Category: Season

Yellow Hibiscus III

anthers and stamens

MichaelStephenWills7 Comments

Nyctinasty (flower response to light: opening with or closing without light) in hibiscus plants is a mechanism to protect against adverse conditions such as cool temperatures that can be damaging. Through a lack of light stimulus and circadian rhythms the plant is able to trigger the molecular movement of ions to allow for the closing of the flower.

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  • ISO 100, 1.3 sec at f / 29

Here are three macro photographs of this bloom, all from the Canon 100 “macro” lens. I start with the shutter diaphragm open at 4.0 (“F-stop”), a little narrower at 4.5 and a bit more at 9.0. For this lens the maximum opening is at 2.8, the narrowest is 32. As the opening narrows (F-stop increases) the exposure time needed to capture enough light lengthens and the range of the image in focus increases.

  • ISO 100, 1/30 sec at f / 4.0
  • ISO 100, 1/25 sec at f / 4.5
  • ISO 100, 1/6 sec at f / 9.0
References

Wikipedia – “hibiscus.”

Copyright 2021 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved

Zion Narrows V

narrow and tall

MichaelStephenWills3 Comments

This long exposure blurs the two distant human figures looking downstream toward junction of Orderville Canyon, around corner. Narrows of Zion National Park, Utah

Copyright 2021 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved

Our Sally III

Looking Around

MichaelStephenWills2 Comments

As Pam and I continued down the half mile “Sallyport” footpath, marked in red on the Google Earth view provided at the end of this post, we enjoyed the view across the Celtic Sea toward the distant Old Head of Kinsale and this sailboat headed to port.

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Landward, we enjoyed watching the progress of a farmer rolling hay bales while cows munched fresh green grass.

  • A half mile footpath, marked in red, leads from Charles fort along the shoreline cliffs, surmounted by working farmland.

Copyright 2021 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved

Yellow Hibiscus II

flower and buds

MichaelStephenWills2 Comments

This is a perennial, commonly known simply as “hibiscus”, or less widely known as rose mallow. Other names include hardy hibiscus, rose of sharon, and tropical hibiscus.

The hibiscus flower is traditionally worn by Tahitian and Hawaiian girls. If the flower is worn behind the left ear, the woman is married or has a boyfriend. If the flower is worn on the right, she is single or openly available for a relationship.

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  • ISO 800, 1//8 sec at f / 32
Here are the three photographs of this bloom, all from the Canon 100 “macro” lens. Two with “sweat bees” and one without.
  • ISO 800, 1//8 sec at f / 32
  • ISO 800, 1//8 sec at f / 32
  • ISO 800, 1//8 sec at f / 32
References

Wikipedia – “hibiscus.”

Copyright 2021 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved

Zion Narrows IV

cross-bedding

MichaelStephenWills6 Comments

Careful attention to hidden boulders is essential when hiking the Narrows of Zion National Park, Utah

Copyright 2021 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved

Yellow Hibiscus I

flower, buds, bee

MichaelStephenWills7 Comments

Yellow hibiscus, the state flower of Hawaii was recorded in ancient Greece. In the photograph is captured several unopened buds, behind the flower, and a bee in the flower throat, attracted by nectar there. It is a small bee, of the Halictidae family, that lives alone in a ground nest and also called a “sweat bee,” from being attracted to perspiration.

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  • ISO 800, 1//8 sec at f / 32
References

Wikipedia – “sweat bee” and “hibiscus.”

Zion Narrows III

cross-bedding

MichaelStephenWills2 Comments

The pronounced cross-bedding (diagonal layering) of this Navajo Sandstone wall exposed by Virgin river erosion is the effect of wind drifting sands of the largest known sand desert formed in the Jurassic era lasting for 56 million years (185 million years ago). This photograph contrasts the ever new Virgin River with this ancient rock, deepening shadows suggest the depth of time.

Copyright 2021 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved

Charles Fort Walls

Dún Chathail

MichaelStephenWills5 Comments

A “dun” is a larger fortification, few and far between on the island of Ireland. We saw one on the Arran Islands, from the Iron Age, Dun Angus, Charles Fort, or Dún Chathail in Irish, is from historical ages.

A cannot tell from my slide show, but the walls are star shaped with many salients, giving more positions to defend the walls.

  • Steps to bridge across defensive ditch
  • Bridge and gate to fort enclosure, closed this late in day
  • Embrasures
  • An opening in the fort walls which cannons can be fired. They were often flared outward to enlarge the field of fire.
  • Close-up of gun port
  • Crenellations
  • Tightly joined masonry
  • lichen
  • life has its way
  • seems to be a succulent
  • a doorway here seems a bad idea, but what do I know?
  • A pulley at first glance, look again and it is a lock
  • beneath the walls
  • Down to the Sallyport and the next post

References

“Charles Fort” – wikipedia

Copyright 2021 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills

Zion Narrows II

more Narrows information and perfecting the photograph

MichaelStephenWills8 Comments

My research for Zion Narrows I included a useful map. Perusing the the National Park Service web site I could find nothing for the Narrows. This week, while perfecting the three file merge, I kicked around in “google” and found this map hidden away in a section devoted to dedicated canyoneers planning multiple day backpacks through the entire canyon. These trips are from the “top down” and, I suppose, they do not want to expose the information to day trippers.

Anyway, I downloaded the map and present it here. You can either click on the hyperlink or click “download” to view the map. The file is a 2.5 MB pdf, if you want to download it. The trail accessible from the park proper starts from the bottom. Pam and I made it to just beyond where Ordway canyon joins, about 2 hours from the start. Note there are NO places to escape a flash flood beyond this point and, below, we learned from observation there are few places and many of these were for hikers more, lets say, nimble than Pam and myself.

Narrows-Map-2017Download

The following is the result of several hours work merging the three files of Zion Narrows I. Click on the image to open a larger version in a new tab.

This is a comparison of the before and after photographs. Enjoy!!

Copyright 2021 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved

Hosta

Hosta Blooms on a cloudy, still summer dawn

MichaelStephenWills4 Comments

On July 17, 2021 Ithaca was socked in with heavy clouds obscuring sunrise, a perfect moment to capture Pam’s hostas flowering with the upper stalks still budding. I setup the Manfrotto tripod, the Canon dslr mounted with an EF 50 mm 1:1.2 L at ISO 800 and these are the results.

Native to northeastern Asia, In 1812 the genera Hosta was named for the European botanist Nicholas Thomas Host. Also called plantain lily for the habit of the herbaceous stalks to grow radially from a center.

  • 0.5 sec at f / 16
  • 1/4 sec at f / 16
  • 1/5 sec at f / 16
  • 1/6 sec at f / 16
Slide show overview of the hosta and blooms

  • 1/100 sec at f / 4.0
I enjoy the balance of background bokeh, foreground sharpness

This series moves from the lens diaphragm starting at the smallest opening, greatest depth of field and longest exposure, to the widest, most shallow depth of field and shortest exposure. The air was very still this morning, allowing me to experiment.

  • 1/5 sec at f / 16
  • 1/10 sec at f / 11
  • 1/20 sec at f / 8.0
  • 1/100 sec at f / 4.0
  • 1/100 sec at f / 3.5
  • 1/250 sec at f / 2.5
  • 1/400 sec at f / 2.0
  • 1/1000 sec at f / 1.6
  • 1/1000 sec at f / 1.2


Here is my favorite version from the above experiment. Do you have a favorite? Named it in comment and please explain your choice.

  • 1/20 sec at f / 8.0

Copyright 2021 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved