Floral Photography with a Macro lens

I’m often out in the landscape with a macro lens on my camera photographing wildflowers, gardens, and plants growing in my own container garden.

“Flowers always make people better, happier, and more helpful; they are sunshine, food and medicine for the soul.”
—Luther Burbank, American horticulturist

The Nikkor Z 105mm captures really crisp images hand-held. The maximum aperture is f/2.8. I find that I like to make images with a soft focus background. The wide-open setting for Nikon 105mm f/2.8 macro lens is f/2.8 at infinity, offering maximum light and minimal depth of field. When I focus on the petals and blooms within inches of the plant the maximum aperture decreases to f/4.8 at close focus distances (1:1 magnification).

I recently spotted a Trillium, also known as a Toadshade, and used my macro 150mm lens to capture the pink purple petals sitting on top of the leaves. The primary species of trilliums in the Santa Cruz Mountains are the Giant Wake Robin (Trillium chloropetalum), known for its large, sessile (stalkless) flowers. Trilliums are found in moist redwood forests, riparian areas, and shaded canyon banks.

Trillium or Toadshade growing in the shade, Santa Cruz Mountains