084 : Blue squirrel

Really liked this one because of how different it turned out to be. I went around the deck to get this shot (to shoot upwards) and apparently he heard something in the distance because he stopped eating and looked up like this. And apparently even he was hot because every time I fed him a walnut on a sunny part of the railing, he would just carry it over to a shady spot and eat it. Love how blue the sky turned out.

083 : Yellow flower on brown

So we finally got this yellow flower planted into the front yard, and also got some new bark to lay down, which made a perfect backdrop. Like how the blue grass added a little hint of blue into the picture. Love the tooth-edged shape of that flower's petals, and the hint of red toward the base of the bloom.

082 : Day lily buds

Finally the day lilies are starting to come up. I think it's interesting how these seem to bloom in bunches. Just really like the simple yellow of green of this shot.

081 : Glowing pink rhododendron

Really like how this one turned out. There was just a touch of sun hitting the flower from behind, and just love how the stamen looked against the light backdrop. It seems like the rhododendrons glow when the sun hits them from behind like that... especially the bloom on the right.

080 : Ladybug on stalk

Guess it's that time of year when all the critters are out... bees are hovering around the rhododendrons and now ladybugs are appearing out front. I was surprised to see that this one didn't have any spots (I thought they all did) but at least she stayed still long enough for me to get a few shots in. Just love the red against the green, with a hint of yellow from the daylilly in the background. Like how all the different stalks turned out, adding different greens to the mix. It was nice to get a bright shot after yesterday's hazy evening.

079 : Mossy tree trunk at sunset

Didn't have much in the way of sunlight tonight. Once I got home it was kind of a hazy overcast until sunset. By the time the sun was setting I really hadn't gotten a good shot, so went out at sunset to try and get some of the orange sky. It turned out pretty muted, but I think the colors turned out interesting. Love the texture of the moss, and the blurred leaves in the distance.

078 : Squirrel eating peanut

I was out on the back deck when this guy came up to me. I tossed a peanut on the railing, and he went to town on it! It was nice shooting with the sun above as opposed to during the evening when the sun is usually behind the squirrel. It really brings out the color in his eye (brown apparently) and shows off his true colors. Love those long fingers.

077 : Red leaf on mixed colors

There's a bush out back that blooms green leaves each spring, but sometimes it grows red ones. As cool as they look, it's usually tough to shoot them because of their placement or lighting isn't right, but this one just happened to be in the right spot. Loved how the backdrop turned out with all the different colors.

076 : Leaf with leaf shadow

Jill bought this huge leafy plant for the front yard, and just had to take a picture of this huge leaf. Love the textured veins running from the center, and love the shadow of the next leaf in the corner. Can't wait to see what kind of plant gets brought home next!

076 : Dark squirrel on bright green

Really like how this one turned out... first off really liked that it wasn't a profile shot like so many others... guess he's comfortable enough with me moving around him a little bit to get different angles. Love how his hands turned out against the walnut, love the blue reflection in his eye, and how his whiskers turned out against the bright green... especially with him in the shadows. One of my favorite squirrel shots.

075 : Yellow pokey flower on green

Still have a couple flowers that didn't get planted from last weekend and are just sitting out front. This one just happened to be in front of the blue grass plant out front, and loved the pattern it made as a soft background... almost looks like a wide-brush painting...

074 : Lucifer leaves

I managed to get away from the house a bit on my furlough day, so had some new scenery to shoot. I was told this was a Lucifer, so I hope to have a chance to shoot it again in a few months when it blooms, but for now just really liked how the sun brings out the texture of the leaves... reminds me of corn husks with the shape and texture... and really love the colors in this one...

073 : Leaf from bottom

Really like the how the colors turned out in this one... the strong green of the leaf against the pale green of the backdrop. And love the veins in the leaf, and the shadow from the twig/leaf nearby. I was lucky to get this shot as the sun was hardly out all evening... hope it's clearer tomorrow for my furlough day!

072 : Glowing rhododenrdron

Managed to get a shot of the rhododendrons out front with just a touch of sunlight on them, but it was just the right amount. A few spots on the pedals turned out a touch hot, but the rest of the colors turned out great... even the pink, purple and green backdrop on the right turned out pretty solid.

071 : Orange bloom on yellow

It's pretty rare that I post the first shot I take, but it happened today. Just love how the colors turned out in this one, and love how the top bloom and the one below both turned out in focus. I'll be sure to keep an eye on this plant throughout the summer as we don't have any other plants with orange. Sure seems to go well with green...

