On Monday, I hoisted myself out of bed at a quite early hour to briefly visit Discovery Park (its fireweed in particular).

I started things off with this shot of buds. There was a confounded breeze in the meadow, which made this shot nearly impossible. I must have spent 20 minutes trying to take it, and I finally got a sharp one. I don't like the out-of-focus buds at the top. I suppose I could try cropping the picture...although that  would perhaps put the in-focus buds farther toward the top than I'd like. We'll see.

Next a picture with a similar idea, but backlit by the sun. I didn't get the focus point quite where I wanted but this one was the best in terms of lighting. I'd have to see it edited and printed before I rendered a verdict of whether I liked it or not.

Finally, a shot of the whole meadow, taken with my wide angle lens. I thought the clouds were really cool, particularly how the formation was both checkered (adding texture) and angular. Obviously this one could use some lighting work to tone down the highlights in the middle right, and bring out the shadows in the middle left. Doable, though.

My wide angle lens is really starting to come in handy. My next post will also feature it, and the stories of how I was peed on by a tree and almost eaten by carnivorous mud! Stay tuned!