Saturday I took a hike in the Columbia River Gorge and saw a lot of wildflowers -

more here: Wildflowers Photo Gallery by betsypdx at pbase.com.

Sunday I took a walk through the neighborhood. Lots of flowers here in town as well. Here are a few:


Had to take this one quick before the chocolate easter eggs disappeared from the background.




and my favorite from the day


A few more from Sunday, and lots more from the past year:Flowers and Plants Photo Gallery by betsypdx at pbase.com

Hope you enjoy - and hope spring is coming soon to you (in the northern hemisphere) and that the coming winter's not too bad (for those of you in the southern hemisphere). These days here in Portland it's kind of hit and miss with the weather - warm and sunny at times; cold, wet, and windy at others.

Happy shooting, Betsy

[hamidlmt]

I have yet to see a ladybug this year... some really nice shots! Between the bits of rain, it really is beautiful around Portland right now.

[mingdie]

Great shots. I really like the first with the ladybird. We have our first cold night tonight. Only 11 degrees C and rain so it is nice to look at the flowers.

Cheers

Eddie

[NaClH2O]

Thanks Betsy for some beatiful shots, I love walking around in my " 'hood" too, it's an old Italian area and in many places every square inch of available ground is planted. Unfortunately with the beastly weather we've been having lately there's not much to take pictures of yet. I loved the last pic (magnolia?) but my fav is the opening yellow and orange tulip, great form and really nice use of bokeh. Thanks for posting them.

NaCl(dearly love the naked sex organs of plants)H2O

[roentarre]

Stunning! These floral shots are really of high standard!

Not much spring time here though

[fevbusch]

Great shots, Betsy. I particularly LOVE the last one, I think a dogwood flower?
It has wonderful movement and a really sweet softness. Obviously the bokeh is something special. Would make a great large print. Remarkable, really. Look forward, as always, to seeing more of your pics. Freddy

[SCGushue]

and my favorite from the day



Happy shooting, Betsy[/QUOTE]


Betsy,

This image of the Dogwood in bloom is exceptionally well done. There is so much right with this image that I could go on forever. But I won't

Spring is nowhere to be seen here. This morning there was a thick carpet of sleet to greet me and soon...still another snowstorm brewing for the weekend.

Stephen

[Green&White]

Great, realy great! The last one is my favorite too, but the second (orange flowers) is a kind of picture I want to get with my work.

Green&White

[Duh_Vinci]

Truly great shots, great colors, composition and shallow DOF (I'm sucker for it anyway), nicely done!

Regards,
D

[Asad_Masede]

Very nice, Betsy. I hope to capitalize on the upcoming spring and go shoot at some parks and gardens this year, last year I don't know why I simply didn't do that.

Cheers!
-Asad

[betsypdx]

Thanks for all your nice comments. I'm delighted to see color returning to the streets and sidewalks. Obviously, I'm also a sucker for shallow dof, so flowers are a great topic to play around with.

[hanamai]

Wow, Besty, those are some great shots of some really beautiful flowers. Thanks for sharing those.