Chris J Ewan Photography

07/05/2026

Caption this! 🐸💬

This toad clearly has something to say... but I can't decide what it is.

Drop your funniest caption in the comments. Let's see who comes up with the best one! 😂

07/02/2026

Today I learned that three out of the four photos I submitted to the Iowa State Fair Photography Salon have been accepted for display! It's an honor to have my work showcased alongside all the other amazing photographs at the salon.
At least one of the photos selected earned an award but I'll have to wait until the fair in August to find out which of these will receive an award.
I would love to hear your thoughts on which image you think didn't make the final cut. Feel free to share your opinions and guesses!

07/01/2026

The lilies just keep giving me reasons to wander into the backyard with my camera.

One of the best reminders photography gives me is that you don't always have to travel hundreds of miles to find something worth photographing. Sometimes it's waiting just outside the back door.

06/28/2026

"When your subject has a little attitude..."

I was trying to get a nice portrait of this little hummingbird when it decided to stick its tongue out at me. I guess not every model enjoys having a camera pointed their way!

06/27/2026

I just put together a short video from my February trip to Death Valley, featuring a collection of my favorite images from the week.

Death Valley has a way of shifting light, color, and scale in a way that’s hard to describe until you’ve stood in it. This piece is a simple way of revisiting those mornings and evenings when the desert was doing what it does best—quietly changing everything.

If you’d like to take a look, here’s the YouTube link:
👉 https://youtu.be/59sYtDFG7Wc

Thanks for watching—and if you enjoy it, feel free to share it with someone who might appreciate a little desert light today.

Images which highlights my birding trip to Death Valley and the Ala...

06/27/2026

More lilies are opening in the yard, which means there are more opportunities to slow down and look a little closer.

Instead of photographing the entire bloom this morning, I decided to zoom in on the center of the flower. It's a view we don't often notice—deep pink petals surrounding the pollen-covered stamens and the glossy stigma standing right in the middle. The closer you look, the more interesting the details become.

One of the things I enjoy most about nature photography is that even a flower I've photographed many times still offers a completely different image when I change my perspective.

Sometimes the best photograph isn't of the whole flower—it's of the tiny world hidden inside it.

06/25/2026

On my walk through McFarland Park, I spotted a butterfly I had never photographed before—a Red-spotted Purple Butterfly.

At first glance, it almost looks tropical with its iridescent blue wings shimmering in the sunlight. What makes this species especially interesting is that it doesn't have the tail extensions that many swallowtail butterflies have, yet it mimics some of them as a form of protection from predators.

One of the things I enjoy most about nature photography is that even after years of carrying a camera on walks, there are still new discoveries waiting around the next bend in the trail. Finding and photographing a species for the first time is always a little thrill.

Have you ever come across something in nature that made you stop and say, "I've never seen that before"?

06/25/2026

This morning's photo started as a technology experiment.

I was testing the digital teleconverter on my OM-1 and pointed the camera toward a hosta bloom glowing in the bright morning sunlight. Thanks to a combination of optics and digital wizardry, this image was captured at an equivalent focal length of 1600mm—from a comfortable distance away.

What caught my eye wasn't the technology, though. It was how the light sculpted the unopened blossoms against a deep shadowed background. The result feels more like a studio portrait than a flower growing beside a garden path.

Have you experimented with a new camera feature lately that surprised you?

06/23/2026

Today's garden surprise was this beautiful Love-in-a-Mist flower. The delicate blue petals are eye-catching on their own, but what really fascinates me are the intricate, lace-like bracts surrounding the bloom. They look almost like a tiny work of natural architecture.

One of the things I enjoy most about walking through the garden with a camera is discovering flowers that make me stop and take a closer look. There is always something new to appreciate when you slow down and pay attention to the details.

What interesting flowers are blooming in your garden right now?

06/21/2026

These mushrooms recently appeared in our neighbor's yard. I have no idea what species they are, but they're about the size of a softball and make a great subject for photography. One of the things I enjoy most about photography is that you don't have to travel to a national park to find interesting images. Sometimes all it takes is a short walk through the neighborhood and a willingness to look a little closer.

Does anyone know what kind of mushroom these are?