Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: depth of field

Lol, I'm staying up all night, tonight - will explain later tomorrow or the following morning when I post my next shots. Thought I'd post my daily three now, otherwise I might end up missing a day : ) Four days ago, on 27 April 2016, I had a volunteer shift and afterwards, as the sun was peeping through the clouds, I decided to call in at the Reader Rock Garden. There was a reasonable number of plants in bloom, including a scattering of these attractive Tulips. I wasn't sure if I was going to be too early or too late for Tulips, especially as this year has so far been most unusual, weatherwise. There was also a bush of gorgeous pink Hellebore flowers, hanging their heads as they tend to do. There was enough colour and variety of plants to make this visit worthwhile - and it should only get better and better with the coming weeks. We do need rain, though. So good to see colour! en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulip

A couple of days ago, on 27 April 2016, I had a volunteer shift and afterwards, as the sun was peeping through the clouds, I called in at the Reader Rock Garden. There was a reasonable number of plants in bloom, including a small cluster of these attractive Tulips. I wasn't sure if I was going to be too early or too late for Tulips, especially as this year has so far been most unusual, weatherwise. There was also a bush of gorgeous pink Hellebore flowers, hanging their heads as they tend to do. There was enough colour and variety of plants to make this visit worthwhile - and it should only get better and better with the coming weeks. So good to see colour! en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulip

It's a beautiful, sunny morning with a temperature of 7°C, getting up to 11°C this afternoon. Sure beats the two or three rainy days we had in the last few days, though we did need the rain. Got my car back yesterday afternoon, after a routine oil change, but they were unable to find anything wrong that would have caused the orange Engine Warning light to come on several times and the car to give several jerks while waiting at traffic lights - no codes were showing up. So, if/when the warning light comes on again, I need to get the car to the car place and they can get the codes. Have to take it in again soon, anyway, as a new control box needs to be installed. On 25 August, 10 of us arrived at a friend's house, ready to go north of Calgary to near Sundre, for a few hours of botanizing, This was the second visit to Judy Osborne's for a few of us, me included. The previous trip was on 30 June 2015. By now, of course, a lot of the wildflowers were finished, but I found enough other things to photograph, including a distant, beautiful Red-tailed Hawk, a Wood Frog, a Yellowjacket (wasp), and a mushroom or two, plus a few of the plants (including the one in this photo) in our friends' garden at the beginning and end of the day. Their garden was one beautiful sea of yellow. No scenery shots during the day, as the visibility was so bad, due to the smoke coming from serious, widespread forest fires in the northwest United States (Washington State). Thanks so much, Judy, for having us out on your beautiful property again. It was a most enjoyable day, despite the dreadful, smoke-filled air. We look forward to being out there again next year! Many thanks, too, to Barry, who drove a few of us out there and back to Calgary. A long, long drive and it was much appreciated!

This photo was taken on 29 July 2015, when I called in at the Reader Rock Garden after a volunteer shift. Summer is flying by and I wanted to take a whole batch of bright, colourful flower photos ready to post during the seven or eight cold "winter" months. It was so disappointing to find very little still in bloom! Many plants had already finished and had been cut down and a lot of the flowers that were left were past their prime. However, I did still manage to get some photos, including of this beautiful Giant Scabious - love these flowers. It had rained during the afternoon and some of the pathways were quite slippery. Also, the powerful sprinklers were turned on when I was still there and I was rather wet by the time I reached the exit! The things we photographers go through to get some of our photos, lol!

