Photo Challenges

For the most part, the low sun angle of early morning and late afternoon produces the best lighting for photographing wildflowers.  When the sun is directly overhead, colors can get washed out and shadows are often not complimentary.  When I try to find the bugs that visit the blossoms, sometimes early morning is best because it's cool and they're not so active.  That is, I can usually get closer without scaring them away.  It's also fun to compare morning and afternoon conditions because some flowers open and close daily on a predictable schedule, and also a different array of visitors may be found.  The quality of my attention and aesthetic sense must vary also.  On this and the following post are the results of my wanderings in and near Quincy over the past two days.  The top photo is my best yet of the Spotted Coralroot, Corallorhiza maculata, taken at the side of my driveway this morning.  The white of this flower usually overwhelms my sensor and erases detail.  The plant is almost always in the shade which means either not enough light or use of flash.  This is an incredible-looking wild orchid, and I'm still not satisfied with my photos.  The image of it in my memory is perfect, however.
The second photo is of Blue Gilia, Gilia capitata.  These are common along the roadside on the way out to Oakland Camp.  I photographed this one near the railroad track where Taylor Creek runs under it.  Although most of the local specimens I've seen are nearly white, they can be quite blue in places, hence the name.
The next two photos are of a buttercup.  I believe it's the Creeping Buttercup, Ranunculus repens, but I could be wrong.  THere are over two dozen species of yellow Ranunculus in the Sierra and I'm not a Ranunculus expert.  These two images were taken near the high school softball fields, but they are also beginning to bloom near the paved walkway at the college.  They've learned to bloom below the height of the mower blades. 
Next, I've posted another image of the Ceckered Clerid Beetle, Trichodes ornatus, on a blossom of Purple Nightshade, Solanum xanti.  To me, this is a beautiful combination of colors.
The last two photos are of Showy Milkweed, Asclepias speciosa. It's not blooming yet, but it's my favorite "bug magnet," and it's already attracting beetles and butterflies.  Last year, I saw beetles and butterflies trying to open the buds.  They give off a wonderful fragrance that reminds me of peach cobbler baking.