I had to get down on my knees to get this shot.  Passersby included joggers, walkers and bicyclists—and there were many.  Now that winter is behind us—everyone is eager to be outdoors.  I think all of Plano was at this park today.

I’m sure I looked peculiar on my knees photographing a lowly and often despised weed.  But when I’m with my camera nothing else matters but me and the subject at hand.  I’m pretty confident I can make just about anything look pretty—and that’s generally my goal.  (More on this when I unveil my series of fly photos!)

Here’s the full shot of the dandelion. It features bokeh — which is the blurry background with the subject being in focus.  Without the bokeh effect, the photo wouldn’t have been as artistic.  The background was grass and other weeds.

Normally I scan through my photos briefly and pick my favorites.  I don’t generally analyze each photo.  But this time I looked at them with my friend who had the foresight to view this photo at 100%.

The primary reason I bought a Canon 5D Mark II was the ability to print massive sized photos.  I figured someday I might want to print a near life sized image of a flower.  The other advantage of this camera is the ability to crop while still producing a large photo that is also very detailed.

Here’s the same photo of the dandelion.  But this time I cropped it so that we can only see the center portion of the same dandelion. 

Look at that detail!  Even I’m stunned by the shot.

Camera:  Canon 5D Mark II (Big Bertha)
Lens:  100 mm Macro
Date:  April 2015
Location:  Arbor Hills Nature Preserve