As promised, I'm trying to get back on my normal routine. What would be nice is if all this snow outside would finally melt and everything else could start getting back to normal.

I keep waiting for things to start really melting. I keep shoveling out the parking spaces in front of our house.

Eventually it all will melt...

And when it does, I think things like this will start appearing.

Technical Data: Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT, Tamron 180mm f/3.5 Di SP LD 1:1 Macro, 1/400 sec at f/5. ISO 400. No post production. Taken in our own backyard.

Why This Photo: Anya does such a great job with the flowers and plants in the yard, and that gives me plenty of subjects right within reach any time I want. So I was probably just out in the yard wandering around and decided to take a photo of this flower (Anya will have to comment to let everyone know what kind it is).

What Works: Focus is tack sharp right where it needs to be, and soft throughout the rest of the photo. Depth of field is almost perfect. Composition is pretty strong. Color representation and exposure levels are very well done.

What Doesn't Work: Honestly, there is very little that I find "wrong" with this photo. Perhaps the center of the flower should be a little lower in the frame to land closer to one of the hot spots at the convergence of the thirds.

I can't wait for flowers and bugs and all that stuff that comes with spring to show up soon. I love wandering around our yard - usually with the macro lens attached - taking photos of things I see almost every day but being able to present them in very different ways.

Maybe that's the lesson I should learn from this photo. Maybe I need to just look a little differently at my current surroundings (even if they are covered in snow) and find something to look at from a whole new perspective to make something mundane into something exciting.

Leave me a comment. Let me know what you think of this photo. Let me know any tips/hints you have for finding that new perspective to look at things from a fresh view point. Or just commiserate about how you're tired of all this snow too... And then scroll down further and vote on the photoshop job on the dive photo.

- Bill

PS: Oh yeah - new lens should be here tomorrow! So exciting!