Sunday morning I set out on a mission. I don’t always leave with a preconceived notion of what I am looking for but sometimes I do and this time I did. I’ve had pretty good luck over the years with water-lilies in general and the pink variant of the White Water-lily-Nymphaea odorata…aka Fragrant Water-lily in particular while visiting Moosehorn Pond.
I Shot this with my Tamron 100-400 macro ( 🙂 ) and the 2.0 extender +CP at 704mm, f/13, 1/4 sec, ISO 100. The macro joke goes back a ways also while shooting water-lilies. I was with my buddy Mark, who does mostly wildlife (his speciality is moose), and I had waded into Harvard Pond with my 180 on a tripod. We both got the almost exact same shot. I was in the water with leeches and he was sitting above on the guard rail with his 600 macro. 🙂 Yes, I was wearing boots but had I stepped in a little too deep…
Stephen Gingold Nature Photography Blog 
Ha. Should have saved this one for April 1…I read it twice before I saw the smiley-face and read all the way to the bottom of the paragraph (a new interpretation of “macro” for sure). Love the shot of the lilly. Flower looks suspended in mid-air.
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The suspended look is something I go for whenever I find dark water. It’s a nice effect that, I hope, sets the image apart from others. Sometimes I think I try too hard to be clever. Glad it worked this time around.
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Wonderful effect, Steve. Heavenly!
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Thanks, Eliza! 🙂
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A lovely levitating lily. 😊
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Thank you, Tanja.
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The dark background works well.
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Thanks.
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Lovely color and reflection, Steve. I really like the composition with the blurred lily pads leading us to the waterlily and then veering off the right, completing a gentle S-curve.
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Thanks, Mike. I made a few compositions, both vertical and horizontal, but found this to be the most pleasing to the eye. Glad that you agree.
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Nice
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Thank you!
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The waterlily glows against the dark background – spectacular! Love the arrangement of lily pads too.
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That is why I always get excited when I find them on dark water. It is much easier to do this before the sun gets very high in the sky. Thanks, Ann.
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It’s interesting that I’ve never found a pink Nymphaea odorata. They really are beautiful — it’s interesting that the pinks vary as they do. I remember more pastel pinks from your previous posts, but this is almost cotton-candy pink.
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There must be some explanation for them being regional, if they are. The white water-lily is much more numerous and the pinks somewhat rare. I have always been able to find one or two here but once in a while they aren’t present…maybe giving it a rest for a year. The hues do vary. Some are entirely pink and others, like this, a mix of pink and white.
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So artfully and skillfully accomplished, Steve. The light is perfect and beautiful.
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Thanks, Pete. Early morning, in my estimation, is the best light of the day.
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Very nice Steve! Reminds me of my pond at my old house😊
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Thanks, Reed. If I had a pond that offers the opportunities I get at Moosehorn I’d probably never leave.
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Yeah, I do love those LONG macros! 🙂 Beautiful shot, nicely composed. And it’s interesting how the two reflections almost form a V shaped cup the lily sits in.
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Thanks, Todd. I am quite happy to have the extra reach and not have the need to crop for the image I want. It does have a cup and saucer look.
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The slightly out-of-focus lily pads in the foreground are perfect as a lead in to the perfectly quiet refelction – you put them there, right? 😉
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Ha, ha! No I did not wade out and arrange the pads. 🙂 I thought about stacking for a sharp throughout image but decided I liked the softer foreground too. Thanks, Lynn.
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