Bell Heather & Alpine Azalea

Bell Heather and Alpine Azalea, Denali National Park, Alaska.
Canon 1Ds Mark III, 100mm f.28 FF Macro, 1/100 sec at f7.1, ISO 400

The occupation of Nature photography provokes an observant eye. The calendar moves more in accord with blooming flowers, bird life, and the other life cycles that mark Alaska's rapid, light filled summer than it does with weekdays. As for wildflowers, there are a few species with pink blossoms that introduce the explosion of color on the tundra. One is Alpine Azalea which blooms from late May to mid June. That is the out of focus background color in this image. Backgrounds are very important especially in photographs that use controlled focus, or strong use of depth of field. This is generally the case in super telephoto and close up photography. This Bell Heather--a small, bell shaped and aromatic flower--is well contrasted by a little splash of color in the background.