White Light: Under the Azalea

Notes:		Michael Brown (Macro Art in Nature) often starts his photoblog posts off with a phrase like "I was in the middle of a large clump of oak leaf hydrangea blooms...". Today I remembered those words as I was photographing the giant azalea bush in front of our apartment today and looking for inspiration for an unusual perspective. "What would Michael Brown do?" So I peeked under the branches at the inside of the bush, and what a dream world I found! I had no idea that we had such a lovely secret garden hiding in our front lawn. (Of course, he would have gotten much closer, used a macro lens, an extension tube, and maybe some reflectors, and created a dreamy world with a lovely blurred background, but I had to work with what I had on hand. But I do think this bush warrants a return visit soon to get a better photo.) We do nothing to maintain this bush, but my neighbor is quite diligent about watering and caring for the flowers in his own front yard and those nearby, and he really went to town on this bush!
Location:		Baltimore, MD
Camera:		Canon EOS 300D Digital Rebel, Sigma 18-50mm f/3.5-5.6
EXIF:		Aperture Priority, Pattern Metering, EV 0, 1/20 sec, F/5.6, ISO-100, 18 mm (29 mm equivalent)