April's Photo Challenge wasn't all that challenging for most of us who only need to step outside to see flowers blooming everywhere. Note: I'm trying a new blog that will make it easier to post text with pictures. Let me know if it works for you.

One of the first color explosions in April is the iris, or bearded iris to be exact. With a long history, it has been appreciated through the ages. Iris is the Greek word for rainbow. Just do a Google image search to see the many varieties and hues.

Robert sent this picture with a camophlaged bee enjoying a late lunch. "Here is my only entry for this month (I didn't get to go out much). Becky and I took a walk down to Effie Yeaw Nature Center on Saturday. I took my Olympus micro 4/3 camera because I didn't want to weighted down with a large SLR. I was taking a picture of this flower and that be was nice enough to stop by. How lucky can you get?"

Linda says, "This is just a quick picture on my phone...teensy flowers about the size of a fly."

I like the pea family of flowers, everything from vetch to lupine to clover to this little guy (I'm guessing pea family).

"Gorgeous" indeed is this drenched hybrid tea rose that Linda also submitted. You can't go wrong shooting America's favorite flower. All of the details are preserved because this was captured in the shade. It is rare to get a rose perfectly exposed in direct sunlight and it's best to underexpose a little so the highlights aren't blown out. Sunlight would have accentuated the droplets, but not the finery of the petals.

Don writes, "Janet and I drove out to Shell Creek a few weeks ago. There wasn't the profusion of wild flowers as in the past, although there were some. I took a ride out to New Pleyto Road (off Jolon Rd.) yesterday and found these Lupines and Poppies along the road."

"The Bee pic is from our yard. The bees is a buzzin' this time of year." Don didn't say what kind of flower this is. Looks pretty exotic - maybe a type of anemone. Just beautiful.

Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival - Woodburn, Oregon 2012

Bruce says, "The Iverson family began growing tulips in 1974. The first tulips belonged to Dr. Holman who would ship part of the bulbs to Indiana every year for forced blooming . When he retired in the late 1970's the Iversons bought a few acres of bulbs. By the early 1980's they had over 15 acres and needed to broaden the market base. Seeing this as an opportunity, in 1983 they started the Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm."

Now here's a place to squeeze every last drop out of your creative juices. I'm sure all of us would like to visit. 

The amount of color here is amazing. Again, these were shot with some overcast and so we can see a lot of detail and saturated color. You can see Bruce's series of these tulips at his Zenfolio website: http://tomlinandersonphotography.zenfolio.com/p952329012

Camellias are the perfectionist's dream flower. Almost perfectly symmetrical, with starched white petals and a lightly tinted center, they reveal God's creative genius and attention to detail (actually, every other living creation does the same thing in one way or another). Dave took this shot after hiking off the sidewalk, carefully stepping over the groundcover and getting back in and close up to the camellia bushes that are planted against the north side of the Haggin Museum in Stockton. There are almost always rust spots and blemishes on some of the petals, though. These were cloned out in Photoshop to present a more pristine flower. 

Dave also has this thing about roses, after a long-time relationship with them. "I remember Mom loved them and put me to work on Tucker Avenue digging and planting for her when I was about 12. Then again in the back yard when I was about 19. But then she moved to Tennessee and complained about them never 'working' for her (bad soil and bugs)."

The Haggin Rose Garden has over 200 varieties to feast your eyes on! Note that rose petals are somewhat transparent and will filter backlight perfectly. Shoot them early morning if possible with some dew still on them (bring a mister if you want. Ha!). This shot above was taken about 3:00 in the afternoon, though.

Thanks to everyone who entered this month's challenge. I'll email everyone with May's assignment soon. And don't forget to see the beauty around you and remember it with your cameras!

Dave