Flowers 4 - Pansies

This morning I chose photos of a variety of pansy that I hadn't seen before last summer. The colours and markings are striking and give it the name tiger pansy. These flowers bloomed from early summer to the first snowfall and I am looking forward to them growing again next year. Pansies are very hardy perennials, but I read somewhere that this variety may or may not return in year two. Like most pansies, these were very prolific and I am hoping that seeds were spread around quite a bit.

A few people have complimented me on the flower photographs that I have been sharing over the past few days and wondered what equipment I am using to capture the close-up images. Most of the images were taken with my 28-80 mm lens at the closest focus point. Because the photos are 10 mega pixels, I can crop even closer once the images are downloaded. The three photos show how cropping can provide interesting close-up views. The most important thing is that the photo be in crisp focus. I do have an extension tube that I can attach to the lens which will give me even closer views. I find that it is more difficult to focus when using it, especially when photographing subjects outside, so I use the crop method more often.

If you have a digital camera you probably have a macro setting (usually a tulip icon) that will help you get better close-up images. I always tell people to read their manuals to find out how to use the various settings on their cameras. I carry the manual for my Rebel XTi in my camera bag and read it at least once a year to remind me of settings I don't use much.