Nature in miniature

Thoughtful observations of the tiny and often overlooked beauty found in nature’s littlest details.

Ladybug & Bokeh Macro
I was knee deep in a field of fiddlenecks looking for macro opportunities when I spotted this little lady hiding among the spring flowers. I’ve been seeing a lot of ladybugs in my backyard garden as well, and when I do, they always make me smile! https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com
Jensen Botanical Garden Yellow Flowers
A series of airy, spring images from a local botanical garden very close to my house taken in the early morning after a fresh rain. Dew lightly covered the plants and flowers for some fun macro opportunities. https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com
Oregon Campsite Abstract Botanical 5
A new “genre” of photography for me is wandering around the campsite in the middle of the day to see what creative compositions I can come up with. During my recent trip to Oregon, the lush foliage surrounding each campsite would provide some fun abstract opportunities, some using intentional camera movement, others using multiple exposures, processed in a cool, high key style to evoke emotions of calm and serenity. https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com
Jensen Botanical Garden Ladybug Macro
A series of airy, spring images from a local botanical garden very close to my house taken in the early morning after a fresh rain. Dew lightly covered the plants and flowers for some fun macro opportunities. https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com
Two Blooms, Capitol Park Dogwood
Every year, I try to make it out to photograph the pink dogwoods in bloom in downtown Sacramento throughout Capitol Park in the early morning before heading into the office for the day. My sole opportunity this year resulted in overcast and breezy conditions which presented a challenge, but I think I lucked out with a few happy accidents. https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com
Antelope Valley Poppy Bokeh Macro 1
I never took the time to visit wildflower locations in Southern California before, but this year, decided to visit the Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve for the first time, where poppies cover massive areas of rolling hills and fields. It was interesting how much darker in orange color these poppies appear in comparison to ones seen in Northern California, but one poppy in a large field glowed in a luminous yellow hue. https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com
Butterfly Bokeh 1
If you ever find yourself in Westminster, Colorado, just north of Denver, I highly recommend an early morning trip to the Butterfly Pavilion, one of the first non-profit insect zoos in the United States. It’s conservatory has over 1,200 butterflies of various species, sizes and colors. It takes a little while for your lens to adapt to the rainforest humidity, so bringing a lens cloth is highly recommended, but I thoroughly enjoyed exploring compositions and capturing these little beauties using a wide aperture with my telephoto lens for a bokeh effect. https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com
Butterfly Bokeh 2
If you ever find yourself in Westminster, Colorado, just north of Denver, I highly recommend an early morning trip to the Butterfly Pavilion, one of the first non-profit insect zoos in the United States. It’s conservatory has over 1,200 butterflies of various species, sizes and colors. It takes a little while for your lens to adapt to the rainforest humidity, so bringing a lens cloth is highly recommended, but I thoroughly enjoyed exploring compositions and capturing these little beauties using a wide aperture with my telephoto lens for a bokeh effect. https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com
Butterfly Bokeh 3
If you ever find yourself in Westminster, Colorado, just north of Denver, I highly recommend an early morning trip to the Butterfly Pavilion, one of the first non-profit insect zoos in the United States. It’s conservatory has over 1,200 butterflies of various species, sizes and colors. It takes a little while for your lens to adapt to the rainforest humidity, so bringing a lens cloth is highly recommended, but I thoroughly enjoyed exploring compositions and capturing these little beauties using a wide aperture with my telephoto lens for a bokeh effect. https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com
Butterfly Bokeh 5
If you ever find yourself in Westminster, Colorado, just north of Denver, I highly recommend an early morning trip to the Butterfly Pavilion, one of the first non-profit insect zoos in the United States. It’s conservatory has over 1,200 butterflies of various species, sizes and colors. It takes a little while for your lens to adapt to the rainforest humidity, so bringing a lens cloth is highly recommended, but I thoroughly enjoyed exploring compositions and capturing these little beauties using a wide aperture with my telephoto lens for a bokeh effect. https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com
Butterfly Bokeh 6
If you ever find yourself in Westminster, Colorado, just north of Denver, I highly recommend an early morning trip to the Butterfly Pavilion, one of the first non-profit insect zoos in the United States. It’s conservatory has over 1,200 butterflies of various species, sizes and colors. It takes a little while for your lens to adapt to the rainforest humidity, so bringing a lens cloth is highly recommended, but I thoroughly enjoyed exploring compositions and capturing these little beauties using a wide aperture with my telephoto lens for a bokeh effect. https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com
Cherry Blossom Branch
It’s cherry blossom season in California again, and pretty pink trees everywhere are lining the streets of Sacramento! Every year, on days when I have limited time to capture images, I trespass on my neighbors’ front lawns, on the hunt for compositions with my macro lens. Hopefully they’re used to the crazy photographer lady in the neighborhood by now. This year, I’m experimenting with processing each chosen image with a different mood through bringing out different colors and tones- from conveying serenity using cool baby blue to bright optimism using warm gold tones. https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com
Antelope Valley Poppy Bokeh Macro 5
Living in Northern California close to many wildflower spots, I never took the time to visit wildflower locations in Southern California before, but this year, decided to visit the Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve for the first time, where poppies cover massive areas of rolling hills and fields. It was interesting how much darker in orange color these poppies appear in comparison to ones seen in Northern California. Since the lighting was unusually harsh, I elected to focus on a series of macro images of these little cups of sunshine. https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com
