I wasn’t expecting to find any open Red Columbine-Aquilegia canadensis blooms quite yet and most all that I saw were tight buds. But while photographing something else I noticed these tucked into a corner. Only the one was fully open so I did selective focus and let the others fade into the background.
There was a slight breeze and these move at the slightest. Sometimes even the eddies from the heat coming off your body on a cool morning is enough to cause some motion.
Stephen Gingold Nature Photography Blog 
You did a good job focusing on the foreground columbine and letting the rest go happily out of focus. Your last sentence reminds me of the movie “Body Heat.” Maybe you’ll run into Kathleen Turner on one of your cool morning outings.
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Despite the appeal of meeting a movie star, I usually prefer my shooting time to be solo.In the case of Kathleen Turner’s character in that movie, Mary Beth would probably prefer I shoot solo as well.
I did shoot a few frames with the entire plant but this single flower was much more photogenic.
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It’s beautiful, Steve!
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Thanks, Eliza!
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Great image Steve!
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Thanks, Reed!
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What poise! Stunning capture.
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Thanks, Liz. Born to be a model. 🙂
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Beautiful image
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Thank you!
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Great find on a Sunday, Steve! Lovely composiion!
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Thank you, Peter. Any day that starts with an opportunity like this is bound to be a good one.
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Beautiful – like a tiny sculpture!
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Thanks, Ann. It does have that wonderful quality. They are lovely flowers.
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You captured the texture beautifully, and the color just shines. I’ve only seen yellow ones, or yellow tinged with red, in the wild, and not many of those. You’re lucky to have these around.
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Sometimes these do have a touch of yellow to them as well but not a lot. The only yellow ones I’ve seen are garden flowers. Thanks, Linda!
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Lovely color, Steve. We have a columbine patch in our yard and every once in a while, a red variety will show up. I’m not sure if this is true, but a neighbor told us that columbines have a tendency to revert to yellow over the course of time. I keep thinking that I need to keep a closer eye on the flowers to see if that is indeed the case.
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Thanks, Tanja! That might be true. We’ve had several columbine plants over the years that have reverted to a deep purple which must have been their starting point before hybridization.
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I gasped when I saw this photo, Steve. Truly a delight. What a joy it is to find wild columbine in the field. Your joy radiates from this photo, thank you.
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Wow, I’d love to be around when one of my images gives someone that reaction, Jet. Thanks! I was very happy to find this one open bloom. One thing I’ve never captured with these, maybe Athena has, is a hummingbird feeding in a columbine flower. I’ve seen images of that and the birds at the flowers in our garden but have yet to capture an image myself.
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I don’t think these are the easiest flowers to photograph and you did a superb job. I love the texture in the petals, the soft background, and the balance you have in the colors – strong but not brash.
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It’s a lot easier when they are above ground level, as these are on a ledge, and there is no breeze. Flowers like this are so sensitive to air movement that you almost have to hold your breath. And another odd thing is the heat coming off your body on a cold morning and the eddies it creates which causes some movement. Thanks, Lynn!
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Right, they dangle from those thin stems and it’s impossible, plus you want it all to be in focus. But the part about the heat from your body creating movement, wow, interesting observation! Very poetic when you think about it.
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