I Heart Macro: First Fruits

Interior of pattypan squash blossom, Magdalena, NM, June 2011



Baby pattypan squash and bud


Back to the garden for this week's I Heart Macro post -- it is windy YET again today, so I couldn't stay out there for very long without getting totally aggravated. I did, however, manage to get some close-ups of the first fruits of this year's garden labors: baby pattypan squash! I used my 18-55mm Nikkor kit lens with a Zeikos macro filter to pull out some super-closeup details, and although the wind made shooting difficult the sun was bright enough that I could use a high shutter speed. The wind did do me one favor: it tossed about the blossom shown above and below such that it opened up and freed a bee that was pollinating it, giving me perfect light for an interior shot. I love shooting plant closeups because so much surprising detail emerges, in this case the tiny hairs and water sacs on all parts of the plant, even the seemingly smooth baby squash. And morning light is perfect for backlighting, which brings out veining and other details that get lost in simple direct light. So that's it for today; I'll be staying inside, yet again, waiting for rain....


Pattypan squash blossom, post-pollination, Magdalena, NM, June 2011