"Pink and Cream clusters of flowers sit atop a slender stalk and remind one of the pads of a cats paw, hence its name. It makes a great ground cover with a mat forming habit and silvery green wooly foliage that retains its color and form year round." From wildaboutwildflowers.ca www.wildaboutflowers.ca/plant_detail.php?Rosy-Pussytoes-12 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antennaria_rosea I was so lucky to be invited to join friends Sandy and Heide on a three-day trip to Waterton Lakes National Park, from 19-21 (inclusive) June 2015. We met up with other members of the Alberta Native Plant Council for their annual Botany Alberta weekend. Most people who attended stayed at the Crooked Creek Campground, a 5.6 km drive east of the Waterton Park Gate on Highway 5, but my friends and I stayed at the Crandell Mountain Lodge on the edge of Waterton town. The ANPC people had a list of species that they hoped to find, and they were very successful. Our stay down south overlapped the annual Waterton Wildflower Festival, but we came across very few people on our various drives and hikes. Needless to say, I was extremely fortunate to spend three days with people who are very knowledgeable about plants and many other things. This meant that I got to see many wildflower species, including several that were new to me, such as the gorgeous Mariposa Lily. It was one of the flowers that was on my mental Wish List - and there were hundreds of them to be seen! I had also never seen the spectacular Bear Grass and I was so thrilled that there were still several plants in bloom. Absolutely made my day! Our two main hikes of the weekend were the Bertha Lake Trail as far as the Bertha Falls (on 20 June), and the Crandell Lake Trail (on 21 June). The photo above was taken on our hike to and at Crandell Lake. Makes me smile when a described "short, easy hike" in a book or on the Internet turns into a full day of exploration along the trail, taking hours to reach the destination, though returning to the cars in a much shorter time. Our walks/hikes are very slow-paced with endless stops to look at/for plants and to take photos. This makes it possible for me to go along. The wind made photographing plants a real challenge, including the beautiful Mariposa Lilies in the meadow along the Hay Barn road. Though I took plenty of photos, I wasn't sure that I would end up with any that were sharp enough. Trying to catch a quick shot when a flower is blowing in and out of the viewfinder is not easy! Unfortunately, I'm no longer able to get down and take macro shots (my lens needs to be about 4" away from the subject), so my photos have to be telemacro. I've just been trying to find a list of plant species in Waterton Park, but have so far been out of luck. I do have the book, "Wildflowers of Waterton Park" by Jacinthe Lavoie and Ian Wilson, which has an Index of Plant names, but I was hoping to find a list that I could print out. It's going to take me ages to type descriptions for the various photos I'll slowly be posting, and I will no doubt keep adding new bits and pieces over time. There is just so much information I want to add, but my descriptions are already way too long. Also, my photos of quite a few of the plants will be posted for the use of ANPC members and are, unfortunately, really poor images. Need them added to my Waterton Lakes album, so please bear with me : ) Luckily, you don't even need to look at them.

(Note to self: this is my main photo posted today, i.e. the very last photo uploaded. Let me know if you see my photos posted in a different order - thanks). The dreaded Goat's-beard, a highly invasive, non-native plant that has spread (and keeps spreading, despite attempts to control it) in our natural areas in the city. Too bad, because both the beautiful flower and huge Dandelion-like seedhead are most attractive. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragopogon_dubius This photo was taken the day before yesterday, 15 June 2015, when I went on a morning birding walk with friends at Griffith Woods. All the birds we saw were so far away, so I mainly came home with a few photos of flowers. Just for my own memory, I'll add the leaders' list of the 39 bird species below. Gadwall-2 Am. Wigeon-1 f. Mallard-6 ad./10 juv. Common Goldeneye-2 Bald Eagle-1 ad. Red-tailed Hawk-1 Sora-1+ Killdeer-1+ Spotted Sandpiper-5 Ruby-throated Hummingbird-2 Belted Kingfisher-1 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker-2 Downy Woodpecker-1+ Northern Flicker-1 Least Flycatcher-2 Blue Jay-1 American Crow-4 Common Raven-3+ Tree Swallow-4 Violet-green Swallow-2+ Northern Rough-winged Swallow-4 Bank Swallow-20 Black-capped Chickadee-3 Red-breasted Nuthatch-1 House Wren-3 Ruby-crowned Kinglet-1 American Robin-15 Gray Catbird-2 Cedar Waxwing-10 Yellow Warbler-6 Chipping Sparrow-1+ Clay-colored Sparrow-6 Song Sparrow-1 White-throated Sparrow-4 White-throated Sparrow-1 Red-winged Blackbird-6 Brown-headed Cowbird-8 Pine Siskin-6 American Goldfinch-4

