Rain Drops on Poinsetta, photo by Harold Davis. View this image larger.

The other day it was raining, but bright. I snapped these photos of rain drops on the poinsetta on our front porch. Amazing, the way rain drops just look different in their dispersal patterns and the shape of the drops than water drops generated in other ways. Perhaps it is the distribution of many sizes of drops, the shape of the drops, the chemistry of rain, or something else. All I know is that drops of rain are pleasing in a way that drops of water from a hose, and irrigation system, or a spray bottle just aren’t. Intelligent design patterns, indeed!

[Both photos: 200mm f/4 macro lens (300mm in 35mm terms), 36mm extension tube, f/40 and ISO 100, tripod mounted; exposure above at 2.5 seconds and exposure below at 5 seconds.]

View this image larger.