Photographers, by nature, are peripatetic.  Although the word is often used to describe teachers and professors walking back and forth, facing their students during class, the word is well-suited to photographers.  We walk around a subject, in all directions, pointing our cameras toward the sky, toward the ground, looking over the subject, away from the subject, finding every possible angle by constantly moving our bodies into often contorted positions.  Crude as it sounds, it is a little like a dog circling a fire hydrant.

I am almost always in peripatetic mode and most certainly was during this shoot of wildflowers.  My process is not complete unless I circle subjects many times, frequently staying out long enough for the light to change which makes it necessary to do yet more shooting.   Quite frankly, I am not always certain what I will be shooting during this exercise or exactly what the results will be, but it is always instructive.

The flowers were full of assorted pollinators.  They were everywhere, temporarily exploding from the blossoms when I approached and then returning to their work, settling back onto the blooms, as shown on the Echinacea flower below. 

echinacea with bees

I passed by this evening primrose a number of times because it was small enough that I feared I would not be able to do it photographic justice, but the stamen shadows finally forced me onto the ground to capture it.

primrose

My guess would be that many people consider the prairie coneflower a weed.  It is quite prolific, but the velvety, deep red petals of this variety of Ratibida make it glow in the sun.

ratilbida bloom

And just as the petals shine, the Ratibida seed pod and flower-in-waiting, make fascinating botanical studies for photographers.

seed pod and yet to bloom Yours, peripatetic as ever,

until next Monday,

DB

a passion for the image@