195 : Sunflower seed ring

Love how this shot turned out. The seeds inside the ring have some great detail, and the yellow petals make for a nice soft backdrop. Hope I can get some clear shots of some of the other sunflowers this weekend.

194 : Cosmos on blue sky

Really love how the colors turned out on this one... I think the cosmo turned out a little 'hyper', but sure makes for an interesting palette! Love the blue of the sky, the spec of yellow on the flower, and the dark green of the shadowed stem. The sun is too low by the time I get home to shoot these, so I'm relegated to taken photos at my lunch break, but certainly glad I did today!

193 : Sunflower rim

Love all the deep yellow in this one from the shaded areas. Sure is nice to have all this sun in late September.

192 : Sunflower on blue

Super gorgeous out when I got home. Managed to make my way to the sunflowers (almost a forest out there!) and get some shots of this tall one against a crisp blue sky. Just love the yellow and blue, with hint of green from the sunflower's center.

191 : Rusty edged leaf

I just really wanted to get an interesting shot of this leaf. Seems as the later it gets, the more 'burn spots' it gets, so thought I better get a shot now before it takes over the leaf. Sure think it makes for an interesting rim though. Think the shadows from the next plant over made for some interesting shapes too.

190 : Squirrel looking down on me

I was heading out to shoot the sunflower when I heard something above me. I looked up, and this little guy was staning on the gutter watching me. I managed to bring up my camera without chasing him away, and got a handful of shots of him looking down at me from our roof. Love his little toes hanging over the side...

189 : Layered yellow sunflower petals

Had some sun when I got home, so decided to check out the sunflowers. Love the different layers in this one from the depth and the shadows. Hope the sun sticks around this weekend!

188 : Wet red sunflower leafs

Kind of gray out, but managed to get a clear shot of this sunflower. Love the dark red with hints of yellow, especially against the dreary backdrop.

187 : Bud against leaf

Saw this dead cosmo bud against the giant leaf out front and thought it made for an interesting shot. Love the soft linear pattern on the leaf... really seemed to be the perfect distance behind the bud.

186 : Sunflower contrast

Really love how bright the petals are compared to the black of the center, and the dark green of the backdrop. I'm glad the sunflowers grew to eye-level... I was worried since I got them in the ground so late that they wouldn't be tall enough!

185 : Yellow bloom centered

Although it may look like a sunflower, it really isn't... or at least it's not one of the ones I planted in the side yard. These are about a foot tall and are just popping up out front... just really liked the bright color against the green and blue backdrop. Wish there was a bit more sun out, but I guess the colors turned out alright as is...

184 : Cosmo

This is actually my shot from Saturday (so I suppose I should have posted it first) but got home too late to post it Saturday. Managed to get a nice bright shot in the morning of one of the remaining cosmos. Love how bright all the colors turned out!

183 : Warm sunflower side

Actually had to use the flash to get this shot since it was overcast all day. It's a shame too, since some of the more colorful sunflowers have finally bloomed. At least the flash didn't wash out the color of the sunflower's petals, but it sure washed out the green backdrop this shot would have had. Love the two-colored petals. I'll definitely shoot these again soon.

182 : Red sunflower center

Pretty gray out, but got a decent shot of this sunflower from the side yard. Love the little yellow highlights on the tips of the seeds, and the streaks of red scattered around the petals.

181 : Bee on sunflower corner

Went to go shoot the sunflowers and noticed this bee walking around one of the sunflowers... almost blended in too well to see it! Think it's interesting how the side of our house (beige) turns out gray on an overcast day.

180 : Peach snapdragon on yellow

Kind of overcast again today, but managed to get a few shots of this snapdragon before the rain came. Wish there had been a bit more light to capture the color, but at least it turned out pretty crisp.

179 : Purple flower on dried lucifer

Really love the colors in this one... just noticed the cool pruple bloom in front of that great warm yellow/orange of the dried lucifer stalk. Glad we had some sunshine in the evening... sure made for a vibrant shot.

178 : Shadowed sunflower

By the time I got home the sun had set, but I wanted to get a shot of one of the sunflowers! There's actually a few up, but a couple of them are too tall for me to shoot up close! Got a handful of this one, but the light was behind it and seemed to darken it up... made for an interesting look I thought...

177 : Pink cosmo corner

Really like how this one turned out... love all the light/shadows on the various petals, but really think the colorful backdrop made this shot... love how vibrant it turned out! So glad we had some sun this weekend!

176 : Last cosmo petal

Guess it's time for the cosmos to be on their way out. Noticed this one with just a single petal left, and thought it made for an interesting shot against the yellow/green backdrop.

175 : Butterfly on leaf underside

Fortauntely by the time I got home there was a bit of sunshine out. I was about to head in when I saw this butterfly land on the underside of this leaf... had no idea a butterfly could land upside down! Love how the white-winged butterfly took on the green of the leaf. Love the detail on the butterfly and the (horizontal) center of the leaf.

174 : Light and dark centers

Overcast again, but thought this shot turned out alright regardless. Just liked that one flower had a light center, and the other a dark one. Hopefully we'll get some sun soon so the sunflowers will finally be ready!

173 : Sawtoothed white cosmo

Really love the sawtooth edges of the petal, especially against that lime green. Think the little purple flower in the upper left added some nice color to the palette. Hopefully the sunflowers will bloom here shortly, if we ever get some more sun!

172 : Beaten cosmo

Super gray and nasty out, so had some issues with light. Fortunately this one turned out pretty crisp and kept its color pretty well (although it does look a little blue.) Like the worn color and texture of the back petals against the gray backdrop.

169, 170, 171: Labor day weekend pics

It's late so I'm going to group these three together... maybe I'll break them up tomorrow into three separate posts, but for now I just need to get them uploaded before midnight!

The first shot is of the little purple flowers... just really love the purple and yellow against the green.

The second one is the a cosmo bud against the dingy yellow of our lawn, which I'm really enjoying as a nice neutral backdrop!

And lastly, one of a butterfly on one of the cosmos. I wish I had been at a better angle to shoot it when it landed, but I was too afraid to move and scare it away! Still think I managed to get some detail of its wings though...

168 : White cosmo side

I little cloudy out, but it was perfect for getting this shot just right... I love how the closest petals can be seen a bit darker than it's further counterparts. Think the petals themselves have some interesting petal. Love the touch of yellow against the white and green.

167 : Cosmo cone on yellow

Good news was it was pretty sunny out; bad news was is was terribly windy! Sure makes it tough trying to get close ups when the subject keeps waving in and out of the frame! Fortunately I got a couple shots I liked... really like the detail the the closest petals, especially against the dark magenta of the insides of the petals. Think our dried lawn made for a nice clean neutral backdrop for the pink and green of the cosmo.

166 : Wet peach snapdragon

Seems like a lot of my favorite shots have been of the snapdragons of late. I really like how this one turned out... I was worried that some of the colors wouldn't be sharp since it was rainy and overcast, but this shot turned out almost as vibrant as a sunny shot would. I was pretty pleased with how the framing turned out on it as well... not bad for a dreary September shot!