Yellow rose with aphids

rjlittlefield · Post by **rjlittlefield** » Tue Oct 28, 2008 2:19 pm

Despite a couple of hard frosts, this yellow rose keeps blooming.
Apparently mommy aphid hasn't quite given up for the year either!

--Rik

Technical: Canon 300D with Sigma 105 macro at 1:1, 1/250 at f/16, flash, handheld, crop to 75%.

Planapo · Post by **Planapo** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 7:33 am

Rik, I like that picture very much. I think it´s due to the "landscape" that the rose petals create, and the various contrasts in size, quantity and colour which form between adult vs. offspring and between grouped, dark aphids vs. light background.

BTW, when reading

Despite a couple of hard frosts ...

once more I am surprised about the local climate at your place. I was already when looking over your shoulder and rucksack back then in this photo, realizing that it´s more arid and that irrigation is used in agriculture at your place.
I had thought of the whole of WA as more influenced by the sea and hence the climate moister and milder. But obviously, behind the costal range the conditions are much more continental than I had expected.

--Betty

rjlittlefield · Post by **rjlittlefield** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 8:22 am

Betty, thanks for the compliment on the picture. I thought it came out well. Quite well, considering the circumstances. This rose was sitting on top of a 3-foot stalk, in a bed of miniature roses. No tripod handy, hardly any place to stand, and nothing to brace against. So there I was, macro rig in hand, bent over at the waist, cantilevered out over another bush, trying to hold framing and push the expose button to synchronize with the aphid swooping in and out of focus. What a stupid way to try taking a picture! But I like how it came out. Sometimes you get lucky.

About the climate of Washington, well, there are a whole bunch of different climates in this little state. In some places on the coast, it can get very wet. (Hoh Rain Forest, annual precipitation 12-14 feet). Inland of the Cascade Mountains, it's generally pretty dry. I live in a particularly dry spot, average annual precipitation 7.1 inches) (ref). Likewise for temperature swings. The median date of first frost here is October 17, so I guess this is a pretty typical year.

--Rik

Aynia · Post by **Aynia** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 9:54 am

I really like the clarity/detail on the wing on this one.

Did you think about rotating it? Then you might have little ones following mommy.

rjlittlefield · Post by **rjlittlefield** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 11:29 am

Aynia wrote:Did you think about rotating it?

Good idea.

Normally I shy away from rotating anything away from its natural orientation, for fear of misrepresenting the subject. For example, it would be unusual to find aphids exposed on the "top" surface of a petal like this.

But I agree that it's a lot easier on the eyes this way.

About the detail, here's a closer crop. You can see some things here that get lost in the wider frames. I had not noticed the three droplets of stuff on the rear cornicle.

--Rik