'Orange' by Me

Orange, a photo by PhotoPuddle on Flickr.

Hooray! It's the weekend and it looks like it's going to be a hot and summery one. I imagine it will be the last weekend like this in a while so I really want to make the most of it. We have absoutely no plans yet so let's just see where the weekend takes us! I would lay money on ice cream being involved somewhere along the way!

I took this photograph this morning. My husband bought me some lovely colourful flowers yesterday that appeared to have "Photograph Me" written all over them. I seem to take a lot of flower pictures so I like the fact that I've taken this from an angle I've never tried before. My favourite bit is the colour though. It just looks so bright and vibrant because of the wonderful sunshine we had today.

Happy weekend everyone!

'Pink' by Me

Pink, a photo by PhotoPuddle on Flickr.

Did you have a good weekend? Mine was brilliant. The weather was fantastic and we had friends over for barbecues on both the Saturday and the Sunday. We also got very caught up in the excitement of the diving and 5000 metres on Saturday night. And on Sunday evening we watched the closing ceremony and said goodbye to the Olympics. Going to be weird not watching that all day now. Roll on the Paralympics!

This is another pretty flower photo I took. Summer is coming to an end now so won't be long before all the summer flowers are gone. I need to snap a few more while I still can.

'Up close' by Me

Up close, a photo by PhotoPuddle on Flickr.

My little girl started pre-school this term and it’s been a really strange experience for me. It’s been so much easier than I thought it would be, after all neither of us cried, but it does feel so odd just leaving her there with people who are essentially strangers. As I’m a stay-at-home mum it means for the past two and a half years I’ve been with her pretty much all day every day and when we do get babysitters it’s always friends or family we know and trust. Also she’s going to be making friends with children I don’t know which is a new thing. She’s got lots of friends her age but that’s because I am friends with their parents too. That said I think I am going to get used to the little bit of alone time this gives me and I think the school is great and the staff seem lovely and very responsible (always a good thing).

And the photo? Well it's got nothing to do with my daughter or pre-school. It's just a photo by me which I liked and wanted to share with you. I hope you like it too.

'Flowers in the spring' by Me

Flowers in the spring, originally uploaded by PhotoPuddle.

Well after being all talk for a while I've finally gone and done it - I'm going to try selling some of my photos! I've had lots of my favourites made up into postcards and am selling them in my brand new Folksy shop, AprilWishes. I hope you'll come and have browse.

This photo is one by me that I really like but not had to the chance to show you yet. It's not for sale right now but it might just be one day!

'Dandelion' by Vermin Inc

Dandelion, originally uploaded by Vermin Inc.

How's this for a photo to start the weekend with? Isn't it just awesome? When I first saw it I thought it was a snowflake. The detail is amazing. I swear if you look close enough at the water droplets you can see reflections in them and if not reflections then you can definitely see how it's magnifying what's behind them. The colour is so striking too. I wonder if that blue is the sky. Whatever it is, it works really well. I really like taking macro photos and think they turn out pretty well. But then I see a photo like this and realise it's in a whole other league!

'Burst of yellow' by Me

Burst of yellow, originally uploaded by PhotoPuddle.

I took this. I love taking macro shots of flowers. I just love all the detail they expose, for example if you look hard enough at this one you can see that the flower looks almost furry. It's also a great opportunity to capture some fantastic bright colours. Here, here and here are a few more macro flower shots I have taken. They've been featured on the blog already but it was before anyone was actually reading it so you may have missed them!

'Yellow Burst' by James Green (jag)

Yellow Burst, originally uploaded by James Green (jag).

Now the summer is in full swing so all the beautiful flowers are coming into bloom. It's getting rather annoying actually. I'll be enjoying a nice walk with my daughter in her pushchair when all I can see are gorgeous flowers in people's front gardens that I just so want to photograph. One of these days I will give in and knock on the front door and ask if they mind me taking pictures in their garden. Actually no, that day will never come! I'd never have the confidence to do something like that!

This photo is one that I wish I'd taken. I love really close up shots of flowers as it really makes them seem even more beautiful and interesting. What strikes me about this one is the focus of the petals. It's a really clear and sharp macro shot but the petals are just really soft and dreamy. And I just love that shade of yellow.

I'll post some of my own flower photos soon and don't worry, you don't need to watch out for a strange woman with a camera hanging around in your flowerbeds! I'll be good I promise!

'my tools' by 372.dpi

my tools, originally uploaded by 372.dpi.

I love notebooks and have never been able resist a pretty one, however far too many of them still lie empty. I've always kind saved them for "best" whatever that might be! I even have ones I bought as a teenager that are still waiting for "best". Sadly I don't have much use for notebooks any more (other than for writing my long 'to do' lists, but that's for another post). My hobbies are mainly computer based and of course you don't need to write much down when taking photos.

