Leaves and grasses

TREE LEAVES AND TALL GRASSES, CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDEN, GLENCOE, ILLINOIS, OCTOBER 25, 2015

Pentax K-3
90mm Tamron macro plus 1.4x Pentax extender (126mm)
1/2500 sec. f10
ISO 1600

Shooting toward the early morning sun sometimes results in a combination of backlighting and deep shadow that dramatically stages the subject.

Leaves

FLOATING LEAVES, CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDEN, GLENCOE, ILLINOIS, OCTOBER 25, 2015

Pentax K-3
90mm Tamron macro plus 1.4x Pentax converter (126mm)
1/1000 sec. f10
ISO 1600

A stray bit of "Jesus light," as photographers call rays of sun concentrated through holes in clouds or foliage, settled upon a single maple leaf in this floating pile and made it stand out just long enough for its portrait to be taken.

Shoreline with bench

SHORELINE WITH BENCH, CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDEN, GLENCOE, ILLINOIS, OCTOBER 25, 2015

Pentax K-3
90mm Tamron macro with 1.4x Pentax converter (126mm)
1/500 sec. f8
ISO 1600

The composition of the grasses lining the garden lagoon would have been humdrum had it not been for the reflection of the bench at the bottom of the photo.

Mallard toilette

MALLARD, CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDEN, GLENCOE, ILLINOIS, OCTOBER 25, 2015

Pentax K-3
90mm Tamron macro plus 1.4x Pentax converter (126mm)
1/250 sec. f10
ISO 1600

Mallards are ever so plentiful in parks with ponds, and photographs of them draw mostly yawns. Once in a while, though, sunlight, pose and placement can combine to provide a photograph that lifts the subject out of the ordinary.

Leaf

AUTUMN LEAF, CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDEN, GLENCOE, ILLINOIS, OCTOBER 25, 2015

Pentax K-3
90mm Tamron macro plus 1.4x Pentax extender (126mm)
1/1000 sec. f8
ISO 1600

The fall colors in Northern Illinois, say the people who referee such things, are slightly past their peak. Maybe so, but they're still fairly spectacular all over the Botanic Garden. I'm not sure what species this leaf is, but it looks as if it might be a variety of maple.

Bloom

UNIDENTIFIED, CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDEN, GLENCOE, ILLINOIS, OCTOBER 25, 2015

Pentax K-3
90mm Tamron macro plus 1.4x Pentax extender (126mm)
1/1000 sec. f11
ISO 1600

I have no idea of the name of this bloom, but today I decided to use a 1.4x extender with the 90mm macro lens in order to maintain a comfortable distance between camera and subject, yet get in close enough for good detail. Even this late in October there was plenty of color at the Garden.

Lily

WATER LILY, CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDEN, GLENCOE, ILLINOIS, OCTOBER 11, 2015

Pentax K-3
Pentax 55-300 at 135mm
1/250 sec. f9
ISO 400

The lilies at the Botanic Gardens are often perfect photographic subjects when the early morning sunlight is dappled by surrounding trees and bushes. At least half a dozen photographers simultaneously jockeyed for a good shot at this specimen.

Hibiscus

HIBISCUS, CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDEN, GLENCOE, ILLINOIS, OCTOBER 11, 2015

Pentax K-3
Tamron 90mm macro
1/640 sec. f9
ISO 1600

Just by chance, a perfectly shaped ray of sunlight fell upon a single hibiscus in the early-morning gloom of the Tropical Greenhouse at the Botanic Garden as I came along, and naturally I took advantage.