Lily

LILY, CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDEN, GLENCOE, ILLINOIS, SEPTEMBER 24, 2008

Pentax *ist DS
Pentax 50-200 at 150mm
1/500 sec. f9.5
ISO 800

Still another find in the archive, this was taken with the first digital SLR I owned, a 6 megapixel Pentax *ist DS. I still have it and even put it to use once in a while, mostly in situations dangerous to cameras, such as tippy canoes and kayaks. The background was darkened and the colors intensified in Lightroom in order to add drama.

Cactus dahlia

CACTUS DAHLIA, CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDEN, GLENCOE, ILLINOIS, SEPTEMBER 24, 2008

Pentax K20D
Sigma 17-70 at 63mm
1/350 sec. f9.5
ISO 400

Still another treasure from the vaults. The K20D/17-70 camera-and-lens combination was a very good go-to kit for the time, and I am sure would still be today.

Rainbow sorbet rose

ROSE "RAINBOW SORBET," CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDEN, GLENCOE, ILLINOIS, SEPTEMBER 24, 2009

Pentax K20D
Sigma 17-70 at 70mm
1/250 sec. f9.5
ISO 400

I really should go up to the Garden to get some new photographs, but in the meantime I'm having a great time rummaging through the archives in search of overlooked or forgotten shots.

Tulip

TULIP, CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDEN, GLENCOE, ILLINOIS, APRIL 28, 2010

Pentax K20D
Tamron 90mm f2.8 macro
1/500 sec. f11
ISO 400

Here's another overlooked keeper from rummaging through old photo files. That old K20D is still a competent camera.

Red-tail

RED-TAILED HAWK, CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDEN, GLENCOE, ILLINOIS, APRIL 1, 2010

Pentax K20D
Pentax 55-300 at 120mm
1/90 sec. f11
ISO 400

While going through old Botanic Garden images today, I discovered that somehow I had overlooked this shot of a juvenile red-tailed hawk taken almost four years ago. It reminded me that the image quality of the Pentax K20D, a camera three generations older than the K-3 I use today, is still very good.

White Phalaenopsis

WHITE PHALAENOPSIS ORCHID, CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDEN, GLENCOE, ILLINOIS, DECEMBER 17, 2013

Pentax K-3
Tamron 90mm f2.8 macro
1/800 sec. f9
ISO 1600

This beauty also was among the few orchids blooming in the Garden's tropical greenhouse the other day. There was no identifying plaque so I had to Google the bloom and quickly discovered its name—it is one of the most popular orchids to be found at florists.

Satin Doll

BRASSOLAELIA SEA URCHIN "SATIN DOLL," CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDEN, GLENCOE, ILLINOIS, DECEMBER 17, 2013

Pentax K-3
Tamron 90mm f2.8 macro
1/160 sec. f9
ISO 1600

This species was one of the few orchids actually blooming at this time of year in the Botanic Garden's semitropical greenhouse.

Amaryllis

AMALFI AMARYLLIS, CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDEN, GLENCOE, ILLINOIS, DECEMBER 17, 2013

Both photographs:
Pentax K-3
Tamron 90mm f2.8 macro

1/200 sec. f5.6, ISO 800

1/125 sec. f9, ISO 1600

For the second one, I reduced the aperture by 1 1/2 stops to gain a little more depth of field, and boosted the ISO for an adequate shutter speed holding the camera with the assistance of a monopod. There was no sun, so I saturated the colors a little in Lightroom to give the photos more "pop."

Purple Phalaenopsis

PURPLE PHALAENOPSIS ORCHID, CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDEN, GLENCOE, ILLINOIS, NOVEMBER 21, 2013

Pentax K-3
Tamron 90mm f2.8 macro
1/320 sec. f6.3
ISO 1600

Another run through the recent archives yielded this pretty orchid from the tropical greenhouse at the Botanic Garden. I darkened the background in Lightroom to make the color pop a bit more.

Leaf

LEAF ON BRICK PATH, CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDEN, GLENCOE, ILLINOIS, NOVEMBER 30, 2013

Pentax K-3
Pentax 55-300 at 97.5 mm
1/1000 sec. f8
ISO 800

I spent much of the cold and windy early morning at the Botanic Garden hunting birds and having no luck, but luckily this leaf (no idea what species) skittered across a brick pathway in front of me. The low and warm sunlight outlined the leaf's ribs in high relief and I went home satisfied with the color and texture, if not the subject.

