054 : Lone tulip

Noticed the tulip coming up the walkway and thought it would make for a good shot. Wanted to get as close as I could, and still get a little green in from the grasses behind it. Think it turned out alright.

053 : Dogwood blooms on green

Really pleased with how this one turned out, as it kept all the colors vivid and true. There's a couple branches on the dogwood tree out front that are really low, so that I am able to shoot down on the blooms and see the center of the flowers. Just love all the different layers of blooms, and how sharp the texture of the pedals and stem turned out on the main bloom (and even the one on the bottom right.) One of my favorite shots so far this year. Glad the sun finally poked out for a few minutes to I was able to capture it.

052 : Rhododendron on gray

I realize this looks similar to yesterday's post, but the weather once again was pretty bleak. By the time I get home these flowers have the best light when it's overcast since they're on the side yard so still get sun almost until sundown. Thought I'd try to get a shot without the green this time. Love the pattern on the pedals.

051 : Rhododendron in the rain

Seems like there's all sorts of pink blooms around the house... now it seems the rhododendron on the side of the deck are starting to bloom. It was a little rainy out, so I was lucky to get this shot huddled under the gutter for shelter. Love the rain drops visible through the pedal, and the green of the leaves in the backdrop (and that crazy shape they make.)

050 : Pink tree blooms

Really like how this shot turned out. The bloom turned out pretty crisp, and the backdrop turned out nice and soft, even though it was just more of these blooms a few feet further back. Love how the blue of the sky takes on a purple hue,,, goes well with the pink, yellow, and green from the bloom.

049 : Ragged leaf sihlouette

Didn't have a lot of sun to work with today... didn't poke out until the sun was setting. Just loves the shape of this leaf against the pale sky. I was really glad this turned out because I had it on manual focus. Hopefully tomorrow the sun will shine a bit and I can get something a bit more colorful.

048 : Four tulips and grass

Just love the colors on the tulips, and how the grass makes almost a painted backdrop for them. Think the angle helps give it a little motion... but really just love those vibrant colors.

047 : Purple buds on green

At least there was a bit of sun poking out by the time I got around to taking photos... but not quite enough to really get out the great colors on this shot... turned out a little pale I think, but really like the purple and green combination... hopefully I can shoot these again with a bit more light in the near future.

046 : Dim flower and branches

The clouds rolled back in, making it pretty gray and overcast once again. These flowers which were bright pink the other day now look almost black from their own shadows. Sure turned out to be a spooky shot considering it's the middle of Spring.

045 : Daffodils near and far

Seems like the daffodils in the front yard are already done for the year, but the two in the backyard seem to be hanging in there (less sun.) Really love the shape thar the daffodil in the back makes... almost looks like a star in a dark horizon off in the distance... glad its stem was in the shade...

044 : Squirrel holding walnut

Guess I didn't realize how long it had been since I got a good squirrel shot until I got this one. I was out getting a different shot when she scampered along the fence, and I tossed a walnut onto the railing. Really love how the sun catches her hair, giving her a white outline, and love hot the background turned out... looks almost dewy, but it was during the evening after a 80 degree day, so not sure where those light reflections are coming from... sure make for a neat texture though...

043 : Flower lit from behind

It's fun getting some early morning sun on the weekend as it allows me to shoot different angles from what I have to shoot when I get home in the evening thanks to the sun being in a different spot. This was pretty neat because the sun was overhead, actually lighting up the inside of the flower through the layers of petals, giving it kind of a glow effect (like putting a flashlight in your mouth!) Thought the blue of the sky turned out nice, with a hint of green up to the left. Neat color palette.

042 : Two-toned tulips

Really love how the colors turned out on this one... the reds and yellows of the tulips against the solid green of the lawn. Love the texture of the tulip on the bottom right (the left one isn't quite as sharp) and the few dark green stems poking up on the left hand side.

041 : Two dandelions

Figure I better shoot the dandelions before Jill pulls them all up this weekend. Managed to get some evening sun once again, and took this shot looking straight down. Just love the contrasts of the two dandelions... too bad they couldn't be a bit closer together to get them both in focus... maybe I'll play around with the camera's settings tomorrow and see if I can get a clear shot of them both...

040 : Dandelion ghost

As great as dandelions are in yellow form, this white form is even better... what other flower can you blow on and have disappear right in front of your eyes into a wisp of floating seeds? And the reward for doing so... more dandelions! Really love the greens on this one... make a nice backdrop for all the light seeds, and the dark center of the flower. Really glad how crisp the front wisps on the seeds are. It was nice to have full sun shining down for sure... sounds like it should last through the weekend!

