About
References
Many books and websites are used to identify the plants, including:
Books
“Manual of the Vascular Plants of Texas” by D.S. Correll & M.C. Johnston
“Wildflowers of the Texas Hill Country” by Marshall Enquist
“Wildflowers of Texas” by Michael Eason
"Wildflowers of Texas" by Geyata Ajilvsgi
"Little Big Bend" by Roy Morey
“Cacti of Texas” by Michael Powell, James Weedin and Shirley Powell
“Rare Plants of Texas” by Jackie Poole, William Carr, Dana Price and Jason Singhurst
“Flowering Plants of Trans-Pecos Texas and Adjacent Areas” by Michael Powell, Richard Worthington and Shirley Powell
“Shinners & Mahler’s Illustrated Flora of North Central Texas” by George Diggs, Jr., Barney Lipscomb, and Robert O'Kennon
Websites
•USDA Plants - www.plants.usda.gov
•Integrated Taxonomic Information System - www.itis.gov
•Biota of North America Program - www.bonap.org
•Southwest Environmental Information Network - www.swbiodiversity.org
•Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center - www.wildflower.org
•Wildflower Search - www.wildflowersearch.com
•Southwest Desert Flora - www.southwestdesertflora.com by Gene Spurla
•The American Southwest - www.americansouthwest.net
•Image Archive of Central Texas Plants - www.sbs.utexas.edu
•Catnapin Collections - www.catnapin.com by Jo Cox
•CactiGuide.com - https://cactiguide.com by Daiv Freeman
•Texas Cacti - thehibbitts.net/Cactus by Terry Hibbits
•Bennie Simpson’s Texas Native Shrubs - https://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/ornamentals/nativeshrubs/
•Wildflowers of the Southern Rocky Mountains - www.rockymountainsflora.com by Marilyn Phillips
•Southeastern Arizona Wildflowers and Plants - www.fireflyforest.com/flowers/ by T. Beth Kinsey
Photo Equipment and Processing
All of the photographs were taken with digital cameras, primarily Nikon DSLRs, including D70, D200, D300S and (currently) D810. Most DSLR photos were taken with a Nikkor-Micro 70-180mm f/4.5-5.6 zoom lens or Nikkor-Micro 105mm f/2.8 lens. Other cameras used include aim-and-shoots Canon SD650, Nikon P7000 and Sony RSX-100III, and iPhones of various generations..
Some of the photos are products of the focus stacking technique to put into focus the subject and blur the rest. I use either the lens focus barrel or a Kirk FR-2 focussing rail.
Most photos were taken with natural light, often using a diffuser to reduce shadows. Some were taken using a Nikon RC1 macro flash system.
Almost all photos are shot in camera RAW file format and developed on a Mac with Adobe Lightroom, followed by Photoshop (to a very limited extent), Topaz Photo AI to reduce noise and sometimes Color Efex4 Pro software for contrast enhancement. For the focus stacks I use Helicon Focus software.
The processing steps consist of first organizing the images by location into collections in Lightroom, identifying the plants and adding keywords. The photos are cropped and exposures adjusted in Lightroom. The winners are processed in Topaz AI for noise if necessary and converted to JPEGs. These are uploaded to this website using Blocs web development software.
Getting There
Many of the photos on this site were taken while hiking. Along with that, I often use my mountain bike. It's a great way to get to more remote wildflower sites, and it’s quicker than walking. My backpack is usually loaded with a camera, hiking tripod, biking equipment and water for the day. If it’s an aggressive ride, I’ll take my small Sony RX100-III camera, and for easier rides my DSLR with macro lens will be in the backpack.
Contact
If you would like to contact me about the site, I’d love to hear from you! Please click here. Corrections to identifications are much appreciated!
Banner photo of Castilleja indivisa and Lupinus ssp. taken along FM 1323 north of Johnson City, Blanco County
© Tom Lebsack 2024