Sunflower
35 mm macro lens, ISO 200, 13 seconds at f18

I couldn’t resist taking macro shots of a beautiful bouquet of wildflowers my best friend gave me to cheer me. The sunflowers were spectacular!  I used a small aperture to increase depth of field.  I turned off the lights around the flowers. When the overhead light was on, the petals were overexposed and there were shadows in the center of the flower. I used a small flashlight to light the flower for this image.

Mini Maglite

The camera was on a tripod and set on the self-timer mode. During the 13 second exposure, I waved the light from the flashlight all over the flower.  The flower remained dark for the rest of the 13 seconds. I experimented with the amount of time the flashlight was lighting the flower until I got an image I was satisfied with.  This resulted in more even lighting in the final image.  It was so simple and fun!  You might enjoy trying this on a rainy day.

Lichen

My mood for macro continued and I discovered this lichen on a wood fence on Palmatory Street in Horicon.  Lichen is fungus plus algae or cyanobacteria.  Fungi cannot make their own food.  They need one of the other two substances.  Soil fertility is improved when fungus joins with cyanobacteria.  Lichen can colonize on almost any undisturbed surface.  I love the texture of the wood with the leafy lichen.  It grows less than 1 millimeter per year.  This lichen has been growing a very long time.

I think the gray green color would be an excellent interior paint color.  I suppose “Lichen Gray” would probably not be a big seller.

Chicory

The subtle bluish-purple petals of Chicory delight the eye. If you can identify the insect, please let us know in the comments section.  I looked at hundreds of photos of bees and wasps and didn’t see an exact match. Chicory, intermingled with Queen Anne’s Lace, edging back roads is one of many reasons I am grateful to live in Wisconsin.