Hawkweed. Laudholm Farms, Wells Maine

It has been a while since I had a camera that does really good macros…or at least the kind of macros that I like. My new Sony RX10iii focuses to 28 inches at 600mm. Add the in-camera crop to 5mp and you have 1200mm equivalent at 28 inches for some impressive macros. This Hawkweed flower is just over 1/2 inch in diameter.

I think Hawkweed is an under-appreciated flower…maybe because it is classed as a weed…and, of course, lest we forget, has weed in its name. I think it is beautiful in both its yellow and orange forms…or I should say…yellow and orange species. Some experts, wiki informs me, count thousands of species of Hawkweed. Others group them into a few hundred “species” on grounds that may strain the definition of species. It is a matter, apparently, of some debate. Most would agree however that Orange Hawkweed is a separate species from any of its yellow cousins. I found this cluster of Orange growing only about 10 yards from a large cluster of Yellow. Though they reproduce by seeds, they do not hybridize as reproduction is asexual. All the flowers in any one cluster, orange or yellow, are genetically identical. But that is not why I find them interesting. I just think it is a beautiful flower.

Sony RX10iii at 1200mm equivalent from about 3 feet. 1/1000th @ ISO 100 @ f5. Processed in Lightroom.