Getting excited for wildflowers

After seeing some of the amazing flora images here lately I am really embarrassed to be posting this. So think of it more as a documentary attempt rather then skills.

I just got back from a short overnight trip to the Lost Creek Wilderness. After hiking in almost constant rain today I got to see some incredible wildflowers. And it looks like it's going to be an amazing wildflower season in Colorado, I hope... The burn area was pretty much covered in blue with patches of yellow and red. Unfortunately after a long hike in the rain my brain function was shot and I messed up almost all of my settings. I left the ISO on 1000 from last night attempt at night photography... doh! and then managed to forget to adjust my depth of field when taking larger area images So I'm treating this as a warm up for the summer months and not letting this bother me. So please take it easy on the dummy

It was like being in the Monet garden... maybe I should just go that way and blur the whole thing

I hear ya! I am chomping at the bite to get out into the wildflower fields Mid-July.

These are sweet, I like the first one best.

WOW. That's quite a patch of blue!
Amazing what a little bit of water can do.

wow, holy moly, you got some really good wild flowers in these shots. I haven't been so lucky with the wild flowers yet, I haven't seen a whole lot of it yet

Nice shots, Aleks. The drops in the first one seem too white, but the colors and the dof and background really work for me. I love the color in the second shot.

Aleks,

These are both nice shots.

I was up there yesterday too.

If you came in from Pine Junction/Deckers, you missed the real show. The flowers from Goose Creek TH to the Tarryall side were even better (I drove both sides). I came across a field of wild iris blooming, plus hillsides covered in blue penstemon. Right now, the burn area is flowering like the San Juans in July. It really is that good. AMAZING!

PS, also found my first Spotted Coralroot Orchid yesterday.

I was there with some friends and we were pretty beat after the hike so I didn't have much chance to get lost and explore. I definitely want to go back soon. But it was really incredible all around!

I forgot to mention that I did pretty minimal processing on the images since I messed the captures so bad. Especially the first one, I didn't want the noise to get worse so I only slightly adjusted curves and contrast (sharpened for web goes without saying). The noise is pretty minimal on the web version but is really noticeable on a larger image. I need to get me some "ninjas" to fix this one I noticed the drops look pretty much the same in the original RAW file so it might have been the way I captured it and not a side effect of processing.

Wow - after looking at that second shot - you guys aren't kidding about the flowers up there!! I'm headed out for a little camping on Monday, and I was kind of up in the air between the Lost Creek Area and closer to the Collegiate Peaks. After looking at these shots, I think my mind is made up!

Thanks for sharing!

That's in my back yard. I know where I'll be heading for some afternoon shots! Thanks, Aleks!

I think they're both perfect as they are! Well done.