David's Images of the Day Photoblog
Macro images taken in my back yard of a white wildflower, bee in a Rhododendron flower and a newly opened Maple leaf. After a brief afternoon rain storm, I went out with the same kit as yesterday. I like looking close with a macro lens, especially in the spring when flowers are blooming and the bees are active. I think the white flower is an invasive “Star of Bethlehem” (Ornithogalium umbellatum)
I took this image 2 years ago while driving into Yosemite National Park. I noticed something bright red in my rear view mirror. This was not red flashing lights, but rather something red in the woods. I turned around and found these flowers blooming. I did not know what they were — a plant or fungus. They were later identified as Snow Plants (Sarcodes sanguinea). Although plants, they do not use chlorophyll for photosynthesis, but rather get carbohydrates from coniferous trees via a shared mycorrhizal fungus.
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Pink Flower — Macro and Wide Depth of Field. I used the pink flower from yesterday as an exercise to practice with a macro lens, flash, and Helicon Focus to get a macro image of a flower with an extreme depth of field in focus. Ten images of the flower were taken from rear focus to front focus by manually adjusting the focus distance on the lens. The raw images were processed with Capture One Pro, converted to 16 bit Tiff files, and then processed with Helicon Focus. Even though the lens was set at f/22, the actual focus plane was very narrow and thus needing several focus distances for Helicon Focus.
Can You Identify this Shrub with Pink Flowers? I have been told that this is a Mountain Laurel, however when I search the web the flowers do not seem to be the same. It blooms in early spring, and the deer also avoid it. If you know what it is, please let me know. I need to get a better image with a macro lens.
First Dandelion of Spring. I noticed this spot of yellow in my driveway when getting home. An early dandelion — I’m sure many more will show up in the backyard soon. The local deer avoid eating dandelions and daffodils, but eat most any other spring flowers.
