Lightroom Masks: Bees, Butterflies, and Hibiscus at Huntley Meadows Park

The scene was a buzz at Huntley Meadows Park in Fairfax, Virginia where the pollinators were busy doing one of the most important jobs on the planet.

Bee Feeding on the Nectar of Milkweed Flowers | Sony a7R IV | ISO 160 | f/8 | 1/100

This wetland was full of life when we visited in mid-July. Where do I begin? Had to give some love to the bumblebee (tripod; 100-600mm). These troopers are vital in the production of some of our food sources, but the population has been in decline. This is one of the reasons I started a pollinator garden, but more on that in another post.

Secret Passage | Sony a7R IV | 85mm | ISO 3200 | f/5 | 1/30

I love this tree. It's on the way to the boardwalk. It didn't turn out exactly as I wanted, but the idea is there. Taken handheld under a dark tree canopy with the 85mm. My ISO was a little too high. The resulting image is juiced way up in Lightroom to compensate. Next time, I'd like to try capturing this with a tripod and possibly even try and focus stack a final image.

Rose Mallow Hibiscus Flower Swirl | Sony a7R IV | 85mm | ISO 400 | f/7.1 | 1/200

Wow - the swirl of these hibiscus petals is mezmorizing. Thank you nature. Also known as Swamp or Eastern Rose-mallow hibiscus. I used some tricks in Lightroom to make the white pistil visible against the white petals. By hand painting a brush mask over the pistil and removing it from the overall flower mask, I could manipulate them individually to help pull out more definition.

Wetlandscape | Sony a7R IV | 16mm | ISO 80 | f/11 | 1/100

A beatiful park is the perfect place to play around with landscape lenses. The pic above and the two images that follow were all taken with the 16mm. Quick tip - Lightroom Select Sky. What a time saver that mask is. I used it and then made an inverted copy so I could alter the green landscape and the blue sky separately. I also did some hand brushing and masking in the water reflection. Same method is applied in the images below.

Stream Lines | Sony a7R IV | 16mm | ISO 50 | f/10 | 1/60

Note the use of natural lines provided by the streams and ponds in this composition.

Luscious Swamp Greens | Sony a7R IV | 16mm | ISO 50 | f/10 | 1/60

OH look! A black swallowtail butterfly (100-600mm)! I've been trying to attract these to my pollinator garden at home, but haven't had any stop by yet. Just like the bees, the butterflies at Huntley were all over the milkweed flowers.

Black Swallowtail Butterfly | Sony a7R IV | 150-600mm | ISO 160 | f/6.3 | 1/100

I hope you've enjoyed checking out images from one of my many nature explorations. I'm still learning and love sharing the journey and any tips and tricks I learn along the way.

Now, get out there and capture all the incredible plants and wildlife nature has to offer!