I believe this is a Camillia? It is a large bush upon which the blossom hang upside down. In many places the paths wander under the overhanging branches. The pine needles from the towering pines overhead have fallen and come to rest on the branches of the bush, hanging down and looking like the tinsel on a christmas tree. I can see that I have to work on the proper distance between the camera and the subject. Here the light from the flash is not evenly spread over the subject. Yes I see my thumb ;-)

  This is another blossom from a different variety of the Camillia. I really like the contrast between the blossom and the surrounding needles and leaves. This came out well because I did not get so close. Also the subject and background are mostly in the same plane. This made it easier for the autofocus to get the subject fairly sharp. You'll notice in some of the other pictures that the background is nicely focused but the subject is blurry. In my excitement, I forgot to use the Spot Focus feature of the camera, DOH!

  Many of the azaleas are already beaten down from storms that passed through last week. However, there are still bushes that are protected from the worst of the weather. This one is backlit by the bright evening sun. I used the flash to get fill light on the front of the subject and the color came out great. I need to make myself spend a few more seconds looking at the whole picture composition. If I had, I like to think I'd have moved so that stick on the left would not be sticking out into the field of view.

  No wildlife is killed in my photographing sessions. This guy is dead when we find him. These two pictures really show the problem I am having with the close up focus. Also, at this close of a range, the flash over powers the subject. I think the camera has a setting that lets me reduce the output of the flash manually. I'll have to try that on future shots.

  The top shot is with the flash. I have learned that flash photography with a digital camera is different than with a 35mm SLR like my Nikon N70. If the subject is real close, the digital camera has a harder time getting the exposure right. Colors tend to get washed out worse than they would on the Nikon. And if the subject is far away, like out of the flashes range, then a picture with the flash will actually come out looking darker than the same picture without the flash. This is best seen on the small group shot I take later of Brian, Will, Achim, Beth and Shane.

  Have to love those background leaves! They are looking sharp ;-) This is in the formal rose garden which is just starting to really bloom.

  This just sucks! ;-)

  This is another good example of focus problems. Here there is a wide depth of field. Use of the spot focus and spot metering on one of the central clumps will likely yield a better result. Also, standing further back and then zooming in will help to reduce the washout from the flash. This is a hard picture even for the Nikon because of the predominance of the white.