Antelope Valley Poppy Bokeh Macro 4
Living in Northern California close to many wildflower spots, I never took the time to visit wildflower locations in Southern California before, but this year, decided to visit the Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve for the first time, where poppies cover massive areas of rolling hills and fields. It was interesting how much darker in orange color these poppies appear in comparison to ones seen in Northern California. Since the lighting was unusually harsh, I elected to focus on a series of macro images of these little cups of sunshine. https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com
Antelope Valley Poppy Bokeh Macro 3
Living in Northern California close to many wildflower spots, I never took the time to visit wildflower locations in Southern California before, but this year, decided to visit the Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve for the first time, where poppies cover massive areas of rolling hills and fields. It was interesting how much darker in orange color these poppies appear in comparison to ones seen in Northern California. Since the lighting was unusually harsh, I elected to focus on a series of macro images of these little cups of sunshine. https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com
Antelope Valley Poppy Macro 1
Living in Northern California close to many wildflower spots, I never took the time to visit wildflower locations in Southern California before, but this year, decided to visit the Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve for the first time, where poppies cover massive areas of rolling hills and fields. It was interesting how much darker in orange color these poppies appear in comparison to ones seen in Northern California. Since the lighting was unusually harsh, I elected to focus on a series of macro images of these little cups of sunshine. https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com
Antelope Valley Poppy Macro 2
Living in Northern California close to many wildflower spots, I never took the time to visit wildflower locations in Southern California before, but this year, decided to visit the Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve for the first time, where poppies cover massive areas of rolling hills and fields. It was interesting how much darker in orange color these poppies appear in comparison to ones seen in Northern California. Since the lighting was unusually harsh, I elected to focus on a series of macro images of these little cups of sunshine. https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com
Antelope Valley Poppy Bokeh Macro 2
Living in Northern California close to many wildflower spots, I never took the time to visit wildflower locations in Southern California before, but this year, decided to visit the Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve for the first time, where poppies cover massive areas of rolling hills and fields. It was interesting how much darker in orange color these poppies appear in comparison to ones seen in Northern California. Since the lighting was unusually harsh, I elected to focus on a series of macro images of these little cups of sunshine. https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com
Antelope Valley Poppy Bokeh Macro 6
Living in Northern California close to many wildflower spots, I never took the time to visit wildflower locations in Southern California before, but this year, decided to visit the Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve for the first time, where poppies cover massive areas of rolling hills and fields. It was interesting how much darker in orange color these poppies appear in comparison to ones seen in Northern California. Since the lighting was unusually harsh, I elected to focus on a series of macro images of these little cups of sunshine. https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com
Sierra Meadow Botanical 2
One of my favorite experiences is boondock camping in our truck camper in the middle of a high Sierra meadow just breathing in all the smells and soaking in the gorgeous views. It is on these camping trips where we have no plans or expectations of photographing landscapes, that I like to crawl out of bed at sunrise to photograph the native grasses and weeds surrounding our campsite backlit by the early morning sun and capture some compositions before I either crawl back into bed for more sleep or fix myself a strong cup of coffee. https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com
Sierra Meadow Botanical 4
One of my favorite experiences is boondock camping in our truck camper in the middle of a high Sierra meadow just breathing in all the smells and soaking in the gorgeous views. It is on these camping trips where we have no plans or expectations of photographing landscapes, that I like to crawl out of bed at sunrise to photograph the native grasses and weeds surrounding our campsite backlit by the early morning sun and capture some compositions before I either crawl back into bed for more sleep or fix myself a strong cup of coffee. https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com
Sierra Meadow Botanical 5
One of my favorite experiences is boondock camping in our truck camper in the middle of a high Sierra meadow just breathing in all the smells and soaking in the gorgeous views. It is on these camping trips where we have no plans or expectations of photographing landscapes, that I like to crawl out of bed at sunrise to photograph the native grasses and weeds surrounding our campsite backlit by the early morning sun and capture some compositions before I either crawl back into bed for more sleep or fix myself a strong cup of coffee. https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com
Sierra Meadow Botanical 7
One of my favorite experiences is boondock camping in our truck camper in the middle of a high Sierra meadow just breathing in all the smells and soaking in the gorgeous views. It is on these camping trips where we have no plans or expectations of photographing landscapes, that I like to crawl out of bed at sunrise to photograph the native grasses and weeds surrounding our campsite backlit by the early morning sun and capture some compositions before I either crawl back into bed for more sleep or fix myself a strong cup of coffee. https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com
Autumn Leaf, Lake McDonald Rocks
One of the first autumn leaves floating amongst the colorful rocks of Lake McDonald during the changing of the seasons in Glacier NP. https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com
Trapped in Ice 2
A quiet morning spent exploring abstract and small scenes of grass and leaves trapped under a layer of ice along the banks of a frozen pond in Mount Shasta. https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com