Bill Gracey's photostream  

We saw these sandhill cranes in Willcox, Arizona yesterday evening. These stately birds migrate here from the north much like the folks from Canada and the northern United States. In a recent census there were over 38,000 of these birds counted here during the height of the migration. We watched as the skies filled with thousands of these birds heading to their roosts. The sound of their calls could be heard a long way. It was a magical experience.

We saw these sandhill cranes in Willcox, Arizona this afternoon. These stately birds migrate here from the north much like the folks from Canada and the northern United States. In a recent census there were over 38,000 of these birds counted here during the height of the migration. Last night around sunset we watched as the skies filled with thousands of these birds heading to their roosts. The sound of their calls could be heard a long way. It was a magical experience.

In normal light, this iris looks dark purple...almost black. I bought the bulb in Texas a couple of years ago, and it's called "Hello Darkness" after the Paul Simon song.

This was lit with a strobe equipped with a snoot underneath the flower, and a strobe in a softbox on either side of the flower. I just adjusted the flash output until I got the result I wanted. It looks entirely different lit like this which is why I used Halloween in the name.

Other plants and flowers that I've photographed using strobes can be seen in my strobe lit plant set. In the description, I list resources that I've used to learn how to do this. www.flickr.com/photos/9422878@N08/sets/72157628079460544/...

More iris pictures can be seen here. www.flickr.com/photos/9422878@N08/sets/72157623861858581/...

Actually it came from the garden this afternoon, but I'm not one to pass up a truly pretentious title.

I bought a third strobe a few days ago, and it's what I used to get the glowing colors here. I used SB600's in a softbox to either side of the flower for decent flat lighting, and then hand held the third flash which I pointed to the underneath part of the flower for the glow. I adjusted the output of the strobes manually until I got the results that I liked. "Season to taste", as they say on the cooking shows. The strobes were triggered by the pop up flash on my D90.

Other plants and flowers that I've photographed using strobes can be seen in my strobe lit plant set. In the description, I list resources that I've used to learn how to do this. www.flickr.com/photos/9422878@N08/sets/72157628079460544/...

More iris pictures can be seen here. www.flickr.com/photos/9422878@N08/sets/72157623861858581/...

This is the iris I picked yesterday, but lit from beneath so that the petals seem to glow.

Other plants and flowers that I've photographed using strobes can be seen in my strobe lit plant set. In the description, I list resources that I've used to learn how to do this. www.flickr.com/photos/9422878@N08/sets/72157628079460544/...

My iris pictures can be seen here. www.flickr.com/photos/9422878@N08/sets/72157623861858581/...