Daily Image - Mar '21 Archive

25 Mar 21 For today's Theatrical Thursday's submission I've selected a shot of a stately Bald Eagle who resides in Sequim, WA. The bird may have a name in as much as there resides in Sequim a very talented nature photographer and among his work are many shots of a pair of Bald Eagles whom he has named. Jan thinks the names he has given them are Fred and Ethel but she isn't certain and even if she were there is no way we could know if this individual is one of them. But one thing for certain is that on almost any visit there we get to see one or more of these beautiful birds. Now, being the day it is, the question is, what's creative about the image? I've seriously cropped the original but otherwise this is what the camera captured. Anticipating the Storm Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/1250 sec @ f / 9.

01 Mar 21 As the fog was lifting the sunlight started making its presence fully known. While still at a sufficiently low angle it was doing a good job of side lighting a lot of the forest. It was also putting a heavy glow on the water that I could have done without. So I've removed a goodly portion of that. It's not often that I get the light showing off the trees and grasses as it was that morning for a few minutes but I was fortunate enough to be in a location where I could make the most of it. All that was missing was a little frost on the ground which likely was there maybe 30 minutes earlier as the temps that morning when I got up were in the high 20s. Other than some serious cropping off of the water, this is what the camera saw. Side Lit Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 320; 1/640 sec @ f / 9.

16 Mar 21 O.K., here we go. We are going to take a long walk through all of the hot spring area at Mammoth. First the lower terrace and then the upper terrace. We begin our walk at the parking lot where we saw that tall extinct spring I shared yesterday. I've walked about 50 yards from there to take today's shot. This portion of the lower terrace extends considerably past the left side of the frame, but to include it all would defeat what I want to show. I've once again left in the humans for scale but they likely won't appear again so use the two images to get a sense of scale for the next couple dozen or so shots. It you think of the top of the railings on the board walk as being 3 feet in height you should be good to go. When we first visited in the late 70s that section on the far right that is all white wasn't; it looked a lot more like the orange section. It's been white (inactive) for quite some time but is now starting to show some new color. We are going to walk up the boardwalk to the left out of the frame, take a right, and follow the boardwalk to its end at the right, return the way we came and then climb up one level to reach the top of the flat section where you see the steam, then backtrack some and go a level higher. Then we are going to walk back to the parking lot and take the trail around the side parallel to the road, then climb some for a different view. Then we'll return to the parking lot, drive up to the upper terrace and take a look at the travertine connecting the upper terrace with the lower terrace. Finally, we'll drive around the upper terrace to visit two additional sights. Throughout the walk I'll do my best to share what is there in a manner that I hope will have you feeling like you are actually doing the walk yourself by selecting and showcasing individual sections of the spring. My timing on this visit wasn't the best as I not only missed the mating elk but missed them walking up on the side of this terrace. As is always said, "timing is everything". On this late morning mine wasn't, but I hope I can make up for it with a few nice images of the two terraces. Other than some slight straightening, this is straight from the camera. We Start Walking Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 320; 1/1250 sec @ f / 9.

15 Mar 21 There are 5 entrances to Yellowstone: South Entrance which leads to Grand Teton National Park; East Entrance that goes to Cody; and the West Entrance that takes you into the middle west portion of the park. These gates are open for roughly six months from May through October. The other two gates are the North Entrance also known as the Gardiner Gate that is home to the original Headquarters and Mammoth Hot Springs, and finally The North East Entrance to Red Lodge. These last two gates are open year round and provide the only free access to the park in the winter. However, once you reach Red Lodge you can go no further in the winter so the Gardiner Entrance is the busiest of the all the gates year round with the West Yellowstone entrance equally busy when it is open. Gardiner is a busy little town which owes it's existence to the park. You can actually walk into the park from the town should you wish and there would be plenty to occupy your time if you should so elect. The North Entrance grounds offer a LOT to see and do and one could easily spend a full day there. Perhaps the biggest attraction there is Mammoth Hot Springs which sports two distinct terraces and maybe two miles of boardwalks and trails. It has two complexions, one at sunrise and the other at sunset. In all probability the first thing that will catch your eye as you drive past the springs is a tall dormant spring known as Liberty Cap. It was named in 1871 for it's resemblance to the peaked knit caps symbolizing liberty in the French revolution. I've left a couple humans in the shot for perspective. We'll spend the next couple of weeks looking at the sights at this entrance to the park. Other than some cropping off of the blank sky, this is what the camera saw. Attention Grabber Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 320; 1/1600 sec @ f / 9.

