04/24/17 Spring: 2017

"Spring perfection" at a local flower nursery in Peoria, IL 

A few weeks ago, I decided to spend the weekend sharpening up on my macro photography at some local flower nurseries around Peoria, IL. I ended up checking out Hoer Nursery, Greenview, Washington Greenhouse, and Sheridan Nursery. I was quite happy finding some vivid spring colors to photograph. I've added photos from a weekend of shooting to my spring: 2017 collection below:

"Spring tulips"

Some amazing detail using my Canon 60mm macro-lens!

"Spring blooms"

Succulents can provide some great macro photography!

 I love the arrangement in this photo!

 "Bursting in color"

 It wasn't as easy at it looks setting up this shot...

A neat Lightroom preset makes this photo even more engaging to the eye!

Succulent in color...

And in black n' white...

 Beautiful!

Another neat arrangement!

I took lots of pictures of succulents and cacti this go around...

Insanely vibrant!

It was very difficult to get this shot as it was breezy outside, but patience prevailed!

Cacti are photogenic!

 Another neat succulent!

 Annuals always tend to provide great photos for macro photography!

 A hibiscus

 A stunning black n white!

 I was quite happy with my results from a couple days of shooting...

 "Succulents galore"

 Love this thanks to the background!

 More annuals...

 It's quite amazing the striking colors these annuals showcase!

 Another neat close-up!

"Don't touch!"

Great color!

Another hibiscus...

Gotta love the variety of succulents out there!

"Tropical Lines"

Another arrangement of colors!

Don't get too touchy here or you'll regret it...

"Hot pink"

A different perspective!

More different colors...

"Pollinators"

Another succulent...

"Colorful cacti"

Cool colors here...

Awesome!

They all are unique!

The usual spring flowers...

Neat stuff!

Good macro-work!

One more to end my spring collection...

That will end my spring: 2017 post. I'm hoping to get some storm chasing in over the next few months and I'll be taking a nice long vacation for a couple weeks in June. Stay tuned for more photography posts over the spring and summer months.

04/02/17 Spring Wildlife

A bobcat enjoying the spring morning at Wildlife Prairie Park outside Edwards, IL 

On April 2nd, I headed outside into the great outdoors with my Canon 5D Mark III and Tamron 150-600mm G2 telephoto-zoom lens for a morning hike at Wildlife Prairie Park near Edwards, IL. I ended up photographing quite a bit of spring wildlife and animals at the zoo on this day. I occasionally try to visit this park every year since it is so close to home. The animals seemed to be very pleased to be outside in the cool spring temperatures it appeared on this day as I was able to capture some engaging shots during the morning. I've added several photos from the morning photographing wildlife at the park below:

A Eastern bluebird was a great find!

One of my favorite shots of a wolf on this morning!

"Ready for take-off"

 A vibrant red cardinal

 "Inquisitive wolf"

 A bluejay found a snack!

 "Here, kitty kitty!"

 I was very lucky to spot this eastern bluebird on this morning!

 I love this one in black n' white as well!

 A coyote

The Tamron 150-600mm G2 is a great lens for wildlife photography!

 Quite a photogenic bluejay!

 Another great shot of one of the wolves!

 "The curious cat"

 Pigeon

 Well hello there!

Another shot of an eastern bluebird hanging out!

 This bobcat really was curious about my photo-taking...

 "Lounging around"

A badger

Another cardinal!

A female lion

 "On the hunt"

 An American robin dropping-in for a photo!

 "Camouflage bobcat"

Another great bluejay capture!

Wile E. Coyote?

"Face-off"

 The cloudy damp morning was great for hiking and photography!

 Another shot of one of the bald eagles

 A cardinal looking a tad puzzled probably because the Cub's won the World Series last year...

The badger very interested in my photography skills...

Beautiful wolves at this park!

One more bluejay...

Cardinal on a walkabout...

"One the prowl"

One more of the bobcat before I head back home...

That will wrap up this photography post. I'll be posting some spring photos I shot last month in the coming days in another post from my spring: 2017 collection. Stay tuned.