Red columbine
Image copyright by Mark A. Chappell



Columbines all have more-or-less the same flower shape, but come in various colors from white to blue to deep red, as here.   They usually are found in moist habitats and (at least in California, where I took this photo in the eastern Sierra) are most frequently encountered along streambanks.   I used a very long (1000 mm) lens for this image, which served very well to isolate the blossom against a softly blurred green background.

  • digital capture, Canon 1D Mk. II, Canon 500 mm IS lens plus 2X converter, fill-in flash (2005)