2014, Day 295 - Hunker down

After a long beautiful and mild start to fall we had our first day of heavy rain today.  It that rain that comes down so hard that you can hear it on the roof and is almost deafening when you're in the car.  Not our typical Pacific NW rain that is light but constant for days, this was a deluge complete with localized flooding.  With all this wet weather it was a good day to make a bowl of soup and watch some movies.

Canon 5D Mark III, Canon 100/f2.8L IS
100mm, f4, 1/500 sec @ 640 ISO

2014, Day 293 - Button

Even though the fall color is in its infancy some trees have already dropped their leaves.  The aspens are already bare and there are fringes of color to the maples.  The dahlias are starting to look shabby and there are only a few showing signs of their former glory.  At least the trees have their color display left to go before we get to the stark beauty of winter.

Fuji X-T1, Fujinon 60/f2.4R
60mm, f3.2, 1/180 sec @ 200 ISO

2014, Day 287 - Bright spot

Day three of five for the five day black and white challenge.  The dahlias are fading fast but there are still plenty to be found if you know where to look.

Today I challenge Julie Ward; five days, five black and white photos, and issue to challenge to a new person on each of the five days.

Fuji X-E2, Fujinon 35/f1.4R
35mm, f3.2, 1/125 sec @ 320 ISO

2014, Day 273 - Sunset

The warm peach that transitions to yellow is warmer than our weather.  The dahlias are past their peak and many are starting to look ragged and worn.  Leaves are beginning to fade to yellow and soon each step will be punctuated by the crackle of fallen foliage.  But I love fall, the last show before winter.

Fuji X-T1, Fujinon 60/f2.4R
60mm, f4, 1/125 sec @ 200 ISO

2014, Day 269 - Clasp

More dahlias because I just can't get enough of them.  I love the colors and vibrancy, the sheer variety, and the myriad forms.

Canon 1D X, Canon 100/f2.8L IS
100mm, f4, 1/160 sec @ 200 ISO

2014, Day 268 - Mist

Beautiful fall weather today was a combination of sun, clouds, and light rain.  Perfect as far as I'm concerned!

Fuji X-T1, Fujinon 60/f2.4R
60mm, f4, 1/125 sec @ 250 ISO

2014, Day 245 - Burst

Although we had the hottest August on record the dahlias are holding up well.  They are a riot of color where much of the plant life is looking rather old and worn.  Dahlias are nature's fall treat!

Fuji X-T1, Fujinon 60/f2.4R
60mm, f5.6, 1/125 sec @ 1250 ISO

2014, Day 242 - Peeled

Dahlias come in so many forms and colors, they're really quite spectacular.  Fortunately there are a number of people in town that plant them quite heavily in their yards because they're just too much work for me.  In fact my favorite place to visit is Old House Dahlias because he has a lot of plants in his garden and there are cut flowers available for a great price so this time of year I get photos and take flowers to someone who I think is deserving and everybody wins!

Canon 1D X, Canon 100/f2.8L IS
100mm, f4, 1/125 sec @ 400 ISO

2014, Day 239 - Blinding

These high key photos are such a pain in the butt.  It is so hard to get the whites looking pure and to remove the muddy-ness without losing the details.  I love the simplicity but it comes at a price.

Fuji X-T1, Fujinon 60/f2.4R
60mm, f2.4, 1/480 sec @ 200 ISO

2014, Day 238 - Teetering

Sleepy bees are so much fun.  They are like little teddy bears with exoskeletons and when it is cold they're inactive.  This guy is perched on a flower petal and using two legs spread wide for stabilization.

Fuji X-T1, Fujinon 60/f2.4R
60mm, f5.6, 1/125 sec @ 1600 ISO

2014, Day 237 - Clasp

As I looked at the arrangement of these petals I was reminded of the setting in a ring used to hold the stone in place.  It then struck me as ironic because a flower is the gem of the plant but, to take that analogy further, the pollen is the focal point of the flower hence the petals really are the setting and the stigma are the gems.  Wow, that got convoluted quickly...

