At the current time, the Gaura wildflower (Gaura longiflora), also known as the Butterfly Flower, is taking over portions of the nearby, natural prairie. The flowers of this cool plant appear so delicate, but are really quite rugged. Many times, I find this plant in bloom with extremely small crab spiders on them, but this time no one was home! The name “Butterfly Flower” was conceived by the flower’s appearance; with the plant’s 8 stames hanging down, the flower can seem to simulate a small butterfly. The 4 white petals begin as white, but then fade into pink. The entire plant can, and often does, grow to 5-feet, or even a bit taller! Here are a couple of my favorite images from this outing, a few days ago:
I love to capture wildflowers in the early morning. As in the above photos, dew is often seen on the flowers/stems/leaves of the wildflowers, which add a nice visual effect to the beautiful flowers!
Photographic Equipment Used:
- Canon 5D Mark 3 body
- Canon EF 180mm f/3.5 macro lens + Canon 1.4x TC (=252mm)
- Vanguard Alta Pro 283CT carbon fiber tripod, with 3 Pod H-3 ballhead (this is my new, lightweight macro setup)
- ISO 800 (slight wind was causing these tall wildflowers to sway in the breeze)
- Aperture f/11
- Shutter 1/10 sec and 1/20 sec.