate themselves from others, often through the use of doors.
Nikon D800
AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G IF- @ 112mm
1/125 sec, f/5.6 ISO 200
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“The miracle is that the brilliance of the miraculous can live in the blandness of the mundane. The greater miracle is that we have enough brilliance in our own blandness to see it.”
― Craig D. Lounsbrough
I’m finding even common items fascinating lately, as I get ‘close’ to them. The image above is of a common wildflower, or to gardeners, an invasive and prolific weed. I’ve seen entire lawns infested with this plant, yet along a hiking trail, it’s lovely. When composing this image, I realized that it reminded my one of those hugh Georgia O’Keeffe paintings and I think it would translate nicely from photo to painting, something I may do when the snow flies once more. But, for now, I think I’ll set the brushes aside and take in all that nature has to offer my lens and me.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP AF 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro 1:1 (272ENII)@90mm
1/500 sec, f/7.1 ISO 400
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“You lift your head, you’re on your way, but really just to be walking, to be out of doors. That’s it, that’s all, and you’re there. Outdoors is our element: the exact sensation of living there.”
― Frédéric Gros
By far the most common of local meadow butterflies are skippers. Once you spot one, you suddenly see dozens. The name skipper is so appropriate too, as they move quickly from flower to flower. They do sit still long enough to snap a photo or two, then they are on the move again.
Like I said, once you see one it seems the meadow is filled with them. If I stand and carefully observe, there are time where a single plant may have two or three on it at any given time. I’m not sure of the precise species and have not done an exhaustive study of them. They have become a fallback when the dragonflies are too active.
As in previous shots, this is my first foray into outdoor macro photography of insects and I have to say it’s a lot of fun, yet has its own challenges. When I photograph butterflies with my 70-300 zoom, I don’t have to be overly close and depth of field is not such an issue. With the macro, I have to move close and hopefully, not disturb by subject. I’m sure other insect photographers are smiling at this point. It’s not as easy as it seems, but I’m learning and loving every minute of it, especially when processing the images and noticing all the fine details.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP AF 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro 1:1 (272ENII)@90mm
1/400 sec, f/11 ISO 400
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“Like all sweet dreams, it will be brief, but brevity makes sweetness, doesn’t it?”
― Stephen King
Much of the conservation land surrounding my home, including parks and hiking trails, was, at some not too distant time, farmland. It’s difficult to visualize, as I walk through now forested areas. Every now and then though, evidence of former use makes itself known.
On one particular site, many perennial sweet peas can be found at the perimeter of meadows, especially now that they are beginning to bloom. They are quite lovely and I thought worth sharing.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP AF 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro 1:1 (272ENII)@90mm
1/320 sec, f/7.1 ISO 400
for more images like this, please visit my Facebook page:
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“There are 365 days in a year and you will meet all the colours of life throughout the year: The blue, the black, the pink… Only blue is not a life, only pink is not a life, only black is not a life! Life is all the colours!”
― Mehmet Murat ildan
The outdoors is filled with unexpected gifts. As I set out to photograph the Lady Slipper Orchids last Saturday, that was my only goal. I had no intention of stopping on the way in, nor on my way out of the forest where they grow. I suppose such is the nature of a fixed agenda, no room for anything else.
As those who follow this blog on a regular basis will have noticed, there has been a recent shift from flowers to insects. Fear not, I will continue with flowers as well, but there have been great opportunities presented to photograph some of the local wildlife, primarily insects as well. I photograph because I enjoy being able to share my experiences and learn new things along the way.
One of those learning opportunities occurred when I photographed this “Blue”, or more precisely, a Spring Azure butterfly. These tiny, quick moving, and skittish butterflies are often sitting on the trail, but seldom stick around long enough to photograph. This one was considerate enough to pose on a blade of grass, long enough to get this image, as well as a side shot, which helped me identify it when I got home.
