A Bit of Macro Fussing...

This was an interesting adventure in macro shooting...

the center was so dark that when I started shooting they kept coming out like this...

 I fussed with the camera exposure, but it was tough because the center was 

soooo dark and the blossoms reflected quite a bit of light...

The very top shot is as is from the camera, underexposing...

these two were over exposed with a bit of fussing in Lightroom...

The flowers were exquisite...and I'm afraid I just didn't do them justice!

But...this bud came out perfectly!!!  Not so much light reflection here!!!

Jump on over to Lisa's Chaos for more Monday Macros!!!

Weeds are Flowers too...

"Weeds are flowers too, once you get to know them."

A.A. Milne

I'm not sure what this brush is...it's native to the area around Mono Lake...

It was a bit windy that day...and rather hard to get it to sit still!!!

For more participants in Macro Monday...click here....

For those of you who shoot with a Nikon DSLR...

I have a brand new Sigma Electronic Flash EF-610 DG Super

that I'd like to sell...

This was part of my Christmas gift, but I already have an electronic flash so 

I don't need this one...

It sells on Amazon.com for $255...

I'd like to sell mine for $150...

Please shoot me an email if you think you might be interested...

A Touch of Spring...

"No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow."

Proverb

Spring was definitely blooming in Sacramento...despite the rain!

While in Mammoth...

the winter storm we've been waiting for all winter finally arrived...

For more participants in MacroMonday....click here...

For those who have followed my travels on 

my Photographic Journey blog...

I've finally started posting again!!!

Join me on the Celebrity Equinox on the way 

to our next stop, Pompeii!!!




For those of you who are dog lovers...check out this lovely post by Lui...

Spring is Blooming in Sacramento....

"I said to the almond tree, "Friend, speak to me of God,"

and the almond tree blossomed."

Nikos Kazantazakis

One of the perks of our trip to Sacramento were all the flowers...

I've forgotten how beautiful spring is when it's just breaking out into bloom!

For more participants in Skywatch Friday...click here...

Crimson Splendor...

"It is courage, courage, courage, that raises the blood of life to crimson splendor.
Live bravely and present a brave front to adversity."
Horace

For more participants in Macro Monday...click here....

A Rose is a Rose.....

Is an Ecuadorian rose...

"What's in a name?  That which we call a rose

By any other name would smell as sweet."

William Shakespeare

Did you know that one of Ecuador's main exports are roses???

A Single Flower...

"If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, 

our whole life would change."

Buddha

It's been a Mammoth summer...

Mammoth got a rather late start for Spring or rather Summer...

and the flowers are still blooming...

A Treasure Found...

"Nobody sees a flower really; it is so small.

We haven't time, and to see takes time -

like to have a friend takes time."

Georgia O'Keefe

I saw these flowers out of the corner of my eye while the granddaughters 

and I were watching two squirrels in the lawn of the Ahwahnee Hotel.

They were large bushes, with these delicate, somewhat small flowers...

What treasures we find when we allow ourselves to see beyond the obvious...

Is it Spring yet?

A little glimpse of spring...

OK...summer...

Another sign of spring...

"Every flower is a soul blossoming in nature."

Gerard De Nerval

Well, darn it!!!  I pre-posted early again!!!

It's Another Blue Monday...

Searching for wild irises in Bishop the other day we found this small grove...

Great day with a new friend!!!

Went out today shooting pics with a new friend up here who shares a love of photography...

I've been experimenting with the metering mode on my Nikon...

this was taken with the spot meter...with the focal point on the flowers...

The challenges here was that it was pretty windy...I wanted the flowers in front to be clear and the mountains blurred...pretty much got what I was looking for, with a bit of wind interference in the flowers...

But if you look real close...that's not dust on the lens in the middle...that's a bee!!!

For more participants in Skywatch Friday....click here!

Another Glimpse of Spring...

It was a gloomy day, just before our last spring snow...

I caught a glimpse of spring...

The Color Purple...

A little color for a grey day...