I like this week’s edition of Foto Friday for several reasons. Can you tell what you are looking at? In focus is the pollen producing reproductive organ of a flower. The brown part is the anther and the light green stalk it is connected to at the top is the filament, and together they form the stamen, or the male part of the flower. One of my favorite tech blogs has a weekly photography challenge and last week they asked for macro shots of plants – right up my alley. With a little help and encouragement I took about 100 photos one afternoon, but this was my favorite because it is so close up, and because it is a different perspective for looking at flowers. I submitted this picture to the contest, and although I didn’t win I’m still happy. (click here for the post about the winners). I am happy because one of my goals for 2013 was to submit my photography for a contest, but also because my picture was chosen to feature in their online gallery. There are some amazing pictures in that gallery, and I recommend taking a look if you like macro shots of flowers. I’m also happy because the winners did a lot of processing to get their images just right, and I didn’t do very much at all which encourages me to learn more about photography and post-processing to make my stuff even better.
1/80s f/6.3 60mm ISO 500. Brightness adjusted. Au revoir until next week
..:: NJ Brideau ::.. 
way to go, personal goal – check! it’s so simple and really reflects how nature is beautiful on its own. I love the little purple splash in this.