some shots from chicago...most of these were taken out of a window in the back of...

[usonian]

22. Thanks for the reply.

I get only wildflowers here because deer eat everything else. Survival of the worst-tasting, I guess.

Quick review says clouds, clouds, one comet, and lots of manzanitas.They are quite translucent (or reflective) when they drop their berries ( "little apples" ) and are best viewed with an extreme wide angle lens (14mm.) Not really macro, but shooting in close shows some with amazing twisted branches for whatever reason those specimens do that.

Spring is the time for flowers. I'd have to look up their names, but I go to town on Mariposa Lilies --- for a brief burst, and then they disappear to their bulbs, which I never see because they grow in rocky soil --- and Indian Warrior or Indian Paintbrush, which grow through the snow. And later, the mule-ear daisies (whyethia) which grow in profusion. I have posted these in the past. I used the OG 55mm macro lens with FTZ adapter (that lens is spectacular) and got a new 105mm macro for Z-mount, mainly to get some more working distance.

I was seriously shielding the lilies from the sun by shooting so close.

I was looking for a fill-in flash, but later found one of those "selfie" ring lamps in the thrift store (CHEAP). It runs on USB so I can power it with a battery pack, and I'm looking to try it out.

After spring and early summer, I can put the macro lens away.

I figured out how to set the "focus" button (how did I do that?). So, pressing the button sets focus auto or manually by twisting the control ring, and holds it, which is nice.

People have said, and I agree, that Nikon's Z way of going immediately into manual focus mode (with optional peaking) just by twisting the control ring, is wonderful.