It's really to bad you have to put up with plants like this :evil: :biggrin: Blues are especially hard to capture on film, but today's new digital cameras seem to make it possible (as with your picture). Nice picture Camille.

I ckecked it out on the USDA website. It's not listed in the invassive/noxious weeds list, but it's no protected either. It's got no status. But seems to have spread throughout the USA and is everywhere except the midwest.

speaking of blues and cameras
 

Here's a few pics from Colorado that I took within the last few years... there seemed to be a fair number of very bright blue and pink flowers... and the sky of course is a ridiculously beautiful blue. As you can see, sometimes the camera captures the blue nicely, and sometimes it gets all funky. Same with the hot pinks.

One day they might be able to capture the true color of nature, well at least how we humans see it.

These were taken with just a Nikon CoolPix S1... nothing fancy. Would of been much better shots with some filters and decent lenses.

Nice pics!! The clover is nice, but too bad the dianthus doesn't seem to come out well, unless it really is colored like that! And the scenery reminds me of the Alps, even though our trees are different and I usually hike way above the tree line!

When I picked out my digital camera two of my major criteria were good macro shots and good color rendering. I'm happy with mine (Canon Powershot A520), it does a good job with the colors, although it does have problems with deep purples (like violets). All the blues come out true.

Maybe that's why it's a rare species here? Michigan is midwest. I do know it's protected from collection on US Forest Service property.

The dianthus actually was pretty close to that coloring, just not quite as eye poppingly bright! You can see the edges of the hot pink didn't render very well, but the reds were true to color.

Most of those pictures were on our way up Long Peak, which is a little over 14,000 feet high (4.2km). Had to turn back shortly before the top due to storm clouds moving in. Overall was about 9 hours of hiking, we tried to do it in one day.

After I got down I started throwing up pretty bad. I ended up drinking 2.5 liters of water on the hike, but I didn't replenish my electrolytes... should of drank enhanced water instead of plain H20. That, and we should of hiked a little slower!

Here's a couple other shots well above the tree line. They have these weird rodents up there, called Marmots, like giant rats or beavers without tails, scary things, they come right up to you to get food. Probably weighs 9kg.

Totally hijacked this thread! Oops, sorry! :hijacked:

It's so breathtakingly beautiful!! Too bad it's so far from me, because I would have gone for a hike! We have those giant rodents too, marmottes in French. I also was lucky enough to see a group of chamois. I also saw a field full of edelweiss once, but I had forgotten the spare batteries for the camera...:( I can't wait for summer so that I can hit the trails again!
I think it's a interesting thread hijack! So hope no one objects that I continued it;) Or else we'll ask to move this discussion elsewhere!

If I ever make it to France we'll have to take a hike in the Alps - I want to see wild orchids as well!