The learning piece of the story comes from having a clear macro image of the butterfly, revealing the fine blue hairs on it’s torso and being able to see the tiny, blue, iridescent scales on its wings, which give it that slightly metallic look. If I had to do it again, I would have narrowed the aperture a bit more, but I was also fighting a breeze that day, which limited me to a higher shutter speed and I did not want to bump the ISO much more.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP AF 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro 1:1 (272ENII)@90mm
1/500 sec, f/11.0 ISO 400
for more images like this, please visit my Facebook page:
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“She glitters like she walked out of a Klimt painting”
― Jandy Nelson
I came across this Emerald Jewelwing, who was resting briefly on a leaf just below eye level. There are time where they just sit and pose for long periods, but not today. This brief pause lasted only a few seconds and it was fluttering madly about once more, in the warming air above me. It also provided me a challenge, as half of its body was shaded by a leaf, a common problem when doing nature photography, and it was not about to be moved, nor could I move the leaf over without disturbing it. So, I ended up with a less than ideal, partially shaded image, which is better than nothing at all
With a motion a bit like a butterfly, random and seemingly without direction, the jewel wings float and dart among the branches. This leads me to wonder what the purpose of this haphazard motion is? Since they are not quick, like dragonflies, I wonder if the random movement protects them from predators, it certainly makes it difficult to photograph them in flight.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP AF 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro 1:1 (272ENII)@90mm
1/250 sec, f/7.1 ISO 100
for more images like this, please visit my Facebook page:
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“He was a killer, a thing that preyed, living on the things that lived, unaided, alone, by virtue of his own strength and prowess, surviving triumphantly in a hostile environment where only the strong survive.
– Jack London
You never know what you may come across while doing macro photography. I had stopped to make a picture of this bladder campion, but was a bit disappointed in its advanced condition. As I reviewed the shot to verify focus and exposure, I noticed this sneaky crab spider lurking on the bladders. I’m seeing these spiders a lot lately, it seems almost every plant has one hiding somewhere.
This image shows the spider in its typical attack position, sitting above the bladder, waiting to pounce on some unsuspecting insect. It’s quite the effective predator. This one is quite large, with a pea sized abdomen.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP AF 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro 1:1 (272ENII)@90mm
1/400 sec, f/7.1 ISO 100
for more images like this, please visit my Facebook page:
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“Time is for dragonflies and angels. The former live too little and the latter live too long.”
– James Thurber
Here’s another companion from my orchid hike. A beautiful yellow dragonfly, sunning itself in the warm trailside sunshine. If someone could help me out with its identification, that would be appreciated.
I’ve had varying luck photographing dragonflies, and this is my first shot of one using my 90mm macro lens. I’m quite pleased with how it turned out. The light was just right to highlight the veining in its wings.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP AF 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro 1:1 (272ENII)@90mm
1/250 sec, f/7.1 ISO 100
High Resolution Image on 500px
for more images like this, please visit my Facebook page:
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“We only know a tiny proportion about the complexity of the natural world. Wherever you look, there are still things we don’t know about and don’t understand. […] There are always new things to find out if you go looking for them.”
― David Attenborough
There are moments in our lives that leave us breathless. For me, one of those moments occurred last year, when I came across this small cluster of Showy Lady Slipper orchids. They are native to my region and seem to be fairly scarce, as I have not seen them anywhere else, but here. The ‘grove’ currently consists of five flowering plants and two non-bloomers, all tightly grouped around a rotting balsam log, right next to a trail. I’m encouraged in that I spotted a few new plants, just in leaf, popping up nearby and I’m hoping this expansion continues.
I wrote about my discover around this time last year and my anxiety that someone might pick them or dig them up before they bloomed. The plants are quite stunning, being almost a half meter tall with large, intricate blossoms. As I photographed them this year, I was dismayed, as someone had picked one of the blossoms and another had been trampled down, likely by the same person, in their quest for the largest flower. Unfortunately, the plants grow quite close to the trail and are easily visible, if you are looking for them.
I’m getting better at picking up on the cycles of these magnificent wildflowers, based on other companion plants, saving me numerous trips back to this locale, which is also a haven for mosquitoes, which hungrily buzzed around me as I squatted low to get my photos. Oh, the joys of nature photography. It’s all worth it for even a single image like this.
