NOTE: Images with an icon next to them have been artificially shrunk to better fit your screen; click the icon to restore them, in place, to their regular size.

I've found especially this spring that I tend to use the Voigtländer 125mm more than ever, and seem to be falling into the easy-pickings trap of macro flora photography. I guess it's a phase.

This seemed particularly evident to me the other day on the outing with Paul Barr that produced “Photographer's Low-Hanging Fruit: a Pretty Flower”, which this post is essentially a continuation of.

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/2000 sec, f/2.5, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Discards
cherry-blossom petals lying where they fell

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/1600 sec, f/2.5, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Target-Rich Environment

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/2000 sec, f/2.5, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Still Plenty in Reserve

Desktop-Background Versions
1280×800  ·  1680×1050  ·  1920×1200  ·  2560×1600

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/2000 sec, f/2.5, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Fish in a Barrel

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/1250 sec, f/2.5, ISO 220 — map & image data — nearby photos
Really Really Really
orange

Desktop-Background Versions
1280×800  ·  1680×1050  ·  1920×1200  ·  2560×1600

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/500 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Little Hopper

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/3200 sec, f/2.5, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Oh Hai

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/3200 sec, f/2.5, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos

Desktop-Background Versions
1280×800  ·  1680×1050  ·  1920×1200  ·  2560×1600

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/2000 sec, f/2.5, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Random Detritus
and a buttercup

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/2000 sec, f/2.5, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Moving On

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/400 sec, f/2.5, ISO 450 — map & image data — nearby photos
Plan and Elevation

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/400 sec, f/2.5, ISO 400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Lantern
not much larger than a grain of rice

Vertical Desktop-Background Versions
1050×1680  ·  1200×1920  ·  1600×2561

To be continued...

NOTE: Images with an icon next to them have been artificially shrunk to better fit your screen; click the icon to restore them, in place, to their regular size.

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/1000 sec, f/2.5, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Backlit and Sun Drenched
cherry blossoms at the Ishiyama-dera Temple in Otsu, Japan

Picking up from yesterday's intro post on the Ishiyama Temple (石山寺) half an hour away in Otsu, Japan, here are a few more shots from early in the visit to the large mountainous grounds...

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 2500 — map & image data — nearby photos
Group-Entrance Ticket Window

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 1600 — map & image data — nearby photos
Hopeful Carp

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — ¹/2000 sec, f/2.5, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Big Trees
everywhere

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/1000 sec, f/2.5, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Random Pretty Flower

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/1000 sec, f/2.5, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Colors

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 3200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Crew Cut

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/800 sec, f/2.5, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Azalea
三葉躑躅 (みつばつつじ) — rhododendron dilatatum

Desktop-Background Versions
1280×800  ·  1680×1050  ·  1920×1200  ·  2560×1600

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Streetlights

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 6400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Bud

Vertical Desktop-Background Versions
1050×1680  ·  1200×1920  ·  1600×2560

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Distant Garden
behind a backdrop of nearby cherry blossoms and azaleas

Desktop-Background Versions
1280×800  ·  1680×1050  ·  1920×1200  ·  2560×1600

To be continued...

NOTE: Images with an icon next to them have been artificially shrunk to better fit your screen; click the icon to restore them, in place, to their regular size.

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 220 — map & image data — nearby photos
At the Entrance
to the Ishiyama-dera Temple (石山寺)
Otsu City, Shiga Prefecture, Japan

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 250 — map & image data — nearby photos
Petal-fall
light flurry of blossoms in a sudden breeze

Desktop-Background Versions
1280×800  ·  1680×1050  ·  1920×1200  ·  2560×1600

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 2000 — map & image data — nearby photos
Without Context
ornamental rope as thick as a my arm

Desktop-Background Versions
1280×800  ·  1680×1050  ·  1920×1200  ·  2560×1600

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 720 — map & image data — nearby photos
Cherry-Blossom Petal on Moss
I wonder how many of these petals an average tree produces

Desktop-Background Versions
1280×800  ·  1680×1050  ·  1920×1200  ·  2560×1600

These were all at the entrance to a temple in Otsu that Paul Barr introduced me to today. I haven't yet looked at the rest of the photos, but it was quite an impressive place, so I have hope that at least a few good shots came of it.

Continued here...

NOTE: Images with an icon next to them have been artificially shrunk to better fit your screen; click the icon to restore them, in place, to their regular size.

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/2000 sec, f/2.5, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Very Low
hanging fruit towering above a backdrop of fallen cherry-blossom petals

Desktop-Background Versions
1280×800  ·  1680×1050  ·  1920×1200  ·  2560×1600

Taking pictures of growing flowers is about as challenging as I imagine it would be to photograph animals caged in a zoo... the only thing easier would be pictures of non-growing flowers, e.g. cut and arranged flowers, as I've done many times (including here, here, here, here, and here, among others), which is perhaps comparable to photographing animals after the taxidermist has finished.

Still, pretty is pretty, so here we are.

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/800 sec, f/2.5, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos

Desktop-Background Versions
1280×800  ·  1680×1050  ·  1920×1200  ·  2560×1600

I discovered this particular flower along a path while I was out in Kyoto with Paul Barr today. My discovery came right after he pointed at it and said “wow, check out this flower”. It and its friends obligingly stayed put while we photographed them.

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/2000 sec, f/2.5, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos

Continued here...

NOTE: Images with an icon next to them have been artificially shrunk to better fit your screen; click the icon to restore them, in place, to their regular size.

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 300mm f/2 — ¹/2500 sec, f/2, ISO 1000 — map & image data — nearby photos
Pink Carpet Stroll

I went out for a bit today with the Big Lens. Nothing too exciting, but a few pleasant shots...

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 300mm f/2 — ¹/2500 sec, f/2, ISO 280 — map & image data — nearby photos
Shrine Colors
in the sunlit background make an unusual backdrop for shaded blossoms

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 300mm f/2 — ¹/2500 sec, f/2, ISO 1000 — map & image data — nearby photos
Photo Op
there were many

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 300mm f/2 — ¹/2500 sec, f/2, ISO 800 — map & image data — nearby photos
On The Way To Point B.

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 300mm f/2 — ¹/2500 sec, f/2, ISO 1400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Pensive

This post's last shot reminds me strongly of the last shot on “Cherry-Blossom Joie de Vivre in Kyoto” from four years ago.