070 : Lilac on blue

Had to crawl along the ground for this shot, but I think it was worth it. This bloom was only a few feet off the ground, but I managed to get low enough to get enough distance to get it in focus and to get the blue sky in the background. Really love the colors in this one... even the touch of green in the upper left.

069 : Pink rhododendron side

Really like how this shot turned out. I love how the pink blooms looks against the green backdrop, but really wanted to focus on the stamen pointing out since they were pink as well. Just like the layers of colors from right to left... and should be sunny all weekend, so should be more shots were this one came from.

068 : Dogwood on pale blue

Really like how this shot turned out. Love the contrast in the main bloom/stem, but glad the colors turned out more strongly on the right where the out of focus bloom was. Everything on the left turned out pretty crisp, so thought it made a good balance for the fuzzy shapes on the right.

067 : Wet rhododendrons

Gray and raining all evening, so didn't wander far trying to get a shot. Just love how the raindrops look on the pedals of the rhododendrons, and don't get too wet trying to get a good shot! Like how the group of flowers in the back turned out too...

066 : Bright warm rhododendrons

I was home for lunch and thought I'd check the side yard to see how the flowers looked that usually don't have sun by the time I get home. Fortunately these had plenty of sun, and even a few rain drops left over from that morning. I just love all the stamen jetting out from the blooms, and love the warm magenta and orange of the flower.

065 : Backlit squirrel

Really lucked out with this one... it was gray and dark when I got home and had no idea what to shoot, but the squirrel came out and the sun broke through a bit, and the sun was low enough to get a backlit shot. Love all the hair poking up around the squirrel.

064 : Dogwood on gray day

Pretty gray out most of the day, so I didn't get a shot until close to sunset. I was surprised on how pink the pedals turned out though... even the leaves had some good green on them...

063 : Lilac up close

I wanted to get a up close shot of the lilac in the morning when it had direct light on it, so managed to get a handful of pretty interesting shots before noon. Really like how this one turned out, with all the light and shadows, and a bit of depth to it. Always nice having to shoot something like lilac or roses up close because they always smell so good.

062 : Dandelion with top missing

Liked how simple this shot turned out... and really liked how the stem goes from light green at top to blending in with the backdrop. Just a nice simple shot I think.

061 : Squirrel standing on green

It's always nice when both the squirrels and the sun comes out... both were out just long enough for me to get a handful of good squirrel photos. Really loved this one because the focus is on her fingers, and love how her whiskers and hairs from her tail can be seen against that bright green backdrop. I had a couple other pretty good shots I think, so maybe I can try and recreate those another day...

060 : Squirrel with a reflective eye

Most of the squirrel shots I manage to get are with the squirrel up on our deck railing with me a few feet away, zoomed in. This time it was a bit rainy out, and the squirrel came to our back door (a glass sliding door.) I fed him a walnut, and he simply took a couple hops back and began eating... my theory is he wanted to stay dry so he didn't venture far from the door. Anyways, when the deck gets wet it becomes very reflective, which is surprisingly what the background is... the back deck. And speaking of reflective, you can actually see our sliding glass door (at least the frame of it) in the squirrel's eye... the left side is the door (and the little knobby part is the handle) and if you see on the bottom you can even see the wood of the deck, and a bit of sky in the top right part of his eye. Pretty neat.

059 : Plane trail in and out

Kind of gray and wet on the ground, but looked up to find some blue sky and this plane trail. Just loved how it appeared and disappeared behind the clouds.

058 : Streams on gutters

Not sure how this happens since the gutters aren't clogged, but there seems to be streams coming off the sides of the gutters sometimes when it rains hard. Sure makes for a neat striped pattern though, especially on a gray day when there's not much else to shoot. Love the two different textures on the different planks on the gutter.

057 : Pink and purple mini-blooms

Not sure what kind of tree this is from, but I think it looks like something that belongs on a wedding cake. Most of the blooms haven't opened yet, but I think that makes the ones that have already really stand out. I think the pinks /purples turned out nice (maybe a little hot in some spots) but I was really pleased with the deep green of the leaves up top... make a nice secondary tone in this shot.

056 : Dogwood blooms on blue

A little blue sky finally broke towards the evening, but it was so windy it was tough to get some decent shots. Fortunately the wind let up here and there and I managed to get some up close shots of the blooms. Love the texture in the pedals of the front bloom, and love how the pink and blues turned out in this shot.

055 : Rhododendron on green

Another overcast evening, so wound up shooting the rhododendrons again. They seem to turn out a little blue when it's gray out, but at least they get enough light to turn out pretty sharp, even with the 200mm lens on. Really liked the detail of the front bloom, and love how the background turned out, and the edge where the flower petals meet the backdrop... a nice craggly line...