17 Mar 21We have now walked up along the boardwalk to where it splits and you have to make a choice. Go right and you wind up at the box viewing section that was at the right end of the boardwalk in yesterday's submission. This is all that many visitors take in as it is a relatively gentle sloping walk suitable for those who may have difficulties doing anything more and you can see a little bit of everything in this short distance. The main phrase here being "little" as there is much more to see than just a little bit but if you can't do more this will suffice to give you a feel for what's here and the $1 pamphlet will fill in the "gaps." Regardless of your physical condition the short walk is definitely worth doing. Then you come back to this juncture - the shot angled section at the left - go left and really begin to explore the springs on the lower terrace. That will include a lot of climbing, some of it steep in sections, and I have to stop every few minutes to catch my breath, but it's worth the effort. The white area is a now an older inactive section while that to its immediate left is a newly active area. Look carefully and you can see that the smoke was just starting to return to the park. We'll take a break tomorrow from Yellowstone, macro of course on Friday, and then back to our tour of the "springs." Other than some cropping and a wee bit of dodging and burning, this is what the camera captured. Decision Point Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/1000 sec @ f / 9.

18 Mar 21 Didn't satisfactorily get done today what I had planned so back to Yellowstone to continue on our walk. Can't even fully show what I wanted as it seems as though I failed to take a shot I needed so we'll have to go with second best. This is a section to the right of what I shared yesterday. It gives a much better view of what the Travertine, (a special name for a form of limestone deposited by mineral springs, especially hot springs), looks like. You could cut the shot in half vertically for a completely new presentation if desired but either way, half or all of the photo, zoom in to something like 100% and have a good look at the structure. Unlike other forms of limestone, Travertine has a fibrous like appearance. Although it comes in various colors, including white, the white you encounter at Mammoth is almost always a static (inactive) section. You can't see it in this view, but there is another boardwalk above that lets you walk alongside the flat area of top for a very different view of the lowest section of the Lower Terrace. This is what the camera saw. A Closer Look Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/1250 sec @ f / 9.

22 Mar 21 Continuing on our walk we are now looking at that section of Palette Spring that was at the far right edge of what I shared on Thursday. Now you have a close up look at the structures, colors, and water flow of this particular spring. What intrigues me about these springs is that they are constantly undergoing change. In fact, this is one location on earth where you can actually see rock being formed real time, right before your eyes. Each year this area changes its complexion and when I was visiting last fall I was amazed at some of the changes I saw, a topic for a couple of mailings in the future. The colors of the travertine are determined by the thermophiles living in the hot water. You can estimate the water's temperature by the color of the thermophiles or vice versa. Colorless or yellow coloration means the water is between 140 - 160 F while the orange, brown, and green critters like water between 122- 140F. As you scan the image note the different water flow patterns as well as the color changes and overlap. The area covered by this and the next couple of images which represent a continuous section of the spring, at the moment quite active or at least when I took the shots last September is one of the most striking portions of the spring. There are others for sure, but this is the easiest to see when walking. A couple of others require no walking as you can literally drive right up to them, park, and get out and you are there. Each of these will be the subject of a single mailing. The dead trees have been there for quite some time; I keep hoping to one day get a vulture sitting on one or more of them. This is exactly what the camera captured. Yellow Life Forms Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/640 sec @ f / 9.

23 Mar 21 Today we continue our walk towards the end of the lower short boardwalk. This mushroom shaped cone is the most prominent feature along the way. It almost appears as though it has thrust its way up out of the substrate and is the only thing like it along the way. This section of the springs had water running everywhere and you could hear it gurgling its way down the front of the "wall." One of the more interesting things for me in this section is the different shapes of the travertine, mounding in some areas, what looks like flowing streams in some places, and what I think of as building blocks elsewhere. What I also find interesting is the different colors and how in some areas the coloration is basically uniform while in others it is mixed, since it is all related to water temperature. This is the 2/3 point of the stroll along the boardwalk but at this point we have seen everything there is to see to some degree. You could take dozens of photos here all giving a different perspective - yes I did - but the basic information is contained in what I've shared so far. With the exception of a wee bit of dodging and burning and the removal of a little boring sky at the top, this is what the camera recorded. The Mushroom Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture priority; ISO 200; 1/800 sec @ f / 9.