Carnivore II

SCARLET BELLE PITCHER PLANT, CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDEN, GLENCOE, ILLINOIS, NOVEMBER 21, 2013

Pentax K-3
Tamron 90mm f2.8 macro
1/200 sec. f6.3
ISO 1600

Common at garden stores and easy to grow in clumps, this colorful, low-lying pitcher plant lies in wait for ants and other tiny bugs to wander into its gullet, where it drowns them with narcotic-laced nectar. If you want a predator in your house this one is a lot easier to keep than a piranha in an aquarium. More useful, too.

Carnivore I

NEPENTHE "MARIA," CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDEN, GLENCOE, ILLINOIS, NOVEMBER 21, 2013

Pentax K-3
Tamron 90mm f2.8 macro
1/320 sec. f6.3
ISO 1600

The nepenthe is a tropical pitcher plant sometimes called "monkey cup." Insects fall into the pitcher and drown, and are digested by enzymes secreted by the plant.  This one in the Botanic Garden's tropical greenhouse is about seven inches long. Bigger specimens have been known to eat lizards and small birds.

Orchids

ORCHIDS, CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDEN, GLENCOE, ILLINOIS, NOVEMBER 21, 2013

Pentax K-3
Tamron 90mm f2.8 macro
1/320 sec. f6.3
ISO 1600

No idea what variety of orchid this is, but it's the first floral specimen I've captured with my new K-3 camera. It was in the tropical greenhouse at the Botanic Garden.

Miniature rose

MINIATURE ROSE, EVANSTON, ILLINOIS, NOVEMBER 20, 2013

Pentax K-01

90mm Tamron f2.8 macro

1/8 sec. f22

ISO 400

Trader Joe's takes a dim view of customers setting up tripods in its flower department, so I had to buy a bunch of miniature roses to take home and photograph with my dining-table macro equipage. The illumination is from a Neewer LED ringlight attached to the business end of the lens.

Quilt 6

QUILT DETAIL, FINE ART OF FIBER QUILT SHOW, CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDEN, GLENCOE, ILLINOIS, NOVEMBER 10, 2013

Pentax K-5
Sigma 17-70 at 23mm
1/15 sec. f8
ISO 800

The last in a series from the recent Botanic Garden quilt show. This one was captured by Deborah Abbott. This, as are the others, is best viewed by clicking on the photo to larger size.

Quilt 5

QUILT DETAIL, FINE ART OF FIBER QUILT SHOW, CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDEN, GLENCOE, ILLINOIS, NOVEMBER 10, 2013

Pentax K-01
90mm Tamron f2.8 macro
1/30 sec. f5.6
ISO 1600

I took this one with the much-maligned Pentax K-01 mirrorless camera, surprisingly handy—and hand-holdable without a tripod—when augmented with a Hoodman loupe and my favorite macro lens. The K-01's in-camera shake reduction system works remarkably well at a low shutter speed. The kit has become my go-to macro system.

Quilt 4

QUILT DETAIL, FINE ART OF FIBER QUILT SHOW, CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDEN, GLENCOE, ILLINOIS, NOVEMBER 10, 2013

Pentax K-5
Sigma 17-70 at 23mm
1/15 sec. f8
ISO 800

Still another of Deborah Abbott's detail photographs from the Botanic Garden quilt show.

Quilt 3

QUILT DETAIL, FINE ART OF FIBER QUILT SHOW, CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDEN, GLENCOE, ILLINOIS, NOVEMBER 10, 2013

Pentax K-5
Sigma 17-70 at 23mm
1/13 sec. f8
ISO 800

Another of Deborah Abbott's captures at the Botanic Garden quilt show.

Quilt 2

QUILT DETAIL, FINE ART OF FIBER QUILT SHOW, CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDEN, GLENCOE, ILLINOIS, NOVEMBER 10, 2013

Pentax K-01
90mm Tamron f2.8 Macro
1/100 sec. f5.6
ISO 1600

I took this shot of a different part of the same quilt Debby captured in yesterday's photograph.

Quilt 1

QUILT DETAIL, FINE ART OF FIBER QUILT SHOW, CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDEN, GLENCOE, ILLINOIS, NOVEMBER 10, 2013

Pentax K-5
Sigma 17-70 at 23mm
1/15 sec. f8
ISO 800

Deborah Abbott captured the details of this and many other quilts at the annual Fine Art of Fiber show at the Botanic Garden. This quilt is particularly striking for its combination of designs.

