Category: Macro

I was so pleasantly surprised with the lily display at Stonehedge last week.  There were so many different colors and varieties and the flowers were so pretty.  This was before the heat wave, so I’m wondering what kind of shape they are in now after a week of 90+ temperatures.  I am sure that the gardeners are tending to the flowers to ensure that they are healthy and beautiful.  To learn more about Stonehedge, visit:    http://www.stonehedge.org/

I’m not sure of the name of this flower, but it’s fiery orange and red colors are symbolic of the heat of summer!   Wow – it was 101 degrees here today and I am thinking that I should be outside watering my flower beds.   I will do that as soon as I finish this post.   I photographed these little flowers at Stonehedge Gardens first with the Lensbaby Composer and Soft Focus Optic and then with my 100mm macro lens.  This final image is a combination along with a painting filter added.   I’ve been fiddling around with my watermark lately to try and come up with something that includes my logo as well as the copyright.  While I don’t want to overpower the image, I do want it to be visible.  What I have now can be moved around the image and the logo and text can be added independently from one another.  Let’s see how long I stick with this one!  🙂 

Selecting a nice background is really important to an image.  If I don’t plan to fill the frame with the subject, I try to make sure that I have a pleasing and uncluttered background.  In this image, I really liked the soft greens, golds, and yellows of the flowers that were behind the subject.  I used the Lensbaby Composer and soft focus optic with very shallow DOF and came away with what I had envisioned in my mind when taking this image. 

When I was a kid I remember seeing SO many fireflies on warm summer evenings.  Now it’s a rarity to see one in my garden, but I  just saw some a few nights ago and it was a real treat!  This little ‘lightning bug’ was perched on a pink coneflower at Stonehedge Gardens as I was photographing with the Lensbaby and Soft Focus Optic.  There are only a few bugs that I would deliberately get this close to – butterflies, ladybugs and fireflies are about it!  🙂

Day Lilies are appropriately named as they only bloom for a day.  This one lived up to it’s title.  I’m sure the heat, humidity and last night’s heavy rain helped to shorten it’s lifespan as well.  While photographing with the Lensbaby Composer and soft focus optic, the lens kept fogging from the humid air.  So…this image may have some EXTRA soft focus added thanks to Mother Nature!  🙂