24 Mar 21 Since it was brought to my attention that it was difficult, if not impossible, to see any running water in the previous images, this is is just to show how much water is flowing out of these springs. Now it is going to take a bit of looking perhaps before you'll see it, so I'll do my best to direct you to all the water. Let's visually - or you could draw lines over the image - break it apart into a tic-tac-toe board or into the rule of thirds in photography jargon. At the intersection of the left vertical and top horizontal lines look at all the rock. You will see two different things. First, there are at least 4 distinct flowing streams of water with some very sparkling splashes and second, look really close and you'll see what might be described as an overlay or texture; that is flowing water. The rocks are fully covered in flowing water. At the upper third on the left edge of the frame you'll see a flowing stream cascading down towards the middle of the frame. In the upper right section immediately to the left of the white rock each of the 3 colored mounds to the left have water flowing over them and there is a definite stream of water flowing between the left most two. At the bottom of the middle box you will see more flowing water. All of this will take a little concentration, but when you "see" it, it will be more than obvious. Once you recognize how much water is flowing from these underground springs you can get an appreciation of the dynamics of change constantly occurring here. Good searching. This is straight from the camera. Spillage Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/640 sec @ f / 9.

29 Mar 21 Today we start up the trail (boardwalk) from the Lower Terrace to the Upper Terrace. I've never completed the trip so we will go as far as I did which is about 1/4 the way to the top. It is a strenuous walk/climb for me but with luck I'll make it to the top this spring. With two vehicles it is easy; leave one vehicle at the bottom; drive to the top; walk down; drive back to the top and get the other vehicle. Alas, I'll have but a single vehicle. Of course there is always the option of doing it in halves. This is how it looks as you travel between sections of the springs. In places along the boardwalks you are 20 - 50 feet distant from the springs; at others you can reach out and touch it. Of course you aren't supposed to do that, but you can get that close. In some areas you are walking literally right over the top of it but that's confined to the Upper Terrace region. We'll pick up from here tomorrow walking to our right and will be looking down a bit onto the top of the Lower Terrace section I shared in the previous images. The sky was a pure flat light blue when I took this shot so I replaced it with a more attractive sky, the main difference being a hint of clouds for texture. Other than the sky replacement this is what the camera captured. Starting Up Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/800 sec @ f / 9.

30 Mar 21 So now we saunter down the boardwalk heading to the overlook of Palette Spring, the area of most of the previous images. To our left - today's image - is Minerva Terrace which was active years ago but today not so much. What I find really interesting here is the different colored and textured grouping of travertine since they were all created by the water bubbling up from the underground springs. Since different colors represent the remains of bacteria living in different temperature waters, you can get some idea as to how the water shifts below the surface with time. The more time I spend looking at these marvelous mounds the more fascinating I find them. What's also interesting is that grasses can find sufficient nutrients in this rock to grow. Someday maybe I'll be fortunate enough to record some creature(s) grazing on the vegetation. This is what the camera captured. Minerva Terrace Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/1000 sec @ f / 9.

31 Mar 21 So here we are standing atop Palette Spring. That curved section with the autos below it is roughly the middle of Palette Spring. You can walk a bit further than I had when I took this shot but there is less and less to see as you make your way to the bitter end of this particular boardwalk. This isn't what I would call a good image, but I don't think such is possible other than at daybreak or dusk. It isn't a really beautiful location, but it does serve to show you how much water is being distributed over the top of the springs. The dead trees give a little perspective as to the size of the area and the cars an idea of height. There is no sense of flowing water such as that in a creek or stream, but as the water level doesn't decrease, and you can see it flowing down over the edge from below, you know it is being constantly supplied. The blue color was a bit of a surprise and I found no explanation for it but the other colors I've accounted for in previous mailings. In the background you can see some of the old army barracks that were used to house the Army when it was stationed here when the park was created. You can take a self directed tour of the barracks if such interests you as well as visit a major museum when you are in the main visitors area. At some distance behind those grey "hills" you encounter the Lamar Valley. This is what the camera recorded save for a bit of dodging and burning. Over the Top Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/640 sec @ f / 9.

