A frustrating moment: arrive at Shaw Nature Reserve and see beautiful wildflowers growing “cleanly” (looked like the area saw a controlled burn over the winter) on a prairie setting, then reach into the camera bag and pull out the camera … except the lens on the camera was a 28mm-135mm lens, and not the expected 180mm macro lens! Looking again in the bag for a “loose” macro lens, but again not finding one, I then realized what had happened.
The evening before the trip to Shaw Nature Reserve, I had taught a “Night Sky Photography” class. When preparing for the class, I had removed the macro lens and had added the 28mm-135mm zoom lens to the full sensor camera body, for the class. Bummer!
Since I had no macro lens, I had to settle for capturing wildflower images with my 28mm-135mm zoom lens. I shot a lot of images during the morning, before my “Seed Collecting/Conservation” class was to begin. In today’s post, I’ll feature a few of the many Blue False Indigo (Baptisia australis) images captured at Shaw Nature Reserve:
The Blue False Indigo was a “lifer” wildflower for me. When researching it, I discovered that it does not grow in the western part of Missouri, where I live. Growing to 3-feet tall, this vibrant blue wildflower can’t be missed when hiking in an area where they grow! I also read that the foliage of this plant has been used as a substitute for indigo in dyeing, although it is not purported to be a good source.
Photographic Equipment Used:
- Canon 5D Mark 3 body
- Canon EF 28mm-135mm, f/3.5-f/5.6 IS lens
- Handheld, with IS “On”
- ISO 400 to ISO 500
- Aperture f/5.6 (all images)
- Shutter 1/200 sec. to 1/640 sec.