Formation flight

T-28 TROJANS IN FORMATION, OSHKOSH, WISCONSIN, JULY 31, 2009

Pentax K20D
Pentax-F* 300mm f4.5
1/750 sec. f11
ISO 400

Some of the best highlights of the annual air show at Oshkosh are the massed formations of old warbirds, including T-28 trainers of the 1960s. I found this shot while rummaging through the files for overlooked keepers.

Wingover

STEARMAN WINGWALKING ACT, OSHKOSH, WISCONSIN, JULY 31, 2009

Pentax K20D
Pentax-F* 300mm f4.5
1/2000 sec. f11
ISO 400

Rummaging through some four-year-old photographs of a day at the EAA Oshkosh Fly-in yielded this shot of a wingwalking act in a much-modified crop duster aircraft.

Sparrow in the firethorn

HOUSE SPARROW IN NARROWLEAF FIRETHORN, CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDEN, GLENCOE, ILLINOIS, OCTOBER 27, 2013

Pentax K-5
90mm f2.8 Tamron macro
1/320 sec. f13
ISO 400

I was innocently photographing an intricate bonsai example of Pyracantha angustifola during my first visit to the Botanic Garden this fall when a sparrow suddenly alighted in the berries. How considerate of him to photobomb me.

Last nuthatch of the season

RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH, GREEN, MICHIGAN, OCTOBER 12, 2013

Pentax K-5
Pentax 55-300 at 300mm
1/400 sec. f7.1
ISO 3200

It was late afternoon and growing dark, and I needed a reasonably fast shutter speed to capture a good portrait of this quicksilver snatch-and-grab artist. Raising the ISO to 3200 gave enough speed, and denoising the image later in Lightroom 5 yielded an acceptable result.

Chickie and nutch

BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE AND RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH, GREEN, MICHIGAN, OCTOBER 12, 2013

Both photos:
Pentax K-5
Pentax 55-300 at 300mm
1/125 sec. f8
ISO 1600

Filling the feeder with nothing but sunflower seeds brought in swarms of chickadees and nuthatches all afternoon. This is our last week at the Writer's Lair in upper Michigan before heading to winter quarters in Illinois, so I was grateful for the chance to capture the lively little birds in the fading autumn day.

Daybreak No. 5

LAKE OF THE CLOUDS, PORCUPINE MOUNTAINS WILDERNESS STATE PARK, MICHIGAN, OCTOBER 9, 2013

Pentax K-5
Pentax 18-135 at 28mm
1/2500 sec. f8
ISO 800

This is a faux high-dynamic-range photo created with Lightroom 5.0. One simply racks the highlights slider all the way to the left and the shadows slider all the way to the right, then lightens the photo by half a stop or so. Next, one adds a bit of contrast with the Clarity slider, then deepens the blue with that color's Saturation and Luminance sliders. Last, one sharpens the photo slightly and smooths out the noise.

Fall colors

LAKE OF THE CLOUDS, PORCUPINE MOUNTAINS WILDERNESS STATE PARK, MICHIGAN, OCTOBER 4, 2013

Pentax K-5
Pentax 18-135 at 36mm
1/800 sec. f9
ISO 800

Even at midafternoon on a cold and overcast day, there are good shots to be found at the Lake of the Clouds when the fall color season is only about a week away from its peak.

Daybreak No. 4

LAKE OF THE CLOUDS, PORCUPINE MOUNTAINS WILDERNESS STATE PARK, MICHIGAN, OCTOBER 1, 2013

Pentax K-5
Pentax 18-135 at 21mm
1/125 sec. f8
ISO 1600

"Fire in the sky" would have been a more appropriate title for this shot of the Lake of the Clouds. It was 8:04 a.m. EDT when the sun finally peeked above the ridge line. Deborah Abbott captured the image.

Daybreak No. 3

LAKE OF THE CLOUDS, PORCUPINE MOUNTAINS WILDERNESS STATE PARK, MICHIGAN, SEPTEMBER 26, 2013

Pentax K-5
Pentax 18-135 at 88mm
1/160 sec. f8
ISO 400

Deborah Abbott captured this view of another photographer atop the escarpment above the Lake of the Clouds. It was the third consecutive dawn we spent at the site, hoping that a dramatic screen of clouds would form in the distance to add color and interest to the scene. It didn't, but we didn't come away empty-handed, either.

