I hate dandelions in my yard, but I do see the beauty of the plants too. This one is a variety I get here in Colorado that is three times the size of the ones I normally see in my lawn. I couldn't resist trying to capture the delicate structures in the flower before I yanked it out of my garden.
I shot this handheld with my Canon 5D Mark II, no flash, an EF 70-200 f/4 lens and my settings were 1/2000 at f/5 with ISO 100. I tried to get my focus into the center of the flower ball. I used back button focus to lock in on the plane I wanted to shoot and then composed the shot. It worked.
Capturing these delicate features is fun to do. Despite being a danger to my lawns, these things are beautiful. They just don't get to stick around.
Enjoy the images below.
