Hundreds of While Trillium
Fillmore Glen is a supportive environment for trillium, as seen in these overview shots.
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Aspect Continuum
White Trillium from different aspects.
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Circinate
A thumb’s width span for each unfurling stalk of this unidentified colony. Fern? Flowering plant?
Each image is from a Canon 100 mm macro lens, camera mounted on a sturdy studio tripod I carried a few hundred feet to this bank within Fillmore Glen New York State park.
Here is another assignment from the “Fundamentals of Photography” course, to capture a scene at different f-stops, the degree to which the diaphragm is open, to control the width of the lens aperture. Increasing f-stop narrows lens aperture.
For this f32 image, the least possible apeture for this lens, resulting in maximum depth of field. Everything in view is in focus, increasing the visual elements competing for the viewer’s attention. On the other hand, a distracting element is more information about where the plant is thriving.
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At 8 f-stop aperture is at a midpoint, elements of the background are out of focus, though still recognizable. The sturdy tripod, well situated, enables me to take the exact same view, changing only the f-stop (and associated shutter speed, the higher the f-stop the slower the shutter speed. As the aperture decreases, less light enters the camera and more time is required to collect enough light to expose the digital media. Slower shutter speed means more time for spring breezes to move the delicately balanced plant stalk, resulting a blur for a subject otherwise in focus.
In this image I removed all but the immediate surroundings of the red stalks.
At f2.8 the diaphram is wide open, a maximum amount of light enters the camera and shutter speed is higher as well. Less of the image is in focus, a single subject is in sharp relief. Prior to cropping more than one stalk is in focus, competing for attention.
After cropping a single stalk is the image subject, reminding me of swirling galaxies. The drawback is reduction in image size: 30 reduced to 1.3 (6,744 to 1,371). I needed to reposition the tripod and camera for a closer shot of the circinate scene elements and a image with a higher resolution of this fascinating episode in the life of a plant. I am tempted to visit Malloryville where large ferns unfurl.
Hepatica from April 2007
Yesterday you saw a grouping of Hepatica flowers and seed heads. (Click me for another Hepatica posting from this season).
Here you see two seed heads in selective focus, one still has flower petals attached.
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during New York PAUSE for COVID-19
I spotted this sign May 5, 2020 on the way to Fillmore Glen New York State Park.
Stopped on the way home to document this message.
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The Sky Island Experience
The Rincons are one of 42 Sky Mountain islands isolated from each other by the gradual warming and drying climate changes since the last ice age, 10,000 years ago. While this marvelous environment of oak and pine forests only accessible with much effort on foot, it is literally visible from every point of the Tucson valley and million human inhabitants.
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Copyright 2020 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved
Eranthis hyemalis
A fellow blogger, Audrey Driscoll’s Blog, provided the correct and exact species name for the post “Wildflowers Late Winter / Early Spring.” The posts are updated. Thank You, Audrey.
Unexpected Beauty
Coronavirus is raging this March 20th (I schedule posts several weeks ahead now), on this day of our anniversary, easy for me to remember falling close to or on the Spring equinox. Earliest spring flowers were up for a week when I spied this group of crocus blooms on a hill. We do not remember them being there, so I called Pam to enjoy them.
These are extra special, Pam’s parents planted them years ago. The above images are the same photograph. On the left, white balance is set to “cloudy.” At the time, late afternoon, the sun was behind low clouds, providing back light. Perfect lighting for flowers, which is why I interrupted springtime yard cleanup to run inside for the camera.
My intent was to increase the f-stop to over 20 for the following photograph. Metadata on the photograph shows I was only successful in increasing it from 5 to 5.7. ISO was increased from 100 to 400. There was an intermittent breeze and my intent was to avoid blur.
In retrospect, I neglected to change to Aperture mode so any change to F-stop I made was reset. This is a beginners mistake, so photograph turned out well. The colors are richer in the f/5.7 shot.
A May Morning, Early
Every photograph from my recent posting were accepted by Getty IStock. Click this link to visit the photographs on IStock.
An abrupt emptiness
Here is the east side of the inner enclosure wall of Dun Aonghasa (Dun Aengus) where it ends at a cliff edge over the Atlantic ocean.
Visible are the last 60 feet or so of the limestone strata supporting the inner ring.
When first constructed, the inner ring was complete, the western side 1,000 feet from the cliff.. Today’s form of a semi-circle was created by nature when the force of Atlantic Ocean waves eroded the cliff, undercutting the strata.
Look close to see a fracture where the next block of limestone will fall into the waves.
Wishing a blessed All Saints Day (November 1st) for all my readers.
Reference: wikipedia Dún Aonghasa, Sea Campion
Michael Stephen Wills Photography 