Welcome to blog post #600. It’s hard to believe that I have posted so many already… Well, Spring has Sprung in Texas! The warmer-than-normal temperatures have confused Mother Nature to the point that she has given up on winter and we are now in full spring mode! I like to go out to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center as soon as the flowers start blooming. I do so to photograph the first batch of Texas Bluebonnets (Lupinus texensis). I got there in time as the flowers were just starting to unfold. The one below was very close to the ground so I had to do some serious stooping to get a decent background. I garnered quite a few strange looks during my contortions. I was fortunate that the winds were low and that I could get enough photographs to put together this focus stack. Bluebonnets are not only the state flower but also one of my favorites. Now let’s hope we don’t get a big freeze!
This image was taken with my Canon EOS 5DS using my Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro Lens. The camera was set on Manual mode with the aperture set at f/5.6, shutter speed at 1/160th of a second and the ISO set at 100. I meant to bring my circular polarizer to reduce glare but I left it at home. I used a tripod for stability and my Kirk Focusing Rail to obtain 43 photos which I brought together into one using Photoshop’s focus stacking technique. I then completed the image in Photoshop using Nik Color Efex Pro.
You can access the datasheet for this flower by clicking here. You can also access the database for all my Texas Wildflower photos by clicking here.
You can view my favorite Texas Wildflower photographs by clicking here. Please use the section below to post your comments, questions or suggestions.
© 2017 T. Kahler Photography
