Scarlet firethorn, Heesch, Netherlands

This Pyracantha coccinea (scarlet firethorn) is one of the largest plants in our garden. It's tall but also deep, the layers upon layers of branches make it quite an attractive urban bird nest location. Usually blackbirds nest in it. I see them go in and out all the time, yet I never inspect the nest or even check where it is. Birds are stressed enough already when nesting, and I want them to keep using the spot. I also never clean up the fallen leafs below the tree, as I know dunnocks are hopping around there, and it provides shelter and nutrition for snails and beetles.

I just let things be. Non-intervention is fantastic, I mean...how hard can it be to do nothing at all?

I haven't really kept track of the blooming of this plant, but I sure don't remember in the 12 years prior that it went into a super bloom like this. In the 2 weeks that it bloomed, I think it attracted all the neighbourhood's pollinators. There's thousands of little flowers on this single plant.

I'll misuse this post for a little gear tour. Most of my photos shared on JD come from our remote travel or local macro hikes, where my 80-400mm and 105mm macro lens dominate. These 3 photos are taken with the 3 "other" lenzes I own, although none of the shots do these lenzes much justice, so here goes...

AF-S NIKKOR 14-24mm F2.8G ED
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A legendary ultra-wide angle lens. A huge bulb of glass, very heavy, known for its exceptional sharpness. My usage of this lens has decreased in recent years, due to simply being too busy with the other two disciplines in the field (birding, macro).

People first looking through this lens have their minds blown, if not used to 14mm. If you'd be almost hitting a tree with this lens, in the viewfinder those trees seem 5m away still. And it will show your feet, even if not pointing at them. You can easily cover a tight cave with this lens:

Or, you can fit entire trees in your viewfinder:

54Kandy

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 85mm f/1.4G Lens
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This is optically my best lens. It is fixed focal length, very fast, with a stunning bokeh. I use this lens occassionally, mostly on pets and people, which I don't share here. Unfortunately, few natural subjects are suitable for this lens. It's too short for birding, doesn't magnify enough for insect or small fungi. It can be used for plants or tame mammals, but I don't regularly do so. That said, I cannot overstate the glory of this lens. When used on the right subject, it creates a stunning atmosphere, even if you're not trying. This was literally my first shot with the lens, just point and shoot:

https://scontent-amt2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t31.0-8/12779196_10153946942017692_462955599884554194_o.jpg?_nc_cat=102&_nc_ht=scontent-amt2-1.xx&oh=ab6ea71a286862207397e4c1649efbf1&oe=5D9BBA4D

A more recent example:
https://scontent-amt2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/60213073_10157187426502692_3267645706168434688_o.jpg?_nc_cat=108&_nc_ht=scontent-amt2-1.xx&oh=76ba11e5da5d9934d25a742a75f4b9b6&oe=5D9DCEB2

My big frustration with this lens is that it does not focus close enough. If it would focus just a little closer, I'd use it far more often for fungi, for example. That said, this strategy can perhaps still work given that I do have plenty of crop space.

Nikkor 50mm F1.2 AI
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A recent addition. This is a sentimental lens. The lens is older than me, and still produced today. It is a solid piece of metal, no plastic. Both focusing and aperture is manually done, using a separate aperture ring. At f/1.2, it's Nikon's fastest lens. At f/1.2, with manual focus and on a high resolution sensor, using it is very hard, which is part of its charm. Above all, this lens renders with "character". Compared to the much more modern f/1.4, bokeh is a lot less smooth yet it is messy in an artistic way. The true signature of this lens is that the parts that are in focus are both sharp and unsharp. I know that doesn't make sense, it's best explained as something that is sharp with a faint glow around, sometimes called the "classic soft focus" effect in post processing.

All of this is a reminder to myself to use these lenses more.