Kim is training for a 50k race and wanted to do some running on a rocky trail last weekend, so we took a trip to southern Kansas. On the way, we stopped for a quick leg-stretching visit at the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve. We arrived after the visitor center had closed, which was fine with us. It’s a terrific visitor center but we just needed a break from driving. Kim wanted a brisk walk and I wanted to wander around and look at flowers and bugs. We both got what we wanted.
Kim walked a trail loop but I didn’t get very far at all before I had my camera out and was kneeling/lying around in the prairie. I always forget how much I like seeing rocks in prairie – it’s not something I get in the prairies closest to home. The stars of the day weren’t the rocks, though. Both showy evening primrose (Oenothera speciosa) and Missouri evening primrose (Oenothera macrocarpa) were putting on a show and I spent the majority of my time enjoying them.
If you’ve never visited it, TPNP is well worth heading to as a destination, but it’s also a pretty great pit stop too. Here are some photos from our quick visit.
Buffalo pea, aka ground plum (Astragalus crassicarpus). And a rock!False gromwell, aka marbleseed (Onosmodium molle) and Flint Hills prairie.Cobaea penstemon (Penstemon cobaea)Cobaea penstemon from a different angle.Missouri evening primrose through a fisheye lens.Missouri evening primrose through a fisheye lens, but vertical!Showy evening primrose from behind.Showy evening primrose, spiderwort, and sky.More showy evening primrose and sky.The backside of the visitor center and headquarters building. You should see it from the front side!
This week, I went against form and did some flash photography. I bought a flash set up years ago and have used it maybe 5 times since. For a variety of reasons, I just enjoy using natural light more than flash, and I also don’t like carrying any more equipment around than I need to. However, some of my favorite macro photographers, including Clay Bolt, Piotr Naskrecki, and Thomas Shahan, show very clearly how fantastic flash photos can work – and there are times when natural light isn’t cooperative.
I was watching some YouTube videos this week, dreaming about equipment upgrades, and was inspired by a very simple flash setup Thomas Shahan was using. He was just using his on-camera flash with a diffuser made of a paper towel and some clear plastic. It looked like something I could do, so I made my own modified version and tested it. Here are some of the results.
This was my first attempt with the flash. This little hover fly was hiding in the shadows of our prairie garden and I was able to illuminate it and get a photo. Nikon 105mm macro with flash. ISO 200, 1/250 sec @ f/20.This harvestman was in our backyard prairie garden and was patient with me while I fiddled with my technique. Nikon 105mm macro with flash. ISO 200, 1/250 sec @ f/16.
It seems like it’s been cloudy for the last month around here. One nice thing about a flash is that I can still get insect photos when the natural light is too dark to work with otherwise. I still don’t understand a lot about how to get the most out of flash photography, but if all I have to do is carry around a small flat piece of cardboard and paper towel, I should be able to get some practice.
This little fly had a bubble of regurgitated food dangling from its mouth. I know some flies do this to attract females (?!) but I don’t know if that’s what this one had in mind. Nikon 105mm macro with flash. ISO 200, 1/250 sec @ f/16.Rain drop on spiderwort – with flash. It’s not my favorite photo in the world but I wanted to see what the flash did with water droplets. Nikon 105mm macro with flash. ISO 200, 1/250 sec @ f/16. Our friends’ young son has been seeing little beetle larvae like this in their backyard for a while. I told him to catch one and bring it over. I photographed it and submitted it to Bugguide.net, where we got confirmation that it is a lightning bug larva. In this case, I used a paper towel for the stage and for the flash diffuser. What a great invention…! Nikon 105mm macro with flash. ISO 200, 1/200 sec @ f/25. Here’s the basic frame of the diffuser – combination of cereal box, wire, and tape. Very complicated… I’m not sure the wire is even necessary, but I wanted to be able to adjust the angle of the diffuser and didn’t want it to get floppy in the wind or after repeated uses.Here’s the full set-up on my Nikon D7100 camera. The diffuser wraps around the macro lens before I attach it to the camera and is tight enough to stay upright. So far so good.
I don’t think this is going to change my general approach to photography. I’ll still use natural light when it’s available. But it might be pretty handy to have this little diffuser in my bag when I find a cute snake, leaf hopper, or jumping spider on a cloudy day and want to make a portrait…
The Prairie Ecologist 