In 2008, there was not much of a summer in south central Alaska.  Most days were cloudy, rainy, windy, and we only had two days that it reached the 70-degree mark.  However, the silver lining in these clouds came in the form of spectacular wildflowers.  It seemed that everywhere you went, wildflowers were exploding with beautiful colors that made for a great photo project.

It was more difficult that I expected.  Photographing flowers is certainly a test of patience.  Every little breath of wind resembled a hurricane when looking at the flowers through the viewfinder.  Portable reflectors and strategically placed ball caps come in handy as a temporary wind blocks, but inevitably I would have to wait for quite some time for the wind to calm down.  It was also a time to reflect on how lucky I was to experience the wilderness of Alaska.  

To keep things simple, I used one lens - a macro lens.  It was a lot of fun experimenting with different depths-of-field.  Stopped down and every detail of the flower comes to life, and shot wide open, a lovely rose is turned into an impressionistic painting. 

This was a great project and opened my eyes to a beautiful world right at my feet.