Other Flowers

After a dinner with family visiting from Cleveland, I noticed tiny daisies in the yard of their vacation home. It was covered in them! I crawled around until I saw a perspective I liked.

I compose this shot of cattails along the Pentwater River with my largest telephoto lens. On my Nikon D7000 camera body, which does not have a full-frame sensor, my 500-millimeter lens is making an image that is the equivalent of 750 millimeters or a 15-power scope. The resulting compression and shallow depth of field or focus helps me make a dreamy-looking image that emphasizes the fuzziness and large amount of cattails. F5.6 at 1/1000, ISO 800, 500mm lens at 500mm

The sun was shining bright today, and I think the bees were enjoying the warmth because they were very active in my brother and sister-in-law’s garden. Using my 105mm macro lens and getting in close, I was able to capture this image.

Rachel and I made the ten-hour drive south to visit my mom in Clarksville, Tennessee today. The house she is renting has a beautiful backyard full of flowers, birds, and critters. This stargazer lily greeted us as we pulled into her driveway.

Brad and I took a quick trip to visit his mom, Kay, in Tennessee. She has several flower gardens around her house. This one stood out above the rest.

This softball-size wonder of nature stood out like a white stop light in the green grass along the roadside south of Ludington. I stopped my vehicle for a better look. The close-up view is far more impressive than the one from behind the steering wheel. F8.0 at 1/250, ISO 200, 80-200 mm lens at 200 mm

Kay, Brad, and I took a walk along the Cumberland Riverwalk in Clarksville today. We shared lots of stories and laughter. This blooming bush was too lovely to pass! I knew it had to be my photo of the day.

Wild mustard grass grows all over Michigan and is one of our favorite "added ingredients" in our photographs. Today I wanted it to be the "special of the day," so I got in close and isolated one plant that looked particularly beautiful. F2.8 at 1/500, ISO 800, 18-50mm lens at 44mm

Sweet peas still wearing the morning dew create a colorful pattern along Iris Road. I make the picture and then discover my Suburban has a dead battery. Oh well, more time to smell the flowers while waiting for a Good Samaritan. F5.6 at 1/320, ISO 100, 500 mm lens at 500 mm

As I am walking along the marshy shore of Lincoln Lake at Epworth Heights, I notice how some pink daisies are catching the light as they sway in a gentle breeze. I work hard to time my exposure to a moment when several of the daises are sunlit. F5 at 1/400, ISO 200, 300mm lens at 300mm

Daisies make me smile. This little cluster in my backyard made me happy tonight as I searched for my photo of the day.

This wild tiger lily is one of dozens of these colorful roadside attractions lining Meyers Road between Ludington and Scottville. It is a bit breezy so I will have to shoot at a fast shutter speed and bump up the ISO to make a sharp image, but I like the way the picture looks in the viewfinder. F3.2 at 1/250, ISO 200, 80-200 mm lens at 200 mm

These bright red lilies lining my brother’s driveway were beautiful tonight!

I love playing with light and shadows. Using part of the background to help a subject stand out and become the star is always fun for me as an artist.

My mom always has fresh flower bouquets on her tables in the summer. Her gardens keep her happy!

The family and I spent the morning playing golf at Golden Sands Golf Course near Silver Lake on this 4th of July. On the way home, I found these wildflowers at the corner of 56th Avenue and Deer Road. The amazing clouds and gorgeous light made a wonderful backdrop for this scene.

When getting extremely close to a subject with a wide-angle macro lens, you will notice some very obvious distortion, especially near the outside edges of the composition. I loved how this flower and bee on Mackinac Island looked in my viewfinder and I love the final print even more. F4.5 at 1/2500, ISO 800, 18-50mm lens at 50mm

After sitting for a Reed family portrait with Sue Brown, I found these daisies in my Uncle Budde and Aunt Sheryl's flower garden. Daisies just have a way of making people smile. F4.5 at 1/100, ISO 1000, 18-50 mm lens at 18 mm

Today my dad and I were invited by Dr. Heather Keough of the Federal Forest Service to help count the Karner Blue Butterflies that live in the Manistee National Forest. The Karner Blue Butterflies are an endangered species. Dr. Keough and her team are trying to re-grow the Michigan savannah so that the rare creatures can reproduce naturally. F9.0 at 1/80, ISO 100, 300 mm lens at 300 mm

These tall ornamental looking grasses along Veterans Oak Grove Drive in Manistee intrigue my senses. I have tried several times to make a good photograph of them, but was never successful. Today, the light was perfect and we had just the right amount of wind for me to capture what I had previsualized years ago. F8 at 1/250, ISO 100, 70-200mm lens at 200mm