Winter is no longer coming. And to celebrate, many of you have spent the last month taking photos for us. Here are your amazing photos (and wallpapers) of spring.
Winner: Orb
The challenge for me was that I am in Autumn as I live in the Southern Hemisphere. Therefore while technically I cannot submit Spring, I took the view that I can submit something that has the theme of Spring. A very traditional picture of insects collecting the nectar out of blossom. This plant is actually considered a weed and my neighbour chopped it down shortly after the pictures were taken. I have no idea what type of insects they are, they seem quite harmless and didn't mind me pushing the camera lens up close. I took these with a mirror less Sony NEX-F3 camera. This is a new purchase and I am still getting to grips with it. The lens I used was the standard Sony 18-55mm zoom. I set the Camera in manual focussing mode and then simply set the focus and moved the camera back and forth to get the sweet spot. I had two issues it as not as easy to focus as my Pentax DSLR and the sun washed out the LCD so at times it was point shoot and hope.
Camera: Sony NEX-F3, f/5.6, 1/160 sec, 55mm (82mm equiv 35mm)
- Nick Smith
Rosy Painting
The first bud on a miniature rose plant, a sure sign of Spring! Taken with my Canon 7D, macro 60mm lens, f/2.8, 1/80s, ISO 200.
- Rachael Pawlak
Blue Flamingoes
It was a great overcasty day in my neighborhood of Venice, CA, so the lighting was easy to work with. The day prior to taking this shot, my wife and I were walking our baby and dog by this setup in someones yard and every flower was in full bloom. It looked like a sea of these flowers that the flamingos where wading in. I snapped a shot with Instagram and my friends loved it, so I went back to get a shot with my Canon 40D. Unfortunately, half the flowers weren't in full bloom this time, so the effect was not as dramatic - but still a good shot. I used my 50mm prime lens to get a nice DoF and shot from a few different angles.
- Randy Osborn
Anther, Stigma, and Style
Just starting to see signs of Spring in Massachusetts; a few overachievers; the early finishers from the Winter Marathon. But we know Spring is coming. Canon T3i, EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM, f2.8, ISO 100.
- Costas Kitsos
Giant Butterbur
It was taken on one of the first warm days this year in the mountains near my home in Akita City, Japan. It is a picture of the popular mountain vegetable Giant Butterbur also known as Fuki. It is common in the cedar forests of Northern Japan, and it very popular in cooking in this area. This shot was taken with a Sony DSC-H9 at 1/20s, f2.8, ISO 80.
- Christian O'Brien
Feed Me, Seymour
I decided to dedicate this challenge to a beautiful orchid that has accompanied me stubbornly while moving to another town. This winter has been too long... and finally with the arrival of the sun I captured the blossom of the first 2013 flower! Canon 550D, Canon EF-S 18-55mm IS, f/5.6, 1/125 sec., ISO 800
- Filipe Soares
Iced
Spring came, then went back to winter. The crocus' came up on a beautiful 60 degree spring day, the next day it snowed 12". Canon 50D, Canon 100mm Macro lens, ISO 100
- Chris Andrews
Poppy
I was walking around the Stanford Shopping Center Mall while a good friend of mine was getting an MRI at the Stanford Hospital. I was enjoying all the lovely flowers budding, and noticed this poppy getting ready to flower. I instantly knew I needed a photo of this flower. Iphone 4, F 2.8, 1/120sec, ISO-125
- Mike Valenzu
Cul-de-sac Rose
I've lived at the foot of these sweet, rolling hills in Fremont, CA for the past 15 years. In all this time, I have never attempted to climb it. Until this morning, when I woke a friend up and we headed out to take a picture of the sunrise. Now, it took us a good twenty minutes to reach the top, just in time for us to get shots of the sun and surrounding landscape, including many cities in the bay area. To be honest, I felt a little disappointed, because most of the plants are dead at this time of year, scorched and parched by the sun. It took us half an hour to navigate a route down the hill and jump a barbed-wire fence into the neighbor's yard, as well as their fence into my cul-de-sac. As we were walking, I noticed this beauty, and took a photo. Worth it. Canon 7D, Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM, ISO 800, f/5.6, 1/125 sec
- Anthony Lau
The Climb
After reading an article on photo walks I decided to grab a friend, a six-pack of tall boys, and head to a nearby river. We saw a large spider hanging from a tree, dancing in the wind, which drew me over to this interesting looking tree. When I got to the tree I saw the large carpenter ant, and saw this as an opportunity to test my new lens out. I took this picture with a Canon 6D, and a Canon 24-105L lens. Camera settings : focal length - 105mm, shutter - 1/320 sec, aperture - f/4.0, ISO - 800.
- L. Alex Frank
Flowers may be a bit of a lob when it comes to photography, but you still hit these out of the park. Amazing entries all around. Here are the wallpapers. Find the full galleries below.