039 : Red leaves on green

The sun came out on and off throughout the day, but it was tough to find once I got home. Luckily it came out for a few minutes and I ran out back to get this shot... not sure what kind of tree is out back that is making those red leaves, but they sure light up when the sun hits them... just love the colors in this one...

038 : Raindropped flower on ground

So no one seems to be sure exactly what type of flower this is, so I'll just refer to it as such. Anyways, got home really late from work (6:45!) so didn't have much choice other than to head out back and find something that still had some sunlight on it. The was a smattering of these blooms on the ground, and just loved the colors on this one against the dark shadowed grass and petals.

037 : Raindropped flower

Was really pleased on how well this one turned out. A lot of the time when the light is coming from behind the subject the colors will turn dark, almost like a silhouette, but guess it was just cloudy enough to help bring in light from all sides, as the flower really turned out a true shade of pink. Also glad there was enough light on this overcast day to get a nice crisp shot of the top of the flower with the raindrops on top. Glad I'm able to shoot the early Spring flowers with the Nikon this time around.

036 : Rainy daffodil stems

Rainy out, so I stayed under the gutter while taking this shot. Couldn't get a good shot of the daffodils, but one turned out of the wet stems that had some good color to it... just like all the stems poking out with different reflections and colors, with the bit of yellow from the flowers and the bright green grass behind.

035 : Leaves against blended sky

Not much sun to work with today, but managed to get this shot around sunset. Love that there's some green left in the leaves to give it some depth, and love the little hairs on the stems (might have to click on the photo to see it in a higher resolution to notice). Think the sky turned out pretty interesting with the blue at the top and white down below.

034 : Green leaves on green

This one's all about color... really love how all the greens turned out. Love the background in that it almost looks like the leaves are creating a green glow. Love the texture on the leaves in the upper left of the cluster. Wish I would have zoomed in just a bit close to get the branch out of there, but all in all I'm pretty pleased at how it turned out.

033 : Robin on branch

Pretty gray outside once again, but might have helped out with this shot. Saw a robin out front hopping around and followed it for a minute. It eventually flew up into this tree, and hopped from branch to branch as I kept tailing it. Fortunately I got this shot of it through the split in the trunk of the tree just before he flew off for good. Its chest seems to be the only bit of color in the whole shot... a neat effect I think.

032 : Plum blooms dimmed

Back to overcast by the time I got home... but I was really pleased with how this photo turned out, so fine by me! Love how the dim blue sky turns the pink blooms into almost a purple color, and the red leaves into a dark brown almost... sure made for an interesting color palette. Even the plum tree in the back looks like it's got some purple to it.

031 : Dandelions

I don't understand people's issues with dandelions... they're tiny little yellow flowers... but people just can't seem to stand the sight of them. I guess if you have a few in your vegetable garden then they could be a hassle, but when I see them pop up in people's lawns, I always think they add a bit of color and are sad to see when people mow them down.

I think they look awesome... like little mini-sunflowers!

030 : Red bloom

Nothing much to say about this one... trying not to shoot daffodils and the plum blooms too much, so took this shot of a bloom from a tree out back. Just love the red and yellow against a deep green backdrop.

029 : Plum bloom

Only managed to download 4 photos of my camera before iPhoto started acting up, but fortunately this was the first shot I took. Once again had some sun to work with (really helps bring out the red in the center of the blooms) and like that the trunk itself was in the shade. Really love how the background turned out... it almost looks purplish in a winding line against the blue sky.

028 : Daffodil on blue

Sometimes I don't think I'll ever get used to the crazy Oregon weather... it actually feels like Spring outside now, and yet there is a sheet of ice on top of our spa... crazy! But at least the sun is finally out, and I managed to get a good shot of the daffodil out back (just one by itself). Just love the colors of his one, and the texture of the daffodil pedals. Glad the yellow didn't come out too hot even with the direct sunlight.

027 : Pink blooms in layers

Finally had enough sun to go shoot these blooms... not sure what kind of tree this is from, although Jill thinks it's a plum tree. Just love the pnk and blue, and the three different layers of branches with blooms.

026 : Five buds

Pretty nasty out again... sure doesn't feel like Spring here... Went out back to look for a photo, and came cross these buds from the tree getting ready to bloom. Just liked the different depths to each of them, and the green color against the pale sky. Love the texture all the branches make in the lower left of the image.

025 : Wet stems

I feel like I'm running out of things to shoot when everything is wet... daffodils, our back deck, now the stems to the daffodils. Just love how the drops seem to pool up on the strands, and the different tones and depth of each of the stalks.