Last Fall on a frosty morning I was out at Ankley Farm shooting sunflowers.

Some of the sunflowers were dead and brown. I saw this interesting pattern that formed on the backside of this flower head.

Shot with the Fuji X-T30 MKll and the Tamron 18-300.  f/32.

In Smart Photo Editor I cropped what I wanted, Sharpened, and then clicked through filters until I found one I liked.  This is the final result.

Save yourself some time learning flower photography by joining my Flower Photography Club online. Learn from the experts. FLOWER PHOTO CLUB - Mike Moats - Award Winning Macro Photographer

Prairie Coneflowers - Stony Creek Metro Park, MI

Fuji X-T30 MKll Tamron 18-300 f/32 @1/20sec, ISO2000

Creative Processing in Smart Photo Editor.

Original out of the camera.

Save yourself some time learning flower photography by joining my Flower Photography Club online. Learn from the experts. FLOWER PHOTO CLUB - Mike Moats - Award Winning Macro Photographer

I visit Facebook photo groups every day and 99.9 percent of the images are of the same format that comes out of the camera.  the vast majority of my images follow that same format. But every once in a while, I see a subject that just seems to fit well in a square crop. So here are a few on my square crop images. Try it will some of your images.

Booking camera club zoom meetings, need a speaker, let me know, macrogeekmike@yahoo.com

Join my Macro Photo Club online. Over 280 instructional videos. Over 2800 members from 29 countries. 
Info and to sign up. 

MACRO PHOTO CLUB - Mike Moats - Award Winning Macro Photographer

Also Check out my workshops and zoom programs.

WORKSHOPS - Mike Moats - Award Winning Macro Photographer

If you live near a beach, go check it out for some cool abstract patterns. I shoot these with my largest f-stop, f/32, {and then sharpen in post processing for the diffraction} to get all the sand and pattern in focus. Don’t go the day after it rains, the rain washes away the patterns, so wait a few days after a rain for the patterns to rebuild.

Use the “Structure” slider in Viveza 2 to help pull out the texture in the sand.

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Save yourself some time learning flower photography by joining my Flower Photography Club online. Learn from the experts. FLOWER PHOTO CLUB - Mike Moats - Award Winning Macro Photographer

Join us in this amazing island experience with a family of likeminded flower photographers. 

This will be my seventh-year teaching at the Madeline Island School of Arts Campus.

Also teaching this year will be, Jackie Kramer, Kathleen Clemons, and Adrea Gulickx.

Madeline Island, nestled in the sparkling embrace of Lake Superior, captivates with its natural beauty and tranquil allure. Lush forests and meadows, painted with vibrant hues in summer, create a picturesque landscape perfect for photographers and nature lovers.

The island's artistic spirit thrives within its small communities, where galleries, local crafts, and a rich cultural heritage add depth to its charm.

On Sunday attendees will take a fun ferry ride from Bayfield to Madeline Island School of Arts sprawling campus.

On Sunday evening we will have a meet and greet with the four instructors in the dining hall.

A bonus of attending this workshop is an evening boat ride to the sea caves on Devils Island. 

After our Sunday evening welcome dinner everyone will retire for a good night's sleep in the campus cabins.

Monday morning everyone will meet up for breakfast in the dining hall and find out who will be their instructor and shooting location for the first morning.

Each day you will work with a different instructor in a new location.

The islands Lupine flowers is a big attraction, plus shoot in private gardens on the island or take a ferry ride back to the mainland to shoot some Bayfield gardens. 

After the morning shoot you will be back in the dining hall for lunch, and after lunch you will attend a lecture with your instructor of that day in one of the meeting rooms. 

After your instructor meeting you will have some time to relax before heading back to the dining hall for dinner.

After dinner you will have free time to go out and shoot, hang out with the instructors, or go to the island's galleries, bars, shops. 

After breakfast on Friday morning, you will head to the milkhouse barn meeting space for image critique from one of the instructors. 

Bring a laptop to load your images for the critique.

The workshop will come to an end at noon on Friday.  In the afternoon you will prepare to leave the island or stay an extra night and leave on Saturday.

Floral Photography on Madeline Island

June 15th–19th, 2026

For information about the workshop and to sign up click the link below.

CLICK HERE