Heron & Fox

Hibiscus flowers are often large and showy, and frequently very colorful. This hibiscus has a bold red center with bright white on the outer petals.

Orlando Wetlands Park is a water treatment area that is designed to help preserve natural wetlands. The portion of the park open to the public includes many walking trails with great views over large bodies of water with natural plant life and often many birds, as well as forested and grassland areas. Orlando Wetlands Park is located in Christmas, Florida. Wildlife is common as well, such as this Tricolored Heron (Egretta tricolor), which is making a landing in a marshy area of the park to eat small fish, crustaceans, insects, and other water life.

A macro shot of the open flower of a Shell ginger (Alpinia zerumbet) plant. The gentle, pastel pink of the outside contrasts dramatically with the bold red and yellow on the inside of the flower. Shell ginger, native to Indo-China and Japan, is considered an invasive species in some other tropical climates, such as Cuba. It is widely grown ornamentally and can attract pollinators like bees and hummingbirds. This ginger is popular among pollinator species, including bees.

Taken in a macro style, these two Passion Flower blooms show the complex beauty of a passion flower. The three pointed tips of the stamen on top, the three points of the carpel underneath, the many, dramatic coronal filaments, and the petals, are all plainly in focus in the foreground flower, and just slightly out of focus on the background flower. The composition lends itself to the Rule of Thirds, with two flowers on the bottom 2/3, with top 1/3 allowing for headspace. The foreground flower also takes up the left 2/3, and the background flower the right 1/3.