Daybreak No. 2

LAKE OF THE CLOUDS, PORCUPINE MOUNTAINS WILDERNESS STATE PARK, MICHIGAN, SEPTEMBER 25, 2013

Pentax K-5
Pentax 18-135 at 135mm
1/25 sec. f8
ISO 400

Another "barenaked," or nearly cloudless, break of day at the Lake of the Clouds was saved by low fog in the hills that added a touch of Georgia O'Keeffe style to the composition.

Daybreak No. 1

LAKE OF THE CLOUDS, PORCUPINE MOUNTAINS WILDERNESS STATE PARK, MICHIGAN, SEPTEMBER 24, 2013

Pentax K-5
Pentax 18-135 at 68mm
1/40 sec. f8
ISO 400

Deborah Abbott captured this view of the celebrated Lake of the Clouds just before the sun peeked over the horizon. I opened up the shadows in Lightroom and slightly saturated the red, yellow, orange and blue to make the composition more dramatic.

Hybrid transportation

MULES NEAR ONTONAGON, MICHIGAN, SEPTEMBER 22, 2013

Pentax K-5
Pentax 55-300 at 300mm
1/1000 sec. f8
ISO 2000

These two beasts belonging to Upper Michigan hobbyist-mule skinner Dale Venema posed for their portrait by a country road. They are often put to work dragging freshly felled logs through the woods and giving small children sleigh rides at Christmastime.

First sunset of autumn

SUNSET ON LAKE SUPERIOR, GREEN, MICHIGAN, SEPTEMBER 20, 2013
Pentax K-5
Pentax 18-135 at 18mm
1/320 sec. f8
ISO 500

Rather than setting into the lake, the sun descends over a spit of land at this time of year. The wind is high and the lake is rough—typical conditions for early fall.

Red-tailed Hawk

JUVENILE RED-TAILED HAWK NEAR SILVER CITY, MICHIGAN, SEPTEMBER 2, 2013

Pentax K-5
Pentax 55-300 at 300mm
1/1250 sec. f8
ISO 200

This one was hard to identify, but a study of the bird books and consultation with experts led me to the conclusion that it's a young example of the red-tailed hawk, very common in Upper Michigan. The light eyes suggest that it might even be one of this year's hatch. I spotted it atop a power pole while driving past on State Highway M64 during midafternoon on an overcast day, stopped the car and shot from its window. Taking a camera with long lens in the car sometimes bears fruit.

Valves

OLD FIRE ENGINE VALVES, ONTONAGON, MICHIGAN, AUGUST 31, 2013

Pentax K-5
Pentax 18-135 at 107.5mm
1/250 sec. f8
ISO 400

The bronze piping and fittings on a restored 1929 Stoughton fire truck belonging to the Ontonagon Volunteer Fire Department glowed in the morning sunlight before the town's annual Labor Day festival opened.

She serves and protects

DEPUTY AND CHILD, ONTONAGON, MICHIGAN, AUGUST 31, 2013

Pentax K-5
Pentax 18-135 at 88mm
1/1250 sec. f8
ISO 1250

Yes, the image is marred by the harsh shadow the child's head throws across the deputy's face, but subject and tone largely seem to overcome the flaw. The young woman seems to be the newest hire in the Ontonagon Couty Sheriff's Department.

Overgrown

VACANT HOUSE, ONTONAGON, MICHIGAN, AUGUST 18, 2013

Pentax K-5
Pentax 18-135 at 40mm
1/2000 sec. f7.1
ISO 1600

One of many vacant and abandoned houses in the struggling small town of Ontonagon, Michigan, this one has been empty for so many years, perhaps decades, that the yard plantings have all but overwhelmed its front, making it look like a dwelling in a Brothers Grimm tale.

Kitchen corner

KITCHEN CORNER, RESTORED MINER'S HOUSE, OLD VICTORIA NEAR ROCKLAND, MICHIGAN, AUGUST 18, 2013

Pentax K-5
Pentax 18-135 at 24mm
1/200 sec. f7.1
ISO 1600

It took some work with Photoshop Lightroom 5.0 to save this photograph, which was badly underexposed, resulting in almost black interior shadows. First I turned the Highlights slider all the way to the left and the Shadows slider all the way to the right, then opened up the exposure by almost two stops and added zip with the Contrast slider. A little sharpening and denoising, and the picture was done.

