Rory W Photography Blog

Dusk at Albion Basin

17-40mm f/4L | 1.6 sec | f/16 | ISO 200 | 2-stop hard GND

Last week I went to Albion Basin up at Alta in Little Cottonwood Canyon for the first time, at what seemed to be a prime time for wildflowers. I thought I had seen a lot of wildflowers in the past, but I was wrong! The amount and variety up there right now is incredible!! I was totally blown away. And they made for some great shots.

Wildflowers

17-40mm f/4L | 1/25 sec | f/14 | ISO 100

I always try to be on the lookout for scenes that perhaps might not work too well as “fine art” (at least in my opinion), but might still be something that a local magazine or other publication might want some time. This is one of those images. Bright, blue sky. Nice puffy clouds. Green plants. Bright, colorful wildflowers. What do you think?

And I’m not sure what the blue/purple flower is. Anyone know?

Huangshan in Bloom

24-105mm f/4L IS | 4 sec | f/14 | ISO 200 | Polarizer

I’ve still got a few more shots to share from our recent trip to China. This shot was taken in the mountains of Huangshan. The cloud cover was extremely thick, as you can kind of see in the background trees of this image. It made for a beautiful walk through the forests there. There weren’t very many flowers when we were there, so when I saw these, they really stood out and I had to capture it.

Autumn Life

Today I was just hoping for a great sunset up in Huntsville, seeing how it was partly cloudy most of the day. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much to see – a storm was just barely passing over at the time.

At one point though, the clouds turned a light orange color. So, of course, I ran and grabbed my camera. Right before I walked out the door, camera in hand, I checked again to make sure the colors were still there. And of course, they weren’t. There was literally a window of about 1 minute to get the shot, and I missed it. I hate it when that happens! So here’s another shot from yesterday.

Canon 40D | 17-40mm f/4L | 1/500 sec | f/4 | ISO 100

Well, I’m still shooting and processing autumn foliage shots, so in the meantime I’m posting this flower shot. These flowers were growing out of old, dead sagebrush. This shot was taken in Eden, Utah.

Surrounded by Life

Another double feature today. Driving home from the central town of Huntsville one day, I noticed a power pole completely surrounded by these very colorful flowers. At the time, I didn’t have a camera with me, but luckily they were still there and alive the next time I was able to get some shots.

Canon 40D | Tamron 18-200mm | 1/800 sec | f/6.3 | ISO 200

Canon 40D | Tamron 18-200mm | 1/320 sec | f/7.1 | ISO 200

Collecting Pollen

Canon Rebel XT | Tamron 18-200mm | 1/100 sec | f/6.3 | ISO 200

This was taken just outside our home. The bee is collecting pollen from a California Poppy.

Pricklies in a Barley Field

Canon Rebel XT | Tamron 18-200mm | 1/400 sec | f/5.6

Today I post this image for a good reason:

Have you ever been driving somewhere and all of a sudden noticed something that would make a great shot? Well, yesterday afternoon I was in a hurry to get home after a long, tiresome ordeal, and on my way home I PASSED UP two great opportunities for good pictures. I even had my Canon 40D in the car with me! One of them I could probably return to, but the other is probably gone now. How often does this happen to people?!?! Oh, how I regret not simply pulling over for 5 minute, snapping the shot, and moving on. Am I the only one whom laziness gets the best of?

This shot was taken just a few minutes away from my home. There was a HUGE field of barley this year. Right in the middle of the field was this prickly (sorry, don’t know the real name) that had been in bloom for about a week. I had been telling myself for a long time that I need to stop and get the shot. I kept putting it off and putting it off, until I finally forced myself to stop. Man, am I glad I did, because two days later they cut down the barley and harvested it.

So this image is dedicated to those moments when we actually stop to get the shot while we still can!

Flowers in Azalea Park

Canon 40D | Tamron 18-200mm | 1/200 sec | f/6.3 | ISO 200

This shot was taken early in the morning in Azalea Park in Brookings, Oregon. If anyone knows what kind of flower this is, please let me know.

Fuchsia in Cannon Beach, Oregon

Canon Rebel XT | Tamron 18-200mm | 1/160 sec | f/6.3 | ISO 200

I took this while walking along the “Strip” of Cannon Beach, Oregon. It’s not really called the Strip, but that seems like an appropriate name, considering that’s where all the little shops and the first stop for all the tourists.

I was very intrigued by this flower, the Fuchsia. I’d never seen any like it, and I was lucky to see them in full bloom. I’d never seen any like it, and I was lucky to see them in full bloom.