Dahlias

'BISHOP OF LLANDORF,'
SEMI-DOUBLE DAHLIA, 
CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDEN,
GLENCOE, ILLINOIS, 
OCTOBER 10, 2011




Pentax K-5
SMC Pentax-DA 55-300 at 170mm
1/320 sec. f8
ISO 1600




Taken as the low early morning sun backlighted the blossoms.

Leaf

ERSATZ MAPLE LEAF, CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDEN, GLENCOE, ILLINOIS, OCTOBER 10, 2011

Pentax K-5
SMC Pentax-DA 55-300 at 300mm
1/200 sec. f8
ISO 1600

It seemed like such a likely subject--a ripe maple leaf caught on a twig and backlighted by the sun--until I called up the frame on my computer. Clearly it's a fake leaf made of some sort of fabric, probably a Halloween decoration. But it's still pretty.

Green Smoke? Really?

NYMPHAEA 'GREEN SMOKE' WATERLILY, CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDEN, GLENCOE, ILLINOIS, OCTOBER 9, 2011

Pentax K-5
SMC Pentax-DA 55-300 at 190mm
1/800 sec. f14
ISO 1600

The sign next to this striking scarlet bloom in the lily pools north of the Regenstein Center at the Chicago Botanic Garden calls it a "Green Smoke" nymphaea variety, but I'm wondering if it's really something else. If you know, kindly tip me off, will you?

Baluster

VASIFORM BALUSTER,
CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDEN,
GLENCOE, ILLINOIS, 
OCTOBER 9, 2011

 



Pentax K-5
SMC Pentax-DA 55-300
at 230mm
1/2000 sec. f8
ISO 1600





One of the familiar sights at the Chicago Botanic Garden is the cast stone balustrade overlooking the Lakeside Gardens at the south end of the main island. In the early morning sun yesterday the interplay of light and shadow pleasingly emphasized the stony texture of one baluster.

White Knight

WOOD'S WHITE KNIGHT TROPICAL WATERLILY, CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDEN, GLENCOE, ILLINOIS OCTOBER 9, 2011

Pentax K-5
SMC-DA 55-300 at 300mm
1/1000 sec. f14
ISO 1600

My first foray this balmy October to the Botanic Garden yielded this HDR-like shot of a white water lily. Considerable tweaking in Lightroom helped subdue the strong highlights of the white. I used a high ISO so that a fast shutter speed would dampen the shaking of my increasingly elderly hands, and the Pentax's in-camera antishake system further helped.

Jaybird

BLUE JAY, GREEN, MICHIGAN,
MAY 19, 2011



Pentax K-5
SMC Pentax-F* 300mm
f4.5 ED (IF)
1/3200 sec. f6.3
ISO 1600



At our cabin on Lake Superior, the noisy jays arrive early in May, strip the bird feeders, and depart by Memorial Day, not to return until mid-September. We have no idea where they hang out from June through August. I found this shot while winnowing out the summer's bird photographs, and wondered about that saying "naked as a jaybird." What?

Sunset No. 8

SUNSET OVER LAKE SUPERIOR, GREEN, MICHIGAN, AUGUST 30, 2011

Pentax K20D
Sigma 17-70 DC at 17mm
1/180 f8
ISO 400

In my opinion, it's generally not a good idea to shoot a sunset at an extreme wide angle, because that shrinks the orb of the sun to an unreal, almost pinpoint size. But when the sun is behind spectacular, sky-enhancing cloud formations, as it was on this evening in late August, going wide is the way to go. I shot it sitting on the bench on the beach in front of the Writer's Lair, with trees on either side to frame the composition. Click photo for a desktop-size version.

Sunset No. 7

SUNSET OVER LAKE SUPERIOR, GREEN, MICHIGAN, SEPTEMBER 4, 2011

Pentax K-5
Sigma DC 17-70 at 17mm
1/20 sec. f9
ISO 400

In the photograph above, the setting sun in the west cast a weird hue on the low clouds to the north, even coloring the rainfall from them. The photograph below was taken an instant later directly west. Sunsets in these parts, I've said before and will say again and again, are unbeatable.

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