Fire On The Mountain

[smoke665]

Smoke in the trees -wild native American Smoke Trees have bloomed on the mountain. Unlike some of the lucky folks on here, I don't have an endless source of flowers to photograph, I have to search the woods for native species. Fortunately I'm not disappointed often. C&C always welcome.

Smoke Tree06112017_433.jpg by William Raber, on Flickr

 

[jcdeboever]

Those are bizzare. Well done.

 

[smoke665]

Those are bizzare. Well done.

Thanks JC. Saw this one this morning when I took Sadie on her early walk, went back and grabbed it this afternoon. They just popped over the last couple of days. Surprisingly very fragile once picked. Only had about 45 mins after they were picked before they wilted away.

 

[smoke665]

Forgot to add this earlier, thought it might help other newbies. This was shot in studio with one light, a 36" Octobox, positioned approximately 36" away on camera left just past 7 o'clock. A large black flag between the light and background kept any spill off the black foamcore background. A large white reflector was used on camera right approximately 36" from the subject and angled to bring a little light into the right side shadows, as well as provide a slight back lighting for separation from the background.

 

[BrentC]

Very neat flower.

 

[smoke665]

Very neat flower.

Thanks Brent. I see them every year, but hadn't really studied them much. The blooms you see this morning will likely be gone like a wisp of smoke this afternoon. The leaves resemble a fern, but if you cut them, within mins, they shrivel and curl up tight. Strange plant.