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Cherry Creek Thistle

Discussion

7 replies
Posted by Rod Chandler on July 5, 2009 at 4:34 PM
Cherry Creek Thistle
Friday morning I spent some time at Cherry Creek State Park (sandwiched between Denver and Aurora in a busy urban area). Though thistles are considered a nasty weed by farmers and ranchers, I thought the blossoms on these were really pretty. I was standing amidst a an acre or so of these "weeds."

These images were made with my Tamron 200 to 500mm lens at 500mm. I cranked the ISO to 800 to stop any movement though there was little breeze.

Comments welcome as always.
Posted by Rod Chandler on July 5, 2009 at 4:36 PM
Not far from the thistles I found some nice argemone polyanthenos. I set up with my 60mm macro and awaited the arrival of bees. This guy struck a nice pose for me I thought.
Posted by Todd Caudle on July 5, 2009 at 5:33 PM
argemone polyanthenos

Easy for you to say! These are both really, really nice. The thistle looks like a firework.
Posted by Jack Garrett on July 5, 2009 at 5:44 PM
I like them both but that second shot is amazing..great detail!
Posted by Joshua Hardin on July 5, 2009 at 6:07 PM
That bee shot is really cool. Nice job!
Posted by Nat Coalson on July 5, 2009 at 6:10 PM
That lens has a really interesting bokeh; not sure I like it, but very unique.

I like the simplicity of the comps; and really nice exposures.

The first one might have been better with some more room at the top, since there is a strong upward movement.

Also I find the copyright mark overly elaborate and distracting; maybe the copyright symbol and year could be smaller, in a simple font?
Posted by Morris McClung on July 5, 2009 at 10:54 PM
Excellent stuff, Rod. i like the repeating colors in the first one, and the bee is a great addition in #2. Really good dof, and detail in that one.
Posted by James H Egbert on July 6, 2009 at 10:00 AM
Awesome photographs, I tell you the flowers I've pretty much ignored for the past 10 years are sure looking pretty darn good these days. Great job on these. :toast: