Flowers, bugs, and other nature photography

I haven't had much time to mess around with re-learning my DLSR in the past month, but I have pulled it out for 5 minutes here and there. This holiday weekend has afforded some time to sort through the bajillion photos on the SD card to see which ones turned out well.

First up, a neighborhood bumblebee stood still long enough for me to try different vantage points and settings when I went to check the mail:

Another morning, I looked out the window while eating breakfast and saw some pretty cool shadows on the fence. Didn't get a shot that was exactly what I envisioned, but these turned out decent:

I have loved these sunflowers all summer long and am sad they are just about done for the year. Some evenings the light passes through them so beautifully, and some mornings the filtered lighting is perfect. I'm discovering I kinda like what slightly underexposed photos look like when I can mess around the the histogram later. I personally seem to appreciate the look of more contrast.

My hens for the most part are not interested in the camera, so they keep their distance. I hadn't captured a photo of ol' Mildred yet. Took a few tries as she knew just when to move to blur a shot!

The Kilby Cottage garden has provided a few opportunities to capture some close-ups:

Here's a catchall collage of various flowers I've messed around with this past month:

After so many flower shots, I've attempted a few others subjects:

And lastly, we had a candlelit bedtime snack one evening and I pulled out my camera for a few moments as the light reflected off our antique silverware was so warm: