Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it. ~ Confucius
Image is a Texas Field Thistle. I used a Nikon Z9 mirrorless camera and a Nikkor Z 100-400mm lens @600mm (DX crop). This telephoto zoom has been my go-to lens this spring for capturing Texas wildflowers. Its stunning sharpness, useful zoom range and close-up magnification capabilities, make for a winning combination!
Change your perspective, and new, unexpressed wonders will begin to reveal themselves. All we have to do is choose to see it.
Amazing what can be happening upward when you are looking downward. I was in the process of photographing some Texas wildflowers, when I happened to glance up and noticed this wonderful cloud taking its time floating across the sky. I am glad I had my ultra-wide Nikkor Z 14-30mm lens in my photo pack. Zooming out to 14mm, I was able to capture its striking formation and beauty against the cobalt, colored sky.
I love wandering small Texas towns photographing reminders from a bygone era. Such was the case with these large doors (circa – late 1800’s) that were allowed to weather with the passage of time. A modern day, local business may reside on the inside, but I was thankful the various owners throughout the years left the original doors, so future generations might appreciate this visual portal to the past with its weathered charm and craftsmanship.
Before I captured any images, I immersed myself in the visual splendor of this aging beauty, an expression of colors and textures. A tapestry of time being revealed before my eyes. I could not help but wonder how the beautiful metal rosettes, now rusted, must have glisten years ago in the morning sunlight! Who was a witness to their hand-crafted beauty . . . did they appreciate its splendor? I could only hope they did!
Photography is about fully immersing yourself in your subject, whatever that may be. Allow yourself to be taken away with the experience. Whether that is a child’s fleeting expression of wonder on their face, a mountain vista kissed by the last rays of sunlight, or a colorfully, textured door revealing the past. Resolve to appreciate and embrace all of it!
My approach with photographing this type of subject is to keep things simple. I used a Nikon Z9 camera and a Nikkor Z 14-30mm lens. I zoomed to 30mm, which gave me just the right framing to tell the story of this door that is aging gracefully.
I captured this close-up of a butterfly ready to probe for its nectar reward using a Nikon Z9/Nikkor Z 100-400mm @400mm. The Nikkor Z 100-400mm is a stunningly sharp, universal telephoto zoom lens for many situations where you cannot physically get closer to the subject, which also features macro style capabilities. The added working distance when shooting from 300mm to 400mm, is a huge benefit for flighty butterflies. This image would not have been possible without the Nikkor Z 100-400mm.
Winecup flowers are in profusion this year on our property! While I have been photographing small clusters of this delicate beauty, this single bloom and its gesture stole the show the other day. Image was captured with a Nikon Z9/Nikkor Z 100-400mm @400mm. The Nikkor Z 100-400mm is quickly becoming my go to lens for wildflower photography.
For me, springtime in Texas means Bluebonnet and Indian Paintbrush. I always look forward to photographing the early blooms that blanket the fields and dot the canyons with their vibrant color and sweet scent. I tend to use telephoto zoom lenses for most of my flower images (my fav is a Nikkor Z 100-400mm) given the compressed visual perspective that can be achieved. I am building relationships with the flowers!
Spring for me is a time of awakening. I love how nature dresses itself for the season, never shy in displaying its colorful flora. This image of wild Dogwood was captured during an overcast day near Nacogdoches, Texas. I often prefer the quieter narrative of an overcast sky when photographing nature’s flora. The softer, diffused light allows all the subtle colors to reveal themselves in a way that would not have been possible on a bright, sunlit day.
A Great Blue Heron puts the final touches on her nest. This Great Blue Heron spent more than ten minutes placing, and then replacing this stick until she found the proper place. A mother’s work is never done!
Image captured during the ‘blue hour’ from ground level at a Texas lake with a Nikon Z9/Nikkor Z 100-400mm @400mm. There is such a soft and lovely quality of light that happens for a brief period after sunset. When conditions are just right, wonderous things happen, as seen in this photograph.
It was great fun and challenging at times photographing a visiting flock of over fifty American White Pelicans that chose Lake Granbury, Texas last week for a short stopover. Challenging given the very gusty winds and cold weather, which made the rewards of nailing a good photograph all the better. I captured this image of two Pelicans flying in unison with a Nikon Z9/Nikkor Z 100-400mm @400, f8 1/3200sec, exposure compensation -0.7
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