My pest plant (Autumn Olive) is one of my favorite shrubs in the back yard because of its ability to feed many of the birds/wildlife without the need of feeders. This is my fourth week in Macro-March following the development from bud to flower for seven plants. I suspect the flower on this shrub will come later than this month, but I loved the wonderful blue sky and this little reminder of why I keep the plant (pruned and maintained now) even if it is considered a villain of my state. I will take a shot of it in the coming months when it does bloom so you can see its wonderful, fragrant produce--by summer, the berries will appear and everyone will have a feast at the shrub! I believe it does make for suitable consumption by humans too, but I won't venture beyond a peck, I'm sure.
Note for myself: I used a radial filter in four locations on this shot (in LR5). On the tip of the top left leaf and the center of the right top leaf for reducing the highlights and to provide more clarity. On the front leaf to give contrast as it's not in focus. I also did a radial filter on the feather to provide more clarity and definition. The wonderful light really provided some nice bokeh as well!
Here is last week's shot of the same bud (well, another one for sure, but you get the idea--I wasn't going to pass up a bird presence in any way): http://365project.org/darylo/365/2014-03-17
