The 2023-2024 winter was quite mild with little snow but with one very sharp deep drop in temperature that lasted half a week. So we have many frost-damaged plants but we also have a number of early flowers such as these Hellebore flowers just outside our front door
Photography notes:
We have moved to mirrorless cameras but we have kept our D850 DSLR. This is one subject where we prefer a DLSR over a mirrorless camera. There were little wind gusts one the day this picture was made so we waited patiently, with the camera on a tripod, for the air to be still for a fraction of a second. The DSLR allows us to wait without consuming battery power when checking focus and composition.
The 200mm micro-Nikkor is a favourite older lens. The D850 is fully compatible with it whereas the adaptor to the Nikon Z cameras doesn't engage the lens' autofocus system. This isn't too bad a handicap as close-up photography like this often uses manual focus. One benefit with using the lens on a mirrorless camera using a Z adaptor is you gain "vibration reduction" (image stabilization) however we usually use a tripod for this type of subject since the depth of focus is so small and it is difficult to keep your desired composition while holding the camera by hand.