One final challenge, bugs aside, is the poor lighting conditions. The orchids grow in a heavily wooded lowland, thick and dark and green. So it’s a real challenge to set white balance. To get the desired details, I also had to push my ISO higher than I like to get good detail. It was also windy, adding unwanted movement and limiting my exposure time. All in all, a good lesson on lighting and adapting camera settings, since I did not want to blow this opportunity to capture a good image. A return trip is unlikely till next weekend.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP AF 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro 1:1 (272ENII)@90mm
1/15 sec, f/18.0 ISO 1000
for more images like this, please visit my Facebook page:
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“What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity. These are but trifles, to be sure; but scattered along life’s pathway, the good they do is inconceivable.”
― Joseph Addison
Yesterday morning, my son and I went for a hike to see how a patch of Showy Lady Slipper orchids were coming along. More on that in a future post. On the way into the forest, the wildflower lined path was abuzz with nectar seeking insects, crowding onto the blossoms dining and sunning themselves.
We’ve had yet another wave of rainy days and I’m sure the wildlife is also feeling the effects of wind and downpour. So, when the day dawned bright and clear, the opportunity to feast opened up.
In the image above, a Pearly Crescent butterfly works its way around a fleabane blossom, a small bee dines next door, the the next visitor arrives from above, to share in the bounty of this single plant. The pattern repeated throughout the meadow as the world eagerly greeted the sun once more.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP AF 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro 1:1 (272ENII)@90mm
1/500 sec, f/7.1 ISO 100
for more images like this, please visit my Facebook page:
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“Waiting for you
is as delightful as
waiting for sunset.”
― Kamand Kojouri
Hey, will you look at that, a flower that is not pink for a change. The seasons are turning, and as my lovely peonies fade into memory, yellow has returned in full force.
This flower, which we mistakenly named ‘moon flower’ when we first got it from my mother-in-law, who also called it that, because it opens at dusk. It’s a fascinating plant to watch, though with foliage that very closely resembles dandelion, some do not survive till summer. I’ve pulled a few before realizing the error.
In any case, the flowers start as elongated pods with pointed ends. You can actually sit and watch them twitch before they open rapidly. Yes, they actually move from the energy of their opening. Then, in the blink of an eye, the pod bursts open at one seam and the delicate yellow petals unwind, yielding this wonderful, bright yellow blossom. The split pod can be seen below the flower in the image above. As the plant gets bigger, it may produce three to five blossoms in one night. The blossoms are short lived though, shrivelling up at dawns light, having been pollinated by moths and other night flying insects.
I have yet to watch one open this year. This one was already fully opened when I saw it.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP AF 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro 1:1 (272ENII)@90mm
0.8 sec, f/36.0 ISO 100
High Resolution image on 500px
for more images like this, please visit my Facebook page:
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“Everyday can be extraordinary
And ripe,
Like a flower burst,
If the will is there.”
― Scott Hastie
As a follow up to yesterday’s post, I revisited the bud I photographed the day before, titled “Opening Soon“. Well. it did open and I’m still amazed at how all this pomp and frill can fit inside such a small bud.
The peony season is beginning to wind down and we had a torrential downpour yesterday, which did not help them much. Yet, some survived and keep providing us pleasure through their soft and intricate blossoms.
This was, however, my only peony image of the day, as it was bright and sunny today, so I ventured out to see how the wild orchids were fairing. More on that tomorrow.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP AF 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro 1:1 (272ENII)@90mm
2.0 sec, f/36.0 ISO 100
High Resolution image on 500px
for more images like this, please visit my Facebook page:
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“You get peace of mind not by thinking about it or imagining it, but by quieting and relaxing the restless mind.”
― Remez Sasson
Alas, the next wave of peonies is upon me. All the varieties are now in full bloom, some already spend and the buds of the second generation of flowers is beginning to open. These secondary blossoms tend to be a bit smaller but no less beautiful.
I spotted this blossom, just starting to open this morning, and as a write, it’s already opened to twice its size. Once more, it rained, yet the blossoms are surviving and the water droplets add a certain ‘freshness’ to the image. That combination of life and newness brings a sense of peace to me, as the day and the blossom opens up to its potential.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP AF 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro 1:1 (272ENII)@90mm
2.0 sec, f/36.0 ISO 100
High Resolution image on 500px
for more images like this, please visit my Facebook page:
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“Ants always eat sweet food … but none of them haven’t diabetes ?”
