Insects at last

I love taking pictures of Nature and flowers in particular, however my very favorite topic is insects. Much more difficult to catch with my camera, but the pain is definitely worth it! 

Don't know why, but I even enjoy photographing spiders - I am usually so afraid of them - with my macro lens. I won't lie, if they suddenly jump I would scream from the top of my lungs, but still, I find them captivating :-)

Busy as a bumblebee

Sunbathing spider

Beetle vs aphid

Leaf buds

Looking at early buds from as close as possible... Of course the macro lens makes it so much more detailed!

Opening buds

Spring signs

Green little fingers

Open and close

The cycle of a flower: from closed and bud-shaped, to wide open petals :-)

Opening up

After the rain

Pistil and stamen

Some macro photos of the inside of flowers - I always find it captivating, just being able to look at those tiny details...

Red stamen

Veronica

White blossom

First blossoms

Spring has come at last, with blossoming plum trees!

Bloom bokeh

Lonely blossom

New bloom

Lamium purpureum

This little plant, which goes by the name of red dead nettle, is not the most striking meadow flower: it is often small and with a rather bland color, as compared to the bright buttercup or the cute violet. Yet when you examine it a bit more closely, don't you think the shape of its complicated petals looks appealing?

Just look at its hood-like and wing-like lobes :-)

Red dead nettle

By the road

Dead nettle

Violets again

They are so pretty with their vibrant purple color, how could I not take as many pictures as I could of these beautiful flowers? :-)

Star of the crowd

Standing up

An ocean of yellow

Purple and yellow

Wood streams

Would you dare cross the stream through this very thin bridge...? I'd rather watch the show from this sturdy stump :-P

Thin bridge

Letting the water through

Stump by the lake