photoartflightGrasshopper
Posted on September 26, 2016
Walking through the Meadow, we found this grasshopper. Usually if you stop to photograph them they jump away. This posed for a while for us.
Shot with a 300mm with extension tubes.
Mating Damselflies
Posted on September 24, 2016
In the Water Lily Gardens at Longwood Gardens there were a lot of Dragonflies and Damselflies. As I was photographing the lilies, I noticed quite a few mating damselflies. These two flew close by so I was able to get a couple of shots. Then I saw others mating on the Lily Pads.
Black Swallowtail Butterfly Takeoff
Posted on September 21, 2016
I was photographing this Black Swallowtail Butterfly and as it took off I followed it along to combine into a Take Off sequence. Combining 3 images into a panorama. I had a few more, but it just added a lot of blue sky which looked empty. It stayed in the area for a while giving me the opportunity to get quite a few shots in different poses.
Hummingbird Moth on Milk Thistle
Posted on September 20, 2016
We went to Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania to go through their 86 acre Meadow Gardens. It is more known for their Formal Gardens and Conservatory, but we enjoy the Meadows. With more than three miles of walking and hiking trails which lead visitors to the diverse habitats found throughout the Meadow Gardens terrain. I found a few Hummingbird Moths working an area with a lot of Milk Thistles. I raised the ISO to 1250 and was shooting at 1/500 sec to 1/1000 sec, and a few above that, but could still not capture their wings. They were really fast movers, but they really liked these Thistles so they stayed for quite a while. They were darting back and forth so their was little time to compose and shoot before they darted off to another spot. They were still fun to photograph. Next time I could try fill flash, but they move so quickly it would be limiting because of the recycling time of the flash. All shots handheld, shot with a 300mm lens with extension tubes to get closer. These moths seem to be super active and non-stop movers!
Longwood Gardens Conservatory At Christmas Time
Posted on December 11, 2015
I enjoy going through the conservatory anytime of the year, but for Christmas it transforms into a colorful fun filled place to visit. It gets crowded, but in the morning it is easier to get photos before the crowds show up for the evening Christmas light displays. Usually I concentrate on plants in the different sections of the Conservatory. The Conservatory spans 195,668 square feet—or 4.5 acres and there are many areas from tropical to arid, to lush gardens and orchids. But at Christmas time all the areas are decorated for the season.
Bird of Paradise
Posted on December 9, 2015
It is always fun to photograph Bird of Paradise flowers. Below is a different Head-on view, giving a different perspective. They remind me of a Great Blue Heron or Great Egret Pose.
Head on View of a Bird-of-Paradise Flower
Poinsettia Stamen Pistil
Posted on December 8, 2015
We went to Longwood Gardens in Kennet Square, PA for their Christmas display with their 500,000 twinkle lights in their more than 1,000-acre outdoor wonderland. While we were waiting we spent the day in their Conservatory that was decorated everywhere for Christmas. Christmas trees everywhere, Poinsettias and other plants by the thousands decorating the whole Conservatory giving a colorful festive area to photograph. I started with a 24-105mm to capture the “feel” and colorful displays. Then switched to 150mm macro for textures, shapes and closeups. Then switched to a 17-40mm for the outdoor displays at night. This image was when I was concentrating on the closeups and thought the Poinsettia Stamens looked really interesting. Especially that close up. It was so crowded I was traveling light. Next time I will bring a Canon MPE 65mm 1-5X Macro or a 200mm macro for a m43 camera to get even closer. It was crowded there I was traveling light and did not want to be in the way.
Conservatory at Night
Sample of some of the lights at night.
5 Image Narrow Focus Stack
Posted on May 16, 2015
While at Longwood Gardens in Kennet Square, PA., I tried quite a few handheld focus stacked images. Using a 150mm Macro lens lens with multiple focus points, I shot 5 images, wide open for a very narrow focus at 5 different focus points to get this flower in sharp focus with a soft background. Combining the images in Photoshop for the final image. It was fun to see the final results.
Tulips At Longwood Gardens
Posted on May 14, 2015
The Tulip display at Longwood Gardens was amazing and huge. Here are a couple.
Small Details At Longwood Gardens
Posted on May 11, 2015
In Longwood Gardens Meadow Garden, looking for subjects to shoot, look even closer than the usual subjects. It is over 80 acres so it is a lot of territory to look for photo subjects. It is still early so there was not a lot of the usual wildflowers or usual photo subjects. So we were looking at grasses, branches, leaves, some wildflowers and interesting subjects. But then also look even closer for extremely small details that you might overlook as you are walking by. I saw this small blossom, but looking closer it had an interesting pattern on the extremely small petals.
Below are 2 wider views I shot before I noticed the detail in the blossom. I originally liked the small pop of color with the green.
Original First Shot
Wider View
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