The 2012 Countdown - Part 4

The 2012 Countdown - Part 4

As 2012 winds down, I hope it’s been a happy, healthy, and enlightening trip around the sun! This year has been personally rewarding for me as I saw my daughter married this past month as well as having my son get engaged at the wedding reception. 

Photographically, the second half of the year was slow as wedding plans and my teaching demanded more of my time. I was not planning to post my annual countdown, as I did not feel I had shot enough to warrant a year-end retrospective. However, after sitting down and looking over my 2012 images, I have to say I am pleased with the results and have changed my mind. 

The rankings of the Top 25 of 2012 came from a formula I created that takes into account the feedback received from Facebook, Twitter, and 550px.com as well as the traffic the image generated on my Blue Lion Photos website. I hope you enjoy seeing a few familiar shots mixed in with some you might have missed in the past year.

Part 4 of the 2012 Countdown (# 10 - #13)

#13 - Atlantic Nettle 

#12 - 11 O'Clock

#11 - Owl Eye

#10 - Classic Columbine

Thanks for visiting and spending a few minutes here --- Tomorrow I'll post images 6 - 9 here! Hope to see you back! Feel free to share the 2012 countdown with you friends on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+! 

Please comment below & let me know your favorite of the images above! 

THE TOP TEN BLUE LION PHOTOS OF 2011 - Post 3 of 6

Welcome to Installment 3 of the Top Ten most Viewed Blue Lion Photos of 2011. Today you get to see the 5^th and 6^th most popular images of the year.

NUMBER 6: “BeeBonnet”

This image of a bee pollinating a bluebonnet in Allen, Texas is one of my personal favorites as it evokes memories of one of my favorite, secret bluebonnet patches. I enjoyed many visits to this patch until I discovered the city of Allen recently built a “Hydropark” on this very spot. This coming spring I will just have to spend some extra time trying to discover another “secret” bluebonnet patch close to home!

NUMBER 5: “My ‘Bluebird’ of Happiness”

The most common statement I hear when people see this image is, “That’s not REAL is it?” Of course it is real. It’s a Lilac Breasted Roller I had the great fortune to shoot when I was in Botswana along the Chobe River. These beautiful birds are relatively common there, but that does not take away from their stunning coloration. I always love that this image helps to educate people about a creature they often never imagined could exist!

Please return tomorrow to view the third installment of this series where I will share the 3^rd and 4^h most popular Blue Lion Photos of 2011!

Previous Installments:

Post #1

Post #2

Busy as Bees!

Today's post was inspired by my friend, Mark Moffett's extraordinary photo spread of exotic pollinating creatures in the March Issue of National Geographic. On  my visit to the Dallas Arboretum for their "Dallas Blooms" event, I was able to spend time with my current favorite flower, the Iceland Poppy (Papaver nudicaule). As this is the weekend of the Vernal Equinox, I wanted to share the recent images of Iceland poppies and their pollination.

Preparing to Pop

Click in any of the images to see them in their original gallery!

Interested in Pollinator? Visit the Pollinator Partnership- They do great work!

Visit Macro Flowers Saturday or Flowers on Saturday for more bloomin' fun!

Also see the fun at TODAY'S FLOWERS & MACRO MONDAY.