Fuji X-T1, Fujinon 60/f2.4R
60mm, f4, 1/125 sec @ 400 ISO

2014, Day 234 - Hairs

Another morning macro on a dahlia.  The dew made the petals look like enameled porcelain and the fly made such an interesting contrast in texture and color.  Insects are like amazing little machines but I think that is due in large part to having an exoskeleton.

Fuji X-T1, Fujinon 60/f2.4R
60mm, f4, 1/125 sec @ 250 ISO

2014, Day 233 - Boost

It wasn't as overcast as I would have liked this morning for taking photos but it was actually almost chilly which meant that the pollinators would we sluggish as they awake for another busy day.  So I walked the dogs and grabbed my camera to take some pictures of the dahlias.  They're looking amazing and the insect life around them is abundant.  This little guy looked quite content nestled into the petals of this dahlia waiting for the sun to warm his body and give him a metabolic boost.

Canon 1D X, Canon 100/f2.8L IS
100mm, f4, 1/125 sec @ 1250 ISO

2014, Day 231 - Folded

It is almost like origami, delicately folded petals tightly packed together in radiant color to make a perfect flower.  It is simple and vibrant, in its time this flower will feed and house a number of insects who will show their gratitude with pollination.

Canon 1D X, Canon 100/f2.8L IS
100mm, f5.6, 1/320 sec @ 2000 ISO

2014, Day 229 - Diamonds

Kissed by an evening shower the dahlias are blooming and putting on a pretty amazing show.  It is time to get out there again and look for insects to accompany my flowers.

Canon 1D X, Canon 100/f2.8L IS
100mm, f5.6, 1/250 sec @ 2000 ISO

2014, Day 221 - Beacon

There is definitely cause for celebration when the dahlias start to bloom and they're beginning to flower now.  I suspect we are still a couple weeks away from their peak but it is such a treat to have so many cultivated nearby.  These beautiful flowers are rather high maintenance as the tubers should be dug up in the late fall and stored cool but out of the frost.  I just don't have the patience to plant and dig up the same flowers year after year no matter how much I like them.

Canon 1D X, Canon 100/f2.8L IS
100mm, f5.6, 1/320 sec @ 500 ISO

2014, Day 184 - Cellophane

Hoverflies are thought to be the second most important pollinators, surpassed only by bees.  As larva some eat aphids and other parasitic insects making them an even more important part of the ecosystem. They mimic the appearance of bees, and in some cases wasps, to fool potential predators into looking for an easier meal.  Such ingenious little animals.

Canon 1D X, Canon 100/f2.8L IS
100mm, f5.6, 1/320 sec @ 800 ISO

2014, Day 179 - Sheltered

This week I was working near Old House Dahlias.  It isn't dahlia season, this picture is from last year, but I can't wait for them to bloom again.  The plants are growing but this cool weather has their growth rate a bit of the slow side.  I'm not complaining, I love a mild summer and that means that the flowers will bloom later which is even more of a treat.

Canon 5D Mark III, Canon 100/f2.8L IS
100mm, f5.6, 1/250 sec @ 250 ISO

2014, Day 176 - Spring

I love my bouncy little friends.  They're starting bask in the sun, when there is sun, so I keep seeing more and more of them.  I love the way they track activity around them; jumping spiders are active predators and it shows with their big eyes and their constant swiveling to keep potential prey in view.  These guys are so much fun!

Canon 5D Mark III, Canon 100/f2.8L IS
100mm, f4, 1/250 sec @ 400 ISO

2014, Day 175 - Beads

This is a salvage photo.  I took it after I got my camera back from Canon for servicing and they, as alway, return it to the default settings.  I changed them all back but I forgot to change the file format from JPEG to RAW.  The exposure was off the focus was on and I liked the image so I opened the JPEG as a Camera RAW file, made my development adjustments, and it was good to go.  Even with all my manipulation and the relatively high ISO it turned out nice and clean.  Someone was rolling in pollen like a pig in mud :)

Canon 1D X, Canon 100/f2.8L IS
100mm, f4, 1/250 sec @ 800 ISO