The Peony bush has one bloom fully open and the weather report is thunderstorms until 7:00p.m.
About 5:00p.m. I invited this lovely lady to spend the night indoors, Im glad she accepted, the rains started shortly there after, first a nice light rain, the a bit later Mom really got her knickers in a wad, first wind driven rain, then so heavy I couldn't see 50ft and peonies do not fair well in heavy weather .
Below are two Images, One is a single shot and the other is a 19 image stack both with a D810 and a Nikkor 105 f2.8 set at f32 shutter speed don't matter the Exfi data says f36, While I'm not comfortable with this lens it does a great job.
I bought this lens to reduce the needed working distance of the 200mm f4 when doing my Mini Still life's, only time will tell if I get what I am looking for.

Thank you for asking. It is STILL a photography site as far as I know. Perhaps you have noticed I am submitting photos of handguns, so far, as Commercial Photographic submissions. I have stated that several times if you have not noticed.

Meaning no disrespect whatsoever but have you noticed members seem to have the freedom to submit photographs of subject matter they choose, nudes, sunsets, birds, flowers, portraits, landscapes, insects, seascapes with boats, architectural photography, sports photography, underwater photography, birds in flight/birds on the water photography, close up photography, published photographs by members, street photography, trains, just about whatever a member might choose to photograph is accepted.

May I ask why you are bringing up the subject of why firearms? Perhaps you did not know but I mentioned Commercial Photography. Is not Commercial Photography an important part of the photographic world of sales? Do you know many people who buy items online without at least seeing a photograph of that item before purchasing? Firearms sales world wide are into the many Billions of dollars. Perhaps that is because firearms are used world wide for Olympic Sports contests, hunting, self defense, informal and formal target shooting and so on. Firearms are liked and respected tools across the globe by not only men but more and more women as well as children are getting into the shooting sports. Shooting sports are also among the SAFEST sports out there.

I hope this answers your question to your satisfaction. I do realize firearms are not for everyone. Personally I do not like with a passion sunset/sunrise photographs. I can't think of anything more boring to me. I also do not like wildlife photos where snakes are featured. I hate snakes and they scare the bejeepers out of me. Just one more snake photograph and I don't know if I will have any bejeepers left. But I do realize in a photographic forum people should have a right to photograph subjects they like and admire. I admire firearms not only for their usage along many lines but also for their intrinsic artistry combining fine wood, engraving to the Nth degree and costing upwards of sometimes hundreds of thousands of dollars to complete. I also admire their mechanical genius, their fine workmanship as another beauty just the same as many people admire a finely built automobile which may cost millions of dollars. There are a lot of factors to admire in photographing firearms. I hope you will stick around to see what other members might submit or other firearms I plan to submit. IF this does not appeal to you then may I suggest you simply pass right on by just as I do when I see subjects I know I won't appreciate. I don't look at those subjects but it would not be right for me to stop others from photographing and submitting items they do like now would it?

Dennis

Thanks, Jo, and this a "Quilt Barn." Some years ago either the Indiana State Fair or the Indiana Barn Foundation (can't remember which) had a project for barn owners to design quilt patterns and both put them on their barns and create a cloth quilt section of a specific size. Each of the sections were then put together to create a huge quilt that has been displayed at the fair more than once. It was quite impressive. And, maybe they also kept the spirits out. I have heard that was the reasoning for some of the participants joining in. At any rate, these wooden quilt patch designs now adorn barns all over the state.