Two days ago this beautiful Rocky Mountain columbine flower stood tall on the berm in front of the house here in Anchorage, Alaska. Columbine flowers are recogn...
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Two days ago this beautiful Rocky Mountain columbine flower stood tall on the berm in front of the house here in Anchorage, Alaska. Columbine flowers are recognizable by their long projections extending out the back, the bulbous tips of which are filled with rich tasty nectar. They are sometimes eaten as a snack or tossed into salads. As an adolescent, I tasted a few myself.
Columbine originated in the temperate region of Eurasia and came across the Bering land bridge reaching North America some 10,000 to 40,000 years ago, radiating into about 70 species. Along the way, the length and shape of the nectar extensions became a means of separating some Columbine species by controlling which of its three primary pollinators—bumblebees, hawk moths and hummingbirds—it allowed to reach its nectar sacs.
Yesterday a major weather system moved in, lashing the Columbine with wind and rain. A day later the storm is still going with wind gusts up to 46 mph (74 km per hour). Surprisingly the
Columbine stalk is still standing and the flower still attached albeit temporarily collapsed. The weather system is not due to move out of the area for another day or two
Read less
Columbine originated in the temperate region of Eurasia and came across the Bering land bridge reaching North America some 10,000 to 40,000 years ago, radiating into about 70 species. Along the way, the length and shape of the nectar extensions became a means of separating some Columbine species by controlling which of its three primary pollinators—bumblebees, hawk moths and hummingbirds—it allowed to reach its nectar sacs.
Yesterday a major weather system moved in, lashing the Columbine with wind and rain. A day later the storm is still going with wind gusts up to 46 mph (74 km per hour). Surprisingly the
Columbine stalk is still standing and the flower still attached albeit temporarily collapsed. The weather system is not due to move out of the area for another day or two
Read less
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
Anchorage, AlaskaTime
It was late afternoon as I recall.Lighting
In Alaska, the sun is normally at such a low angle that it provides great side lighting which almost always can improve a photo. I tweaked the lighting during post-processing to enhance this aspect.Equipment
All my photography is done with one camera and one lens which currently consists of a Nikon D500 and a Nikkor 18-300mm lens. It gives me ultra flexibility, and speed under all manner of field conditions. A lot of my photography involves wildlife which often does not wait around for a second photographic opportunity. I carry my camera in a sling bag enabling me to swing it to the front at a moments notice. Most of the padding I have removed from within the bag and replaced it with a gardener's knee pad which both provides padding for the camera and gives me something to sit, kneel or lie on during a shoot. Sometimes I will include a tripod if I think I will be wanting to take long exposures. Sometimes I will carry an external flash either for low light situations or to serve as a fill light in the daytime.Inspiration
This beautiful Rocky Mountain columbine flower stood tall on the berm in front of the house. Columbine flowers are recognizable by their long projections extending out the back, which in this instance looked like they were in motion propelling the flower upstream. It is this that caught my attention and desire to see if I could capture the sense of motion. t\The bulbous tips on the end of the projections are filled with rich tasty nectar. They are sometimes eaten as a snack or tossed into salads. As an adolescent, I tasted a few myself. Columbine originated in the temperate region of Eurasia and came across the Bering land bridge reaching North America some 10,000 to 40,000 years ago, radiating into about 70 species. Along the way, the length and shape of the nectar extensions became a means of separating some Columbine species by controlling which of its three primary pollinators—bumblebees, hawk moths and hummingbirds—it allowed reaching its nectar sacs. The day after photographing the flower a major weather system moved in, lashing the Columbine with wind and rain. The storm continued for two days with wind gusts up to 46 mph (74 km per hour). Surprisingly the Columbine stalk was still standing and the flower still attached albeit temporarily collapsed.Editing
I always do some post-processing in order to better communicate attention to the subject. In this case, I darkened and blurred the background in order that it did not compete with the subject.In my camera bag
All my photography is done with one camera and one lens which currently consists of a Nikon D500 and a Nikkor 18-300mm lens. It gives me ultra flexibility, and speed under all manner of field conditions. A lot of my photography involves wildlife which often does not wait around for a second photographic opportunity. I carry my camera in a sling bag enabling me to swing it to the front at a moments notice. Most of the padding I have removed from within the bag and replaced it with a gardener's knee pad which both provides padding for the camera and gives me something to sit, kneel or lie on during a shoot.Feedback
I cannot overstress the importance of post-processing, especially for a subject like this one.