Arctic tundra is fascinating. It is considered the world’s coldest biome, and despite the snow, there is relatively little water; it is like a cold desert that supports unique flora and fauna. One afternoon as I used my 18-35mm lens on the D500 to take close up photographs of the mosses, lichens, and a few wild flowers, I suddenly realized that the pink flowers I was drawn to were azaleas…stunted versions of the azaleas with which we are so familiar. They grow very low to the ground and the flowers are barely an inch across when fully open. In some places, there were just a few plants sprinkled across vast swaths of moss showing a pop of pink here and there. In other places, there were lots of azaleas that gave a bright, cheerful look to the tundra. I saw only one color of azalea there. It happens to be my favorite color of azalea and at home, a row of larger versions of these magenta flowers decorates my front yard.
