Golden hour - the ultimate time for natural light photography, commonly used for portraits. One day, I was at home with a bouquet of flowers when it hit me: why haven't I tried my hand at macro, and other floral photography, outside during golden hour??? I grabbed my tools and threw them in my photography bag...even though I was just walking out to my back yard! Included was my camera (duh), a third-hand tool to hold the stems, a prism (because, why not!), a spray bottle, and my trusty Canon 100mm f/2.8L macro lens. Here's the scene of my "set up" (note that there's not much...I'm a minimalist when it comes to photography tools): 

Overall, I was happy with my results, but learned a few lessons: 

1. Despite being close to home, packing up my gear was a great idea and made it easier to transport with the bouquet of flowers.

2. I should search for another location. While the lighting was great, I underestimated the effect of the fence and shade lines it created...and very quickly as the sun went down.

3. I like to keep my flowers for enjoyment after photographing them, so the third-hand tool is not ideal. The teeth do tend to break into the stems. Therefore, I need to find another tool to hold my flowers for me!

4. I was lucky that it wasn't a windy day :)

5. I want to try it again...perhaps when it's a bit warmer out!