Uh oh....I got a new toy.

So my toy about this time of year last year was to buy myself a nice digital SLR. I ended up taking a bunch of pictures of plants as I wandered around Minnesota for work over the summer of 2006. They came out pretty well, but taking pictures in the shaded woods became an issue. This summer my company proposed on some really huge T/E (Threatened and Endangered) species surveys way up north in the bog and peatlands. I was so pumped for this, cause literally all you do is wander around for 6 weeks looking for plants. I called the photographing part of it. I knew if we got it I would be in some really cool areas, and obviously looking for really cool plants. I decided I was goint to buy a nice macro lens for my camera that has a wider aperature so I can take pictures in darker areas. Turns out we didn't get any of the really cool jobs, but because I was so pumped to get my new lens (and also frustrated for not getting the work) that I bought it anyways. The thing is awesome, I love it. So much so that I forsee this becoming a problem for several reasons. First, that I will now take pictures on my job sites instead of working in a timely manner. I mean, taking pictures of stuff I see is part of the job. But is it excessive to spend 15 minutes taking pictures of a rare buttercup? Suffice it to say I am really good at rationalizing. :-) The other reason why this is bad is because now I can see how much difference it makes having a good lens. 99.9% of the time in photography you pay for what you get, and good equals expensive. So as much as I like the setup I have now and it works really well for me, I can now see how nice it would be to own one of these. That would be more for sports photography. I know I can't spend that much on a camera lens, so I've decided I have to make at least half whatever the lens costs by selling pictures before I get one. I've got a ways to go. So...you know....if you want to help go here. Shameless plug.

Anyways, summer is pretty much here (at least the weather thinks so) and along with it come the trilliums. My sister and I have a sailboat that we named Trillium. And I rememer going through the flower book to find a flower we thought looked pretty. So, in honor of Trillium...here you go.