Selecting a nice background is really important to an image.  If I don’t plan to fill the frame with the subject, I try to make sure that I have a pleasing and uncluttered background.  In this image, I really liked the soft greens, golds, and yellows of the flowers that were behind the subject.  I used the Lensbaby Composer and soft focus optic with very shallow DOF and came away with what I had envisioned in my mind when taking this image. 

When I was a kid I remember seeing SO many fireflies on warm summer evenings.  Now it’s a rarity to see one in my garden, but I  just saw some a few nights ago and it was a real treat!  This little ‘lightning bug’ was perched on a pink coneflower at Stonehedge Gardens as I was photographing with the Lensbaby and Soft Focus Optic.  There are only a few bugs that I would deliberately get this close to – butterflies, ladybugs and fireflies are about it!  🙂

Day Lilies are appropriately named as they only bloom for a day.  This one lived up to it’s title.  I’m sure the heat, humidity and last night’s heavy rain helped to shorten it’s lifespan as well.  While photographing with the Lensbaby Composer and soft focus optic, the lens kept fogging from the humid air.  So…this image may have some EXTRA soft focus added thanks to Mother Nature!  🙂

I thought it was just a simple Hosta plant.  But NO….the official name is a “Pilgrim Plantain Lily”.  Who knew?  Either way, it sprouts pretty lavender flowers this time of year and it is currently living in a planter on my porch.  Hostas do well in shade, so it’s perfect for the porch where there is not so much sun.   I added a pattern layer to the original image to add some speckles.  Now it almost looks like it’s snowing on the Pilgrim Plantain Lily.