Window

WINDOW IN RESTORED MINER'S HOUSE, OLD VICTORIA NEAR ROCKLAND, MICHIGAN, AUGUST 18, 2013

Pentax K-5
Pentax 18-135 at 78mm
1/8000 sec. f8
ISO 1600

This study in colors and textures—vertical cedar shake siding, old horizontal hewn logs, plaster chinking, flat window casings, and a lace curtain—immediately appealed to me when I arrived at the Old Victoria historical site. Although the K-5 yields very good image quality at ISO 1600, if I had remembered to do so I would have dialed the ISO down to 200 or 400 to get even better IQ.

Curtain

LACE CURTAIN IN WINDOW, OLD VICTORIA HISTORICAL SITE NEAR ROCKLAND, MICHIGAN, AUGUST 18, 2013

Pentax K-5
Pentax 18-135 at 78mm
1/2000 sec. f11
ISO 1600

The sunlight through the window struck the simple but intricate lace of the curtain in the old miner's shack just right, giving it an interesting texture against the out-of-focus grass outside. Click on the photo for a larger version that gives the best texture.

Copper teapot

TEAPOT, OLD VICTORIA HISTORIC SITE NEAR ROCKLAND, MICHIGAN, AUGUST 18, 2013

Pentax K-5
Pentax 18-135 at 31mm
1/100 sec. f11
ISO 1600

Old copper utensils and ancient wood stoves are a magnet for still-life photographers, and this tableau in one of the restored miner's houses at the Old Victoria historic site called to me as a study in color, light and shadow.

Caught on the downstroke

FEMALE RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD, GREEN, MICHIGAN, AUGUST 16, 2013

Pentax K-5
Pentax F* 300mm f4.5
1/6400 sec. f8
ISO 1600

The shutter speed of 1/6400 second was not quite fast enough to stop the tip of the wing on the downstroke, as 1/8000 was for the upstroke in the previous photo, but it came close anyway.

Caught on the upstroke

FEMALE RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD, GREEN, MICHIGAN, AUGUST 16, 2013

Pentax K-5
Pentax F* 300mm f4.5
1/8000 sec. f7.1
ISO 1600

It's not easy to stop a hummingbird's wings in a photograph, but I set the aperture at f7.1 and put the ISO on 1600 so that the camera would take a properly exposed picture at its maximum shutter speed, 1/8000th of a second. The picture was snapped just as the bird's wings stopped on the upstroke.

Powwow #6

TURTLE SHIELD, LAC VIEUX DESERT, MICHIGAN, AUGUST 10, 2013

Pentax K-5
Pentax 18-135 at 135mm
1/250 sec. f8
ISO 400

Deborah Abbott snapped this photo of a ceremonial shield made of a snapping turtle shell and wild turkey feathers at the annual powwow of the Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians.

Powwow #5

CHIPPEWA DANCER, LAC VIEUX DESERT, MICHIGAN, AUGUST 10, 2013

Pentax K-5
Pentax 55-300 at 210mm
1/1000 sec. f8
ISO 800

To me this photo is less interesting for its composition than it is for its subject: a young Native American dancer whose headgear is a "NY" ball cap. It's a fresh example of the meaning of the term "cross-cultural."

Powwow #4

CHIPPEWA DANCER, LAC VIEUX DESERT, MICHIGAN, AUGUST 10, 2013

Pentax K-5
Pentax 18-135 at 40mm
1/2500 sec. f7
ISO 400

Deborah Abbott captured this closeup of a braided-and-coontailed Ojibwe dancer at the powwow held at the Indian village on Lac Vieux Desert near Watersmeet, Michigan. Click on and enlarge the photo to see the detail of the braids.

Powwow #3

CHIPPEWA DANCER, LAC VIEUX DESERT, MICHIGAN, AUGUST 10, 2013

Pentax K-01
Pentax 18-135 at 135mm
1/2000 f6.7
ISO 800

It's hard to say which is the more striking, the physical beauty and grace of the powwow dancer or the intricate embroidery of her costume. Deborah Abbott took the photograph.

Powwow #2

YOUNG CHIPPEWA DANCER, LAC VIEUX DESERT, MICHIGAN, AUGUST 10, 2013

Pentax K-5
Pentax 55-300 at 97.5mm
1/800 sec. f8
ISO 400

This boy, 11 or 12 years old, was one of the most skillful and energetic as well as colorful dancers at the annual powwow of the Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians near Watersmeet, Michigan, the other day.