Bloom

As the peonies around my house were in bloom, I tested a lens I've just received from eBay: the Sigma 24mm f\1.8 macro. It's quite pleasant to use, with its very short minimum focus distance, fast aperture, and relatively wide depth-of-field for macro (macro lenses usually have a focal lenght of 50mm or more, providing a shallow depth-of-field which means we lose information about the subject's environment, and often part of the subject itself).

There's almost always ants running around on unopened peony buds. That's because they form a symbiotic relationship: the peony secretes nectar which attracts and feeds the ants, thereafter the ants protect the plants from other insects (which could harm the plant ie by eating leaves and laying eggs). All throughout the day the ants can be observed fighting off ladybugs and such.

-aoi
Music: https://ao-i.bandcamp.com/
Photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/ao-i/