02 Mar 21 Fog gone, ol' Sol up in the sky, I made my way to Mammoth Hot Springs to spend some morning time with the Springs which I planned to do again in the late afternoon as the lighting is substantially different in each time frame. As I began my walk I noticed a slew of critters very near the parking lot and not over in the area where they normally hang out. Actually it wasn't too hard to notice due to the crowds and Park Rangers trying to prevent folks from getting too close or something else. Spent about an hour walking around the Lower Terrance complex before heading back to the SUV. As I approached the parking lot it became readily apparent that most of the crowd, all of the Rangers, and most of the critters had moved on, but now there was no interference for taking photos and I took a "few." The first thing that came to mind was that I had taken the perfect shot for our 2020 Christmas card except that we don't send cards. But the Christmas story - inaccurate as it is - of there being no room at the Inn came to mind, only I was visualizing it in a different perspective, that of no one being able to get out of the Inn. Had I been inside I'm not sure how I would have approached the situation but I would have found some way to take advantage of it! 😂 Later that evening folks from SW WA who were staying in the condo above me stopped by to show me their photos and movies of the group making babies. I've never seen it, they got it on their first visit. Some things just aren't fair!! A 6 point bull, five cows and three yearlings just taking it easy. I should have spent another 45 minutes walking around the springs!! Other than some straightening this is what the camera recorded. Morning Break Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200 ; 1/320 sec @ f / 9.

10 Mar 21 So I left off yesterday mentioning wanting to see a couple of the big boys doing their thing for real. Spending an hour with them just bluffing was one thing, but the real thing would be something to observe. Might be able to describe it as 5,000 pounds of aggressive pot roast. Last fall I did get to see a couple of youngsters out practicing and showing off to a receptive female, but her behavior wasn't for their benefit. More like just flirting or perhaps something that might be described in a more inappropriate term. But it was fun to watch the two young bulls putting on a great dust show for perhaps 15 minutes until they were either tired out or just bored with the game. I had the option of changing to a much longer lens to just have them fill the frame and gave it some serious thought but in the end decided I wanted more of the overall scene than just the three critters and dust. You'll need to look very closely to see both bulls as there is just a very small part of one that's visible. Once you find that part you recognize just how small they are . . . . when compared to the big bulls! I've seriously cropped the original and given it some significant contrast enhancement so you can see the tussling bulls. In Training Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/640 sec @ f / 9.

04 Mar 21 Got a late start today after spending a bit too much time starting to reclaim the garden. Sorta feel the same way I used to feel that second day of school after the summer off and that first day of P.E. that was just calisthenics. Certainly one of those evening of better living through chemistry!! All of that to say I wasn't paying as close attention to my choice of subject and worked up an image very much like the first one I sent out this week. Gotta do better. This one will give you a better perspective of the landscape if nothing else. The location is just a couple of miles prior to where I shot the traffic jam I shared for Wednesday's image. I've never wandered along any of the trails in this area but thinking with a can of bear spray, a couple of walking sticks, a camera, and a companion it could be really enjoyable. 180 degrees behind me there used to be two dens of wolves but as I haven't seen any masses of photographers and/or wolf watchers there on my last three visits I'm thinking the wolves got tired of being "stalked" and moved on. I certainly wouldn't blame them if such were the case. The location is known as Slough Creek. It has a fun outhouse as it is the only one for miles and hosts a mailbox right in front of it. Guess when you just have to share on FB what you're doing at the moment and cell reception just isn't hacking it you can always share your thoughts via the post! I've severely cropped the original and tried to remove most of the smoke that was starting to return. Backlit Hillside Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/1250 sec @ f / 9.

