Mountain Lemmon - Part II

Of course, birds aren't the only reason to make the trip up Mount Lemmon. Aside from the beautiful scenery and magnificent rock formations mother nature has given us plants and animals as well. Here  is a fun photo of two White Tailed Deer and then one of my favorite wildflowers, the Ivyleaf Morningglory.

White Tailed Deer

Ivyleaf Morningglory

Birding Mount Lemmon: Part II Others

Some other photos from my morning on Incinerator Ridge on Mount Lemmon:

Mountain Chickadee

Acorn Woodpecker

Hermit Thrush

Pygmy Nuthatch

Mountain Bluebird

It wasn't only birds though:

Ivyleaf Morningglory

White Tailed Deer

Pena Blanca Lake Wildlife: Butterflies

Although there were lots of butterflies at the lake last week, I found myself concentrating mostly on birds. Yet, this Pipevine Swallowtail on a Ivyleaf Morningglory was one I couldn't resist:

Ivyleaf Morningglory

Continuing with my alphabetical listing of "5" Star Photos we come to a very simple wildflower. What I love about this trumpet-shaped flower is that it is often by itself. Unlike Mexican Poppies, for example, there aren't fields of them with hundreds of flowers. The Ivyleaf Morningglory is a hairy vine typically found in dark wooded areas which give it wonderful contrasting color. There is so much you can do in terms of angles, lighting, composition etc. Here is one of my favorites:

Ivyleaf Morningglory

Ivyleaf Morning Glory

In the absence of a bear, bobcat, elegant trogon, or berylline hummingbird to photograph, I'll take most any animal or bird. But at some point, you become more particular. i.e. It's hard to get excited about photographing a house finch, house sparrow, mourning dove, or gambel's quail when you live in Southern Arizona. So, what do you do when the birds and animals are nowhere to be found? You open your mind to something new, something different. Nature, of course, has much more to offer. Butterflies are beautiful. Wildflowers are colorful. And, mushrooms can be interesting. Mushrooms and wildflowers can allow for creativity because they are stationary. Angles, composition, lighting, distances all provide the photographer an opportunity to be creative. So experiment. Take lots of photos and see which you like best ----------- and, why!   Show them to friends and see which they like best  -------------- and, why. It's a wonderful learning experience that happened only because the animals and birds were hiding.  Today, I thought I would share with you a photo that I really like, and as it turns out, so do others. 

Ivyleaf Morning-glory

Ivyleaf Morningglory - revisited

How about a Pipevine Swallowtail on an Ivyleaf Morningglory?

click to enlarge

Ivyleaf Morningglory

One of my favorite wildflowers to photograph is the Ivyleaf Morningglory. I think that is partly because of its soft "pastel" color; partly because of its shape; and partly because it usually stands alone in a forest setting.  A few days ago I posted with a title "Wildlife Fine Art Photography". For some reason my eye can see these beautiful wildflowers as fine art. My trip to Sonoita and Patagonia yielded several such photos. First at the Patton's of Patagonia "the hummingbird site" and secondly at the Roadside Stop along Patagonia Creek. 

While there were other people at Patton's watching and photographing the hummingbirds, this Ivyleaf Morningglory caught my eye:

Ivyleaf Morningglory from Patton's of Patagonia

The last two photos were from the Roadside Stop 7 milers south of Patagonia and along Patagonia Creek. Because these wildflowers were along the creek there was plenty of green vegetation which provided a wonderful "out of focus" background of sea green.

Ivyleaf Morningglory along Patagonia Creek

Ivyleaf Morningglory along Patagonia Creek