FLORA FIRST PLACE Flower horizons Grand Teton National Park Peter Mangolds | Jackson, Wyoming Canon R5: 1/320 sec, f/5, ISO 400 O ne of the most spectacular parts of Wyoming is the many species of wildflowers, but not all of them grow in fields. About a year or two ago I bought an underwater housing for my camera because I wanted to challenge myself with a facet of photography that rarely happens in Wyoming but can uncover another magical world. The learning curve using an underwater housing was significantly more difficult than I anticipated. The first year I had the housing I spotted these water lilies but saw them at the end of their seasonal bloom so they looked a bit beat up and started to decay, but I wanted to get some never-before-seen shots of them in the future. I waited a year for the right time to come around. I checked every week to see if they had bloomed, and finally the time was right. It took a few attempts because the wind made things more difficult than anticipated, as well as harsh light reflecting on the plexiglass dome causing all sorts of problems. I took my paddleboard and went to the far side of the lake. After finding the right flower I had to hurry because a beaver was swimming around eating flowers. I stashed my paddleboard against a sunken log and swam to the lily to take the shot but realized I stirred up a lot of muck underwater and had to wait for it to settle while up to my neck in the water. It took about 30 minutes for the muck to settle and another 30 minutes for the light to be right, but I was able to pull off the shots I wanted. Meanwhile, the beaver sat on my paddleboard and watched. As soon as I was done it swam over and ate the flower I photographed. 46 | February 2023