03 Mar 21 With very few exceptions during our sojourns into the park, we find ourselves stopped in the road while waiting for a group of bison, sometime large, sometimes small, as they meander across and/or mingle on the road. It's a great show, included at no additional charge in the entry fee, and one that as far as I know can only be experienced in the park or very near it. It is a great time to get close to the critters and take their portraits or, even better, take the portraits of others who are stopped as well. Now this may seem perverse, but I take great delight in observing those visitors who get upset, sometime even outraged, at being held up by these amazing critters. It's a riot sometimes. I mean, the nerve of these animals in blocking the naked apes from driving as fast as they can get away with through the critter's home! What makes it even more fun is watching the bison as they walk a portion of the way across the road, then just stop and hang out on the road for a while, maybe turn around and go back some before turning around again and moving a bit further to the other side but not fully across or just decide to walk down the road sorta parallel to the traffic or maybe just use a vehicle or two to scratch an itch. When they do that to some really fancy vehicle is when it gets really enjoyable as the occupants go berserk. Kinda makes my day when that happens. I have never fully understood why folks come to these wonderful national parks and just don't completely kick back and enjoy these amazing opportunities. Take a close look at what the occupants are doing in the vehicles. You can't see what the folks in the OR car are seeing, but it's a couple of individuals about 5 feet from two of the herd trying for a close up. Other than a little cropping, this is what the camera saw. Road Jam Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/500 sec @ f / 9.

slough_creek_bison_18775

08 Mar 21 My encounters with the Bison last visit were primarily confined to a single day in the general Lamar Valley area. They weren't congregating in the numbers I expected in the areas where I generally find them, but they were out and about spread over a vast area often quite distant from the road as I'm accustomed to seeing them. There is a section of road in the general Slough Creek area between Slough Creek and Tower Junction where there are several pond size bodies of water that normally sport small herds of bison numbering between 30 - 100. This visit none of then sported any animals. It was a bit strange but there was no shortage of them, they were just in a different location further east into the valley. This is a shot of a small part of the group that was wandering across the road and they were spread out for the better part of a mile on both sides of the road. One huge bull, a couple smaller ones, several cows and yearling calves and one red dog in this small group of nineteen. Other than a little cropping for presentation this is what the camera saw. Lunch Time at Slough Creek Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/640 sec @ f / 9.

09 Mar 21 Another shot of a small group of bison that are ready for the rut. The closest I've ever been to witnessing such was a few years back with a group of maybe 80 individuals including two large bulls in a standoff. Stayed around for about an hour watching the show before deciding it wasn't going to happen that day. In this shot you can see two bulls but the main player is uppermost at the middle right edge of the image. Note the size of his head when compared to all the others. The other gent is at the left center edge but he is definitely not a player this time around. These big bulls exceed 2,500 pounds and are really impressive no matter what they do but when you get a couple of them sparing it is really quite a spectacle. Hopefully one of these day I may get a truly good shot of them in combat . . . . from a distance. Other than a little dodging and burning to provide for some depth in the composition this is what the camera recorded. Break Time Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture priority; ISO 400; 1/800 sec @ f /9.

11 Mar 21 We'll conclude this series of the bison with a portrait, at least the best attempt I got at getting a portrait. It isn't quite what I would have preferred, but it does a reasonably good job of showcasing the big bull's head as well as giving a decent size comparison between the breeding bulls and cows. Considering that subjects closer to the camera appear bigger than those further away you get an even better idea of their relative sizes. Another way of looking at it is their relative weights; fully mature bulls weigh 2,500+ pounds while the cows are 1,500 - 1,800 pounds. That makes the bulls about 50% larger than their counterparts. These two were really laid back when I took the shot, in fact, the bull was sleeping with eyes closed and I'm thinking the cow also. With his eyes closed he looked a bit strange so I've given him an "artificial" eye. This pair was only about 30 yards from the road side so it was an easy shot. I probably should have swapped lenses and gone for a head filling frame but hindsight is always 20/10. Other than a little dodging and burning and supplying the missing eye, this is what the camera saw. Posing Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 400; 1/500 sec @ f / 9.

