Do the Dew

When photographing on the prairies, I always arrive early. Arriving early not only gives me that great, soft light, but more often than not, I’m treated to a “dewy wonderland”! Here are a few images I’ve captured over the past few years that help making getting up so early a bit more tolerable!  :o)

The first image was made at the edge of the prairie, before entering the main prairie area. I like this image because it is back-lit, giving the dewdrop a nice, golden color. Also, you can see the shape of the bubble, which is behind the leaf, which is a bit unusual:

Dew on a Praire Plant Leaf

This next image is a “focus-stacked” image, combining 9 images into one. This image was made using the Canon 7D, with my 180mm macro lens and a Canon 1.4x Teleconvertor. I shot all 9 images at a very shallow depth of field (f/5) starting at the front of the leaf and with each subsequent image focused a bit “deeper” into the leaf. Combining all 9 images in Helicon Focus software, I was able to capture the entire image in sharp focus, while maintaining an out-of-focus background:

Dew on a Praire Plant Leaf

This next image shows one of the many prairie critters that can be found among the prairie plants. This Thread-waisted Wasp was captured before the sun was high enough to fall on him. You can easily see that he has many dewdrops on his body. Another important feature of this image is that you can see his antennae quivering … shooting sharp macro images is so dependent upon wind and subject movement! In this instance, the rest of the insect was still, so I was able to capture a pretty sharp image:

Dew-covered Thread-waisted Wasp

It won’t be long now until I will be spending my early mornings again on the prairie! While editing some images, I saw that in about a month from right now, the woodland wildflowers will begin poking their heads above the leaf litter! And in no time, little blossoms of joy will be thrown across the woodland landscape … can’t wait :o)

 

 

 

 

Posted in Focus Stacking, Insect Photography, Macro Photography, Nature Photography, Wildflowers
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