I always think this plant, Masterwort / Astrantia major, is quite easily overlooked, mainly because the colour of the small flowers gets lost against the green foliage. Unfortunate, as each individual flower is a work of art. After a volunteer shift on 23 July 2014, I wasn't too far away from the Erlton/Roxboro Natural Area, where I was finally going to go on a botany walk. Having been to this location several times before, I knew it was a short, easy, flat trail, and that I could go as far as I wanted and then turn back early, which is what I did. I'd missed pretty well all the botany and birding walks the previous few months, which was quite depressing. The main thing I wanted to see were the Nodding / Musk Thistles, as these are my favourite species of Thistle. They are called a "weed", but I love to see them. The sun was unfortunately in the wrong direction, so I was only able to get a handful of shots, but better than nothing. With a couple of hours to "kill", I spent them at the Reader Rock Garden, which was just a few minutes' drive away from the evening botany walk location. This is where I photographed this small, quite spectacular flower - a rather grainy image, but it does show the beautiful details. "Masterwort produces many small, ivory flowers that are flushed pink and bloom continuously throughout the summer and fall, wafting a sweet scent. Like Queen Anne’s lace, each masterwort blossom is an umbel of tiny flowers, framed by a collar of papery bracts." From finegardening.com. www.finegardening.com/masterwort-astrantia-major www.finegardening.com/masterwort-astrantia-major en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astrantia_major

On 27 May 2015, I had a volunteer shift and afterwards, as the sun was shining, I called in at the Reader Rock Garden, where I found this beautiful Sunflower. There was rain in the forecast so I thought I'd better make the most of the blue sky while I could. Alberta is bone dry everywhere, with wildfires especially further north. So, much as I really dislike the rain, we desperately need it. From the Garden, I drove through the adjoining Union Cemetery and then another nearby cemetery, and then called in at a wetland in SW Calgary. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helianthus

This photo was taken at the Reader Rock Garden four days ago, on 13 May 2015, when I called in after a volunteer shift. Quite a few flower species are in bloom now, which is such a joy. Various colours and types of Tulip, which add a most welcome splash of colour to my photostream. I always like to see the two-coloured ones. Blossom trees were full of their tiny flower clusters, though I suspect all the rain we had yesterday will have done some damage. Today, the sun is shining through the clouds, so I really should make myself go out for a short drive later on. This is a long weekend in Canada, celebrating Victoria Day tomorrow.

This photo was taken at the Reader Rock Garden ten days ago, on 6 May 2015, when I called in after a volunteer shift. It felt so good to see a reasonable number of different flower species. Even though we had a wonderfully mild winter, it still felt so good to see vibrant colours once again. I had planned to go on a half-day birding trip this morning. Woke up at 5:00 am (after an hour and a half's sleep), hoping that maybe the forecast had changed. Instead, it's raining and looks most unpleasant out there. I really don't feel like walking in this, and not be able to take any photos, so decided I would post my "daily three" to Flickr and then go back to bed. Hope I don't miss any really special sightings : ( In Canada, this weekend is a long weekend. According to the federal government, May 24 was first declared a holiday by the legislature of the Province of Canada in 1845 to celebrate Queen Victoria's birthday. However, in 1952, Parliament declared that Victoria Day would be celebrated on the Monday before May 24 every year. As a result of this convention, the long weekend sometimes falls well before May 24. This year, for example, May 24 falls on a Sunday, but due to the parliamentary decree, the long weekend will run from May 16 to May 18. The May 24 weekend is thought to be the unofficial start to summer. Many people go away for the long weekend, so the roads will be really packed. After two days of dreary, overcast skies and some rain, and rain again today, it’s too bad the long weekend wasn’t last weekend. Drive carefully if you will be out on the roads! The sun is supposed to shine tomorrow, Sunday : )