05 Mar 21 For this Friday's macro/close-up we are looking at a macro of something with which I'm guessing you are all very familiar but may not have ever given it such a close look. I'll further another guess that not all of you have seen it in this form but that you will have definitely seen it in other forms. What I'm sharing is just a portion of the whole and while not all of it looks like this the vast majority does. I'll leave it up to you to figure out with an explanation accompanying Monday's image. This is straight from the camera. What Am I Nikon D500; Aperture Priority; 105mm macro; ISO 200; 1/60 sec @ f /14 with full flash.

12 Mar 21 For today's Friday macro we'll be looking at a native berry plant that just loves to fill in any vacant ground. Its berries are a multiple of colors ranging from yellow to red but are neither of the two pure colors being more of a mixed blend of the two colors. The plant goes by the name of Salmonberry, Rubus spectabilis for those of you who prefer the scientific name, and while it is an edible berry it is at best mildly sweet to neutral and not many folks around here preserve them even though they are quite abundant. The blooms appear in March and last about a week the berries arriving in the June time-frame. The berry is compound meaning that it is composed of a tight cluster of many smaller parts, like a raspberry. Worth remembering is that berries of this type - compound - are generally edible. This shot is roughly 5x life size, the flower fitting easily on a nickle. I took the shot in the studio against a black backdrop. It was quite busy so I've endeavored to remove most of the conflict. 5X Life Size Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 500 1/60 sec @ f / 9 with full flash.

19 Mar 21 As most of you are aware I started a HVAC company back when we built this house. It is a long story but the company failed after a couple of years. What started this adventure was our looking to make our new abode as energy efficient as possible. That led us to installing a system that pulled heat from the air, used that energy to heat water, and the water to heat the home. When the company failed I needed to find another source for service and settled with a “local” HVAC firm. In the course of time my original system blew a control board, the replacement price of which exceeded a full new unit from another supplier. So I purchased the new unit and had the firm install it. That was in Jan of 2019; it has never fully functioned properly. Over the course of the last 2 years I have been working closely with Mike, one of the co-owners of that "local" company to try and solve what is causing the unit to malfunction. About three months ago we made the latest change to the system and it appeared that we may have finally fixed the culprit. During these 2 years Mike and I became reasonably good friends during his many trips out to work on the system, so many that even our very shy pooch Maggie had made friends with him. Three weeks ago I had called to chat with him about the system but just missed him that morning but was told to call back in the late afternoon. I got tied up and didn’t make the call. The next morning I called only to be informed that he had had a very bad accident that prior day and was in the hospital but in stable condition. The next day I was told that he had fallen off a ladder and had incurred serious head injuries. When I called to check on him about 10 days ago I was told that they had set up a gofund.me page for him as it would be 6 months to a year before he fully recovered. Over this past weekend I had a funny feeling that something wasn’t right. When I called Monday morning to see how he was doing I was informed that he had been taken off life support the Thursday prior and died on Friday. It was quite a shock and not one I was truly prepared for even though I had a sense something wasn’t right. I know I’m not alone when I say that he is going to be sorely missed but his light is out there brightly shining while keeping an eye on us all; that however is not the same as having him here with us. So Mike, this one is for you my friend! I ask you all to keep Mike’s family and co-workers in your prayers. This started out as a 6 image focus stacking series to which I've added the creative effect using the Fractalius plug-in which some of you may recall I used a lot about a decade back. Boldly For Mike Nikon D500; 105mm macro; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/60 sec @ f /10 with full flash.

26 Mar 21 Based on comments I've heard from others on this mailing, I'm going to assume that just as Spring has sprung in our neighborhood, the same is true in yours. Most of our flowering trees are in bloom, and many of the spring flowers are putting on quite the show. It should be a prime weekend for the daffodils in La Conner, a Puget Sound community up where we go to shoot the geese known primarily for the tulips grown there and their annual Tulip Festival. It is also rather prime time down here for the daffodils, and today's feature is of one such specimen. It is actually a combination of three shots I took at different focus points in an effort to get more of the blossom in focus. I used a short tele macro lens to get in real close and then had to make a decision as to how much (number of shots) I wanted in focus. My decision was to not make it all in focus in an attempt to give the flower more depth. You'll have to decide if it worked. This is straight from the camera although it is a combo of three frames. Trumpet Nikon D500; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/40 sec @ f /10 with the 105mm Micro Nikkor.