Probably my favorite local summer wildflower is the Alamo vine flower (Merremia dissecta). They grow throughout the wooded areas around here and the vines will run along the ground or climb to great heights. The vines produce a gorgeous, good sized, white flower with a bright red center and contrasting yellow stamens. The first time I saw one, I was completely blown away. Every year I have to get a few shots of them, but I’ve always wanted a good macro image of the center. Finally, this year I was able to get just such a shot. There were Alamo vines all over the place when I was hiking along the Withlacoochee Bay Trail and many of them were quite fresh and unblemished. I bought an Apelex 100 mm ultra macro lens for my phone last fall for just such occasions, and have been very pleased with the results. This time was no exception. I like the detail that the lens picks up (much better than the native lenses) and it’s so much easier to focus and keep focused. I would strongly recommend it to anyone who likes to shoot macro images. Let me know what you think.