This aquatic plant is very common in shallow waters, especially in sheltered bays of lakes and rivers. It forms large colonies which has frustrated me in my attempts to get a photo of the flower spikes because with so many flower spikes and leaves all so close together it was hard to isolate a single spike and get a smooth background. All my past shots ended up either cluttered with distractions in the background or with not enough of the flower spike in focus. Part of the problem is since this plant grows in soft mud in shallow water, getting close or maneuvering around to get the right combinations of angles and distance from the flowers and background hasn't always been possible. But this morning I encountered a colony that was more accessible, so I took a few moments out of my other goals to experiment trying to isolate a flower spike and get a smooth background (without damaging or altering the plant). I tried a number of different flower spikes in the colony with this one here giving the best result.