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.