Nature in Detail: Exploring Through the Lens

The ability to magnify a scene lets us see nature in different and interesting ways. The close-up lens can turn an area of a few square feet into a vast landscape with many delights waiting to be discovered.

Click on a picture to begin an interactive gallery show. Use the arrows on the screen or on your keyboard to change pictures. Click outside of a picture to exit the show.

: Backlighting brings out the subtle yet rich colors of spring.

: Also known as fringed polygala or flowering wintergreen. It does look like it is about to take flight.

: The lichen to the left of the moss might be smooth cladonia, C. gracilis

: The reddish object is the sporophyte. It must be growing on a very short stem that is obscured by the foreground.

: Wet weather gives ideal conditions for mosses and other low-growing plants. The cloudy skies create soft, even lighting

: Perhaps newly emerged and a bit wrinkled? It is not holding the wings in the usual manner for this family. Maybe just a bit wet from the morning dew.

: This happened during a photo camp I taught. All the kids got great shots of this.

: This looks like a drab scene, but a macro lens allows you to pick out gems. The next 3 shots are details of the roses.

: Here is another scene that looks nice, but unremarkable. The next two images were found by going down to the left and getting in there with a macro lens.