The Bee's Knees

Here's an up close look at a Bachelor's Button with a busy little bee, taken with my macro filter and 50mm lens set to f/1.8.  I did crop a bit off the top... I did an awful job framing it because the tiniest movement makes a huge difference and my face was maybe 6 inches from the bee. All the bees were so busy, and they couldn't have cared less about me, but still I felt tense. When I try a closeup like this in the future, I need to remember to use a higher f-stop. It would have been nice to get the whole bee in focus, not just his knees.

Wild Rose

Beautiful wild rose bush on my walk this morning! And by a lucky fluke I had my macro lens in my camera bag. I never carry that lens anymore, so I took it as a sign, and searched for the prettiest flower to photograph.

Going to Seed

A close up of the grass seed I was trying to photograph yesterday. I'm not sure if this is in fact grass though. The base of the plant has weed-like leaves that spread out like a dandelion. However the seed looks a lot like some of the grasses around here, which is why I'm uncertain. By the way, the field grass I photographed a few weeks ago is now almost 4ft tall! I can't believe how big things grow out here! And so many different varieties. The thing I liked about this variety is the way it goes to seed, from top to bottom in these little white Saturn rings. 

Wild Rose

It's been a long time since I've done any macro shots.  This afternoon I put the macro filter on my 50mm lens and headed out to photograph (unsuccessfully) some of the tall grass varieties going to seed right now.  Frustrated and heading home, I happened to notice this variegated wild rose blooming just off the sidewalk, and set my sights on photographing it instead.   My latest attempt at copying one of my favorite Jim Brandenburg photos.