I’m not too big on purchasing flowers for macro photography. There’s nothing wrong with doing it and it can be a great way to practice and build macro photography skills. While passing through the garden center at a “Big Box” store the other day I just couldn’t resist this beauty. Echinacea purpurea, Paririe Splendor, is a cone flower found naturally in the eastern Unitied States. I found it’s color, shape and textures very attractive. To light this little beauty I used a small LED video light I purchased on ebay a while back. I find these little lights can be handy for filling in shadows when doing macro photography in the field. I also use them occassionally when photographing weddings and during portrait sessions. I’d never tried using one as a “studio light” but, to be honest, I was just too lazy to set-up a softbox and strobe this morning. I think it worked well for this purpose. Here’s a few shots from this morning. I’m sure I’ll try some other compositions in the near future.