The glory days are over for this Lotus flower. Everyone is always taking pictures of the beautiful blooms (myself included) but I also find myself drawn to those who have long since lost their luster. There is still beauty in the decay though.

A different take on a Lotus flower. The sky was completely overcast with low clouds but the sun was beginning to shine through. Most people would should straight on or from above but I wanted to come at it from underneath. Post processing I increased the highlights in Lightroom while boosting the colors just a tad. I am very happy with the results.
This year most of my photography friends and I have been on a quest for sunflowers. Many of the early plantings were washed away with all the spring rains that we had. But I’ve managed to find a few patches here and there on the Illinois side of the river from St. Louis. This beauty is from a fairly large field just east of Alhambra.