On my morning prairie walk a few days ago, I spotted several patches of Partridge Pea (Chamaecrista fasciculata) still thriving on the prairie. Most of the partridge pea plants have started to wither away, but a few healthy plants are still blooming:
And in this next image, you can clearly see the bean-like pea pod, the fruit of the partridge pea:
When I drove out to Devil’s Tower to photograph the Perseid meteor shower (mid August), I was surprised to see the tremendous quantity of partridge pea that is now growing along the interstate in northwest Missouri and western Iowa … a stunning display of yellow carpet!
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/9 (top photo) and f/8 (bottom photo)
- Shutter 1/160 sec. (top photo) and 1/100 sec. (bottom photo)