Hey, it’s the first post in 9 months! Check out this nice shot of a crimson red tulip grown here in Oregon. I used a Canon Rebel XTi with a fixed 100mm macro lens, and no Photoshopping.

Click to download the zipped 1920×1200 image.

This is one of my favorite flora photos from 2007. It’s simple, but the colors are intriguing to me. I took the photo in Dundee, Oregon around July 27th. Click on the image for a 1680×1050 version, good for desktop use.

Canon Rebel XTi, 100mm, 1/200 sec, f/4

Codi and I went to the lavender fields today with the GvL family. We picked an entire basket full of various types of fresh lavender, dodging hundreds of bees who were equally interested in the flowers. We’ll dry the lavender and hang it around the house.

Codi and I went to the Portland Rose Gardens to take some pictures. It’s one of our favorite spots for photos, so we look forward to it all winter and spring. Of course, when we got there, I snapped my first shot and realized I’d left my memory card at home.   #$%^&*!   So all these photos are courtesy of my very cute wife, Codi.

I took this one. =)

Codi and I took a quick break from a nigh impossible work schedule to take some photos. Here’s a neat one I got with a Canon 100mm macro lens. (It’s a tulip, in case you didn’t recognize it.)

I’ve been working my butt off so much recently that I very well may have to write today’s post while standing. I’ve been working seven days a week, from early morning to late night, sometimes straight through till the next morning.

After another long stint in front of the computer, I managed to get “outside” for a whole 30 minutes. It was refreshing; the sun was out, the sky was blue, leaves were green and the air smelled distinctly floral. Ahh, the world in 3D.

I had enough time to snap a few photos of some new magnolias. Here’s one image that came out well.

Back to the grindstone…

Codi and I were on our way home from Starbucks yesterday and we snapped a few pictures of the cherry blossoms that are bursting to life all over Lake Oswego. The colors were pretty amazing – bright vibrant pinks, greens and the bluest blue sky ever.

Temperatures dropped and winds picked up, causing this huge oak tree to snap in half before dawn. One of the most interesting after-effects was the raw honey dripping from many pieces of wood. It turns out that the tree was filled with bees and very large honey combs.

Codi and I went to the Canby Dahlia Festival today to take some photos. We ended up with 308 shots, most of which turned out beautifully. Here are just a few samples. Maybe I’ll post more later.

This is what 308 images look like as a contact sheet. Doesn’t look like much to me. Next time I’ll take more.

There were hundreds, maybe thousands, of bees. It wasn’t distracting at all – they were busy (har har) getting pollen.

Here we are…

This dahlia looks like it has teeth. Feed me Seymore, feed me now!

Codi took this picture. I like the angle and colors.

This reminds me of an artichoke blooming… sort of.

Click on this one for a 1600×1050 desktop background image. Ideal size for Macs.

Please realize that these photos are copyrighted. If you use one on your website, please be respectful and give credit to this site. Thanks!

Here are a few more photos taken recently.

Corn fields stretch for miles in North Dakota…

Even mobile home signs get hit by hurricanes and tornadoes!

A volcanic bubble made this butte.

This is St. Helens at sunrise.

Sun beams shining down through rain clouds…

Codi and I went to the Portland Rose Gardens again yesterday. It was gorgeous there! The roses were huge and some of the bushes were over 7 feet tall!

Some of the roses are single-colored, but this one was very vibrant with colors.

Inside a rose…

Of course, there were lots of bees, but they were minding their own business and never bothered us.

These roses remind me a little of lily pads.

Here we are on the steps of the ampitheater at the Rose Gardens…

Here’s me attacking Codi with a kiss…

I realized that I’ve never seen a photo of the back side of a rose. I think this one looks pretty cool.

Reminds me of an elephant’s ears…

Here we are again…

Codi took some black & white photos as well. I like these two…

I changed the settings on the camera to produce high contrast, high saturation images – sort of like LOMO photography. I like the effect, though it could have been a bit more dramatic.

We ended our day with a dinner at the new Zao Noodle Bar. Awesome asian foods!

I spotted this roof at Bridgeport. I like the shapes and colors. Nothing boring at Bridgeport!

These colors caught my attention, too. I like the symmetry of this building.

Codi’s been planting flowers and herbs on our balcony. The flowers are looking bright and cheery!