Spring Flora Around Chicago
I don’t usually seek out flowers when I’m spending time outside. Usually, I’m looking for some wildlife and flowers catch my eye, or I strike out trying to find the animal I’m looking for that day. However, I really do like plant photography and this Summer and Fall I’m hoping to do it more intentionally.
This is our neighbor’s tree with a striking contrast of new growth on the needles.
The buds below were a great example of how I wind up taking plant shots. I had gone out to a local nature park along a river looking for some waterfowl. I found a few geese but the light was flat and colorless. This budding bush caught my eye, but all I had was a 500m lens with a very long minimum focusing distance. I added a 1.4x converter and managed to handhold one of my favorite frames of the year.
Tiny buds shot with a very long lens
Nikon Z6iii • 700mm • f/5.6 • 1/1250s • ISO 900
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I had shot several hundred frames of fairly perfect tulips this Spring, but this frame made the cut. It’s imperfect and past its prime, but the silvery texture on its petals spoke to me when I saw it at full screen. As humans, do we see beauty in all phases of life or just the peak?
My wife have planted this set of flowers along the side fence of our house and I had been watching them bloom for several weeks. I got home from a kayak adventure and the backlight on them was just perfect. So, I jumped out of the car with my camera and took some frames.
This last set of flower was from a walk around the neighborhood with a macro lens on Easter weekend.
So, while this Spring my plant photos were more coincidental than planned, I still had a lot of fun. I hope you enjoyed them too!