Marty Feldman reincarnated?

GRAY SQUIRREL, EVANSTON, ILLINOIS, JANUARY 2, 2011

Pentax K-5
SMC Pentax-F* 300mm f4.5 ED (IF)
1/500 sec. f9.5
ISO 1600

Reviewing the backyard squirrel shots of the last couple of months yielded this almost overlooked frame that reminds me of Marty Feldman, the late British comic actor famous for his hyperthyroidic bug eyes (he was unforgettable as Igor in Mel Brooks' "Young Frankenstein").

Climbing Pandanus

CLIMBING PANDANUS (FREYCINETIA MULTIFLORA), CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDEN, GLENCOE, ILLINOIS, FEBRUARY 17, 2011

Pentax *ist DS
SMC Pentax-DA 35mm f2.4 AL
1/180 sec. f3.5
ISO 800

Deborah Abbott captured this unusual Old World tropical shrub with an old camera (vintage 2004) and new lens (vintage 2010) then other day at the Botanic Garden. The lens focuses so closely that it is almost a macro, and despite its plastic mount and comparatively low price it is remarkably sharp, with excellent color rendition.

Carnations

CARNATIONS, EVANSTON, ILLINOIS, FEBRUARY 16, 2009

Pentax *ist DS
Tamron SP AF 90mm DI Macro
1/1000 sec. f8
ISO 1600
Manipulated with Lightroom and Photoshop Elements

I felt experimental today, so took a quick hand-held high-ISO macro shot of a bouquet of carnations from the supermarket on the dinner table, then tweaked the shot with Photoshop Elements' distortion filters to give the image a painterly quality. Nobody would mistake it for an Old Master, but it's not bad for a rank amateur, is it now?

Spikes No. 2

ETHIOPIAN EUPHORBIA, CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDEN, GLENCOE, ILLINOIS, FEBRUARY 12, 2011

Pentax K20D
Tamron SP AF 90mm DI Macro
1/45 sec. f32
ISO 400

Here's another view of the convoluted euphorbia "arms" captured yesterday for the macrophotography class at the Botanic Garden. If you stare at it long enough it looks like cattle (or maybe giraffes) moving single file through the veldt. Critically speaking, it has light, shadow, color and an S-curve. Maybe that makes it arty.

Spikes No. 1

ETHIOPIAN EUPHORBIA (EUPHORBIA ABYSSINICA "VARIEGATA"), CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDEN, GLENCOE, ILLINOIS, FEBRUARY 12, 2011

Pentax K20D
Tamron SP AF 90mm DI Macro
1/30 sec. f32
ISO 400

We were told in macrophotography class to be Arty rather than Documentary for our next assignment, and so I took this shot of the edge of an arm belonging to the Ethiopian Euphorbia tree in the desert greenhouse of the Chicago Botanic Garden. This tree is a kind of cactus, a succulent that grows as high as two stories and, dried, is used as firewood in the Ethiopian Ogaden Desert. (LATER: This shot won Best Closeup/Macro in the Botanic Garden's 2011 winter photography contest.)

Mum's the word

CHRYSANTHEMUM, EVANSTON, ILLINOIS, FEBRUARY 4, 2011

Pentax K-5
Tamron SP AF 90mm DI Macro
1/60 sec. f32
ISO 1600

I got tired of haunting the Chicago Botanic Garden winter greenhouses for new and exotic plants to capture for my macrophotography class there, so I bought a bunch of ordinary yellow mums at the supermarket and set up shop on the dining room table. Here's the result. Not too bad, I think.

Primrose Butterwort

PRIMROSE BUTTERWORT (PINGUICULA PRIMULIFLORA), CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDEN, GLENCOE, ILLINOIS, FEBRUARY 9, 2011

Pentax K20D
Tamron SP AF 90mm DI Macro
1/45 sec. f22
ISO 400

This pretty dime-sized bloom is a carnivorous plant found in southeastern swamps in the United States. When an insect wanders into its yellow center, the butterwort oozes a sticky enzyme that traps and digests the bug. It's another shot done for my macrophotography class at the Botanic Garden.

White Candles No. 2

WHITFIELDIA ELONGATA "WHITE CANDLES," CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDEN, GLENCOE, ILLINOIS, JANUARY 27, 2011

Pentax K-5
Tamron SP AF 90mm DI Macro
0.7 sec. f32
ISO 400

That opening bud measures about half an inch high and is easily the smallest thing I've captured in my macrophotography class at the Botanic Garden. The tiny aperture (needed for depth of field) and long exposure required me to hold my breath as I mashed the tit on the cable release, hoping the lightweight tripod was sufficiently steady. Enough of those flowers and you could knit yourself a fuzzy sweater.

Ptui

HOUSE SPARROW, EVANSTON, ILLINOIS, FEBRUARY 3, 2011

Pentax K20D
SMC Pentax-DA 55-300 at 300mm
1/250 sec. f8
ISO 400

"Who's been swimming in my drinking water?" this sparrow seems to be saying. The photo is not terribly good so far as image quality is concerned -- it's heavily cropped, the lighting is poor, and the bird's head suffers from motion blur -- but the unexpected stream of water perhaps makes the picture worth posting.