Trying Flikr this time. More from the back yard in spring.

[flamin lib]

The woman in my life likes Begonias for the colorful foliage they add to our shaded deck. However, they do bloom.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/U85F8N][img][/img][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/U85F8N]P5280565[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/65111465@N00/]

[url=https://flic.kr/p/Ub2e3P][img][/img][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/Ub2e3P]P5280598[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/65111465@N00/

Bougainvillea color isn't from blooms but bracts, modified leaves. This is the bloom.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/Vm9uML][img][/img][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/Vm9uML]P5280489[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/65111465@N00/]

This is Horse Herb, a native ground cover. The blooms are tiny but once established the sheer number makes up for diminutive size.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/Ub1ZBF][img][/img][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/Ub1ZBF]P5280570[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/65111465@N00/]

Cilantro is flowering. Makes a nice edible garnish for Mexican food.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/UPogEf][img][/img][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/UPogEf]P5280563[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/65111465@N00/]

This guy was buried deep in the Turks Cap.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/UPoseS][img][/img][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/UPoseS]P5280587[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/65111465@N00/]

It started raining but my OMD is rain and sand proof so I can just keep on shooting. This is a Trumpet vine, another native Texan.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/U85rKq][img][/img][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/U85rKq]P5280498[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/65111465@N00/]

Columbine bloomin' in th' rain . . . (sorry Willie)

[url=https://flic.kr/p/Va8srN][img][/img][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/Va8srN]P5280494[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/65111465@N00/]

Then I found this little guy.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/VpDnux][img][/img][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/VpDnux]P5280514[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/65111465@N00/]

What the heck, if you've got a willing (?) subject that doesn't require a model release why stop at one pose?

[url=https://flic.kr/p/UPobBj][img][/img][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/UPobBj]P5280531[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/65111465@N00/]
[url=https://flic.kr/p/Vd2p9i][img][/img][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/Vd2p9i]P5280551[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/65111465@N00/]
[url=https://flic.kr/p/Vm9uLd][img][/img][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/Vm9uLd]P5280533[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/65111465@N00/]
[url=https://flic.kr/p/Vm9uNN][img][/img][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/Vm9uNN]P5280505[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/65111465@N00/]

There's more, but enough is enough.

[redstatebluegirl]

1. Fabulous pictures! You made me smile, something that is hard these days! Thank you!

[longship]

2. Well, if nobody else will DURec, I guess that I will.

Nicely done!

[alfredo]

3. The first Passion flower image is stunning.

BTW, what lens did you use?

[flamin lib]

4. Zuiko 12-50 with macro.

Used a light box with the Only fl36 in it remote mode.

[alfredo]

5. Their pro lenses are beautiful

[flamin lib]

6. You can get this one cheap.

Grey market from either China or Korea for $129.

No box, no instructions and it's shipped in bubble wrap.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Olympus-M-Zuiko-12-50mm-f-3-5-6-3-Aspherical-AF-ED-Lens-For-Four-Thirds-Black-/172433189768?hash=item2825d1ab88:g:AkoAAOSwA3dYRPiP

Oly wants $400 for it. I ain't proud, just cheap.

[alfredo]

7. I've been using the Oly 40150 zoom and extension tubes.

Last edited Fri Jun 2, 2017, 06:24 PM - Edit history (2)

I'm more of a prime lens kind of guy. My next lens could very well be 45 1.8

[flamin lib]

8. I was a real prime lens snob in the OM days.

Back then it wasn't possible to match image quality with a zoom of more than 2x. Now the camera and lens actually communicate (assuming same manufacturer or high quality aftermarket) so many of the issues are electronically corrected. Oly and other digital mfgs correct for rectilinear distortions, vignetting and chromatic aberrations. Sharpness never has been an issue even with inexpensive lenses.

About the only advantage to prime lenses these days is speed which allows for selective focus. For most of what I shoot that isn't an issue as I can use all the depth of field available. When I do need the selective focus it's usually a portraiture shoot and I use the Zuiko 50mm 1.8 legacy. Yeah, it's manual focus but wide open it's so bright and DOF is so narrow things pop in and out of focus real fast.

Photography is a head game tho. That's where pictures are made, the camera just lets you extract them and show them to other people . . .

[alfredo]

10. Its size is part of it. It wasn't until the sixties that I bought a zoom

It was a Tamron 80-250. Primes were all I used, and what I am comfortable using.

I'm a cheapskate too. $200 is the most I've ever paid for a lens. My two lumix lenses, the 20 1.7 and the 14 2.5 were $150 each. The 14 can focus really close.

[Callalily]

9. Great photos!

I love the snail photos!

[mnhtnbb]

11. Stunning shots. I LOVE this one

[Solly Mack]

12. Wonderful!!

[Mz Pip]

13. These are terrific

I love the ones with the little snail, particularly the first one.