macro Archives - Sean Phillips Photography

Flowers, Frogs, and More

For many years we’ve been taking our summer vacation at my wife’s family cottage west of Ottawa. It’s one of those places that is absolutely magical for me and I feel completely at home there. The cottage is situated alongside a shallow river and the area is home to a massive variety of birds, animals, and insects, and the gardens at the cottage are full of beautiful flowers. It’s a little bit of paradise and I’ve created some of my favorite images while there over the years.

This year was another very productive trip for me. The weather seemed to work out perfectly and I had a great collection of subjects to work with. Here is a gallery of some of my current favorites.

Gone to Seed

These grasses were lit up like a Christmas Tree in the morning light. They were completely covered in frost and the ice crystals sparkled beautifully. I saw them on my way in for a walk at Inglewood Bird Sanctuary and almost didn’t go back because I was excited to see what birds might still be hanging around so late in the season. At the last minute I decided to turn around to take advantage of the beauty I knew to be there rather than hurrying in to see what else might be there. I’m glad I did because the bird sanctuary was extremely quiet, and I made my best images of the day with these grasses. It’s a little life lesson that I’m going to have to remember…

Fall Colors in Calgary

The fall colors in the Calgary area are not typically very colorful, but very beautiful nonetheless! I was taking pictures of birds on the lake at Carburn Park when my camera chose to focus on this nearby leaf instead of the far away birds. I loved the golden hues and the creamy background in the scene, so I immediately made the image.

Peas in a Pod

I’ve done a lot of work in my garden this year and I’m very proud of my vegetables! I had to get some nice close-ups of these peas before we ate them all! Unfortunately the garden got whacked pretty badly by a fierce hail storm a few days after these peas were picked, so I’m not expecting much else out of the garden. A few things may survive, but my onions and cucumbers were extremely badly damaged. I’m still hoping it all works out, but only time will tell…

White Feather on a Sandy Beach

I found this feather standing upright on the beach while I was in Kelowna a couple of weeks ago. I had been trying to make some nice images of the sandy beach at Waterfront Park in downtown Kelowna, but the light wasn’t cooperating and I really wasn’t all that inspired. When I saw this feather I thought it had some potential and so I switched to my macro lens. I laid right down on the beach beside it to get some closeup images from an interesting angle.

At the time I was out for an early morning walk with my Dad, but he was further off down the beach and nowhere in sight. When I was finished with the feather I stood up and saw him walking towards me. From the look on his face I think he thought I was crazy!