Bluebonnets

Traditionally, the third week week of April is peak blooming period for bluebonnets in  Texas. This year, Elena and I had a little free time and decided to visit the Ennis, Texas area renown for bluebonnet wild seeding.

About 9 miles north of Ennis, we started our search based on an Internet lead for Sugar Ridge Rd, known for the fantastic hillsides and fields covered in wildflowers. What an adventure, around every curve and crest of each hill, we found a vista filled with bluebonnets and other wild flowers. Nearly all the traffic encountered on the road was like minded folks, driving slow and enjoying each stop along the road.

The day was perfect in temperature, sunshine and clean fragrant air. As you can see, “photo ops” were plentiful.

What's blooming?

Today I took a closer look at inconspicuous plants in my garden through the Macro lens.

I wonder what the neighbors think as they see me crawling in the richly composted dirt with camera in hand?

Alyssum

Oxalis

Columbine

I may look awkward, getting on my hands and knees in the garden with my butt in the air, but the resulting images are well worth the effort.  

The image is sharp, it’s just not in focus.

These images were taken with a macro lens, aperture f/2.5.

Wide open aperture allows handholding with very fast shutter speeds.

With macro lens you can move so close to the object that harsh light, shadows and hot spots are no longer a concern. On the contrary, you may discover an environment full of surprises and unexpected results.

Hosta leaf.

Muscari.