Sheree Zielke

My sunflowers grew amazingly well this summer. One sturdy stock held over thirty blossoms including this one. The light was so pretty, that I angled my phones to catch the effect. Then a little playtime in the iPhone editing and voila! Something I would have done before with my DSLR is now so easy with my iPhone.

Our summer was unusually hot and sunny. And while it made for some unbearable hot nights, all my flowers loved it, provided they got a good drink of water. I love the DOF provided by the Portrait option on the iPhone. So easy to accomplish this soft dreamy background.

Our odd local Alberta weather this summer was harsh on my peonies. The plant struggled, but managed to yield five blooms; this was one of them. I loved the rainy jewels adorning this valiant flower, almost in honour of its fragile strength.

Oh, my “broken beauty!” This Tiger Swallowtail butterfly, even though seemingly disabled, was going about its business gathering lilac nectar with nary a hint of a problem.

A friend gave me this Easter Lily. I had it on a dining table where it was caught up in the morning sunshine. I had to have the shot. I used black foam board to block out background clutter. And I misted with a plant spray bottle. I am glad others found this beautiful, too.

Road trips are so grand. Especially on a highway known as the Sea to Sky highway in British Columbia. It was a breathtaking vista and a little hard to capture.

I wanted to test my iPhone’s ability to capture moving flames. I threw some color enhancing crystals on the logs and waited. It was magical.

As avid travelers, we feel like this pandemic has clipped our wings. However, we are blessed with gorgeous Rocky mountains only four hours away in Jasper National Park. Snowcaps, wispy cotton candy clouds, and cerulean blue skies make for a perfect photo op.

A dusky evening sky above our Salish Sea. Ocean skies seem never to disappoint especially those off Vancouver Island in Canada.

One of the prettiest harbors at sunset is in downtown Victoria, British Columbia. I love the gentle wavy reflections from the boat riggings.