This photo of notebooks really caught my eye. I think because it's so close up. I think shots like this of everyday items can be so interesting as it makes you look at things in a completely different way. I also think the light and tone of this is fantastic. I hope these books get used for all sorts of interesting things.

'The flower behind the refraction' by Morphicx

The flower behind the refraction, originally uploaded by Morphicx.

I love close up shots of flowers and this one is just fantastic. It's a real burst of colour. I love the yellow and pink together. And what makes this extra special is the water droplets on it. Fantastic detail. I am so pleased that summer is almost here and all the summer flowers will soon be blooming. I'll hopefully be able to lots of lovely macro flower shots that I can share with you. Fingers crossed they'll be as great as this one.

'Deep Red Gerbera Daisy II' by laughlinc

Deep Red Gerbera Daisy II, originally uploaded by laughlinc.

This is the photo that jumped out today saying "Pick Me, Pick Me!!!!" and so I did. I love this deep red colour and I think close up shots of flowers can be so interesting. I really love how defined each petal is too. This is fantastic work which I think would actually look great blown up huge and displayed on a plain white wall.

'pink hydrangea' by *jardino

pink hydrangea, originally uploaded by *jardino.

Well what do you know - my spring wishes from yesterday came true! I woke up this morning to gorgeous sunshine, it was rather warm out and I spotted quite a few spring flowers getting ready to make their entrance into the world. What shall I wish for tomorrow I wonder?

Anyway, on to today's photo. I have picked this one because I think the close up detail is stunning. It is so sharp and clear. I love the crisp, bright colours too and the pink and blue compliment each other perfectly. Fantastic shot.

'i'm fond of you' by smallroots

i'm fond of you, originally uploaded by smallroots.

Can post that lovely tulip photo I was telling you about now? I have not been feeling well and I need cheering up. Oh, yeah, it's my blog. I can do what I like so here's a photo which I adore!

As you may have gathered I am going through a bit of a tulip phase at the moment and this is just perfect. I love the close crop. It makes it so different from the typical tulips in a vase shot. And the soft colours are just divine!

Yep, I think I feel a little cheered up now!

'Tiny Fireworks' by v1ctory_1s_m1ine

Tiny Fireworks, originally uploaded by v1ctory_1s_m1ne.

In one of my first posts I said how great flowers were to photograph and how I was going to feature loads in this blog. So I thought before you flicked through my previous posts and realised there were hardly any flower shots I should add one quickly.

This one is a fabulous macro. The detail is awesome you can even see the tiniest bit of pollen in the centre. I really love the softness of the petals - it's almost like they are painted in watercolours. And it goes without saying I love the colour.

Phew, I think that made up for the lack of flower posting. More flower pictures to follow soon!

'My new favourite butterfly' by gardinergirl

My new favourite butterfly!, originally uploaded by gardinergirl.

Damn it! I got side tracked again! Tonight I was looking for a flowery photo to post but instead saw this magnificent photo which I just had to share.

I just love the colours! I love the how the green of the butterfly is exactly the same as the green of the leaves. I love how the butterfly almost looks like it's posing for the photo saying "Hey look at me!".

I created a Flickr gallery of beautiful butterflies which you can view here. Trouble is it's full so can't add this one. I am now considering starting a new gallery just so I can add this picture.

'Sunflower' by Me

IMG_8665F, originally uploaded by PhotoPuddle.

It's still snowy here but I'm still not totally pleased with the few snow pictures I have taken. Therefore I have decided to post a very bright and summery photo as a perfect contrast to what's outside at the moment.

I had so much fun taking this picture. I'll admit I went out and bought a bunch of sunflowers just so I could take pictures of them. Just holding one up against the blue sky gives such a fantastic effect.

I love the colour combination of yellow and blue. They just work so well together, especially when they are bright shades. I have collated a Flickr gallery of yellow and blue photos which you can have a look at here.

'Perfect purple' by Me

IMG_9067F, originally uploaded by PhotoPuddle.

Let's kick things off with one of my photos (after all it is my blog!).

I love this one. It is just a point and shoot macro shot. I took it on a particularly dull day in the walled garden at Chartwell in Kent. No editing of any kind. I was just so amazed how beautiful and dreamy it looks.

I really enjoy macro photography and I love taking pictures of flowers so you will be seeing a lot more of them from me (and from others) in this blog. And I also love purple so this really has to be one of my all time favourites!

By the way, I may love taking pictures of flowers but I know absolutely nothing about them. Please be warned that I won't be naming any of them unless it really is something as simple as a daffodil or a sunflower.