Of the four images submitted to the 2022 Iowa State Fair, this is the image that I was hoping would had been selected for display. Desert Globemallow, a wildflower in Arizona.
Desert Globemallow blooms in a variety of colors, orange, red, white, light pink, hot pink and lavender. Orange is the most common and can be found throughout the Sonoran Desert.
This particular image was made along Highway 79 between US 60 and Florence, Arizona. All colors of globemallow can be found along the roadside of Highway 79. This two lane highway is quite busy with trucks en route to Florence, Arizona and you have to be careful. Photographing flowers along a highway can be quite challenging. As the large trucks whiz by, the flowers are anything but still, even using a plamp. Not only do you have to watch for traffic along this highway, but also rattlesnakes.
Being mindful of traffic and rattlesnakes, I continued to photograph all the colors of globemallow. Macro photography is harder than people think and you have to have patience and be willing to twist, bend and sometimes lie on the ground. Waiting for the wind to die down after each truck went by and holding my diffuser and/or a reflector in one hand, my camera on a tripod and the cable release in my other hand I worked to make images of all the colors. Fortunately globemallow is on a bush and not within inches of the grounds like many wildflowers. Still, you have to twist and turn to get the right angle for the flowers with a clean background. It’s a good idea to bring along cardboard, paper, a jacket or whatever you can think of, including your shoe, to make a clean background.
The judges didn’t think it was worthy for display, but many people have given me compliments on this image. I’ll be writing about all the images submitted and the story behind each one.
Til I write about the next image submitted, please enjoy my image Desert Globemallow.
Different Isn't Wrong, It's Just Different 