― Ali Ghasaby
Among the residents of peonies are, of course, ants. Ants of all sizes and shapes thrive on the sweet nectars the peonies offer from bud to blossom. It would be a rare occasion when I bring a peony blossom indoors that an ant does not emerge at some point. It’s a given.
As I photographed my post-rain peonies, I took the opportunity to try my hand at photographing the ant as it clung to the edge of a leaf. Since I was shooting handheld, I had to adjust my aperture up a bit, which meant I sacrificed depth to get an acceptable shutter speed. If I had to do this again, I would have bumped my ISO, and closed the aperture a bit more, but this is how I learn. There will be more ants.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP AF 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro 1:1 (272ENII)@90mm
1/320 sec, f/5.0 ISO 100
for more images like this, please visit my Facebook page:
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This week’s submission to Norm 2.0‘s Thursday Doors.
Thursday Doors is a weekly feature allowing door lovers to come together to admire and share their favourite door photos from around the world.
“322 Dundas Street West” – Toronto
In this image, it’s the doorway, not so much the doors that draw my attention. Along this stretch of Toronto heritage buildings, and across from the Art Gallery of Ontario, this one really stands out, with its fuchsia columns and yellow brick. I had to go through my media library to verify I had not posted it previously and it turns out that I have not.
I found that odd, that I have not yet posted an image of doors that I have enjoyed for several years. As it turns out, my oldest daughter’s friend lived here for a few years. It is a small world.
iPhone 7 back camera @ 4.0mm
1/300 sec; f/1.8; ISO 80
“Green was the silence, wet was the light,
the month of June trembled like a butterfly.”
― Pablo Neruda
As I came outside yesterday, I was filled with the sweet aroma of Peony. Our walkway is bordered by two enormous peony plant. They stand nearly five feet (just under two meters) tall and are now so big that an extra large peony ring will not hold them. I’ve taken to using rope to hold them in place. Each bush has close to fifty blossoms open at any given time and, being heirloom peonies, the fragrance is beautiful.
It rained on and off most of yesterday, yet they did not flop over too badly. The flowers, though plentiful, are not huge, so that may be a saving grace. Because of the rains, the blossoms were completely dew covered and I went inside to grab my camera to make a few photos of this morning delight.
As I was making the images, I became aware that I was not alone in enjoying these blooms. Ants, spiders and flies were active as well. This little green fly caught my eye and did not take of as I got closer to make the image. I have no idea of what type of fly it is, but it made for a pleasing image, posed on the pink dewy petals, basking in the early morning sunshine, the first day of summer.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP AF 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro 1:1 (272ENII)@90mm
1/800 sec, f/5.0 ISO 100
for more images like this, please visit my Facebook page:
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“As I leave the garden
I take with me a renewed view,
And a quiet soul.”
― Jessica Coupe
This lovely purple flowered plant was given to me by my grandmother many years ago and is well established in the garden. For years I called it Bee-Balm, being uncertain of what it really was. It always reminded me a bit of nettle or overgrown Creeping Charley.
One of the joys of photography, which I have mentioned before, is that it allows me the ability to look at things more carefully and to use internet tools to search images. So, I now know that this plant is called Henbit or Henbit Dead-nettle. That explains my perception of it being some variety of nettle. Honestly though, I’m a bit disappointed in the name. It seems so dull for such a beautiful plant.
The plant is a great attractor of bees and hummingbirds, though a bit unsightly till it puts up flowers. The flowers are quite long lasting and we enjoy them through most of late June into July. It’s also quite photogenic and has given me a break from my peonies, which continue to provide their enjoyable fragrance and beautiful blossoms.
Nikon D800
Tamron SP AF 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro 1:1 (272ENII)@90mm
2.0sec, f/32.0 ISO 100
High Resolution image on 500px
for more images like this, please visit my Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/EdLehming
or my website (some images available for purchase)
http://www.edlehming.com
Ed Lehming Photography 
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