Your photos tell our collective outdoors story

Newspaper editors knew the great outdoors would provide inspiration when they put out the call for your images, but the photographic talent readers are sharing has surpassed all expectations.

The Spokesman-Review  Readers Outdoor Photos web page hasn’t just been popular – it’s become a regular pit stop for a breath of fresh air.

Equipped with cameras ranging from smartphones to SLRs with monster lenses, readers aren’t just sending snapshots of big fish, they’re providing a broad perspective of what’s up outside, one photo at a time.

Since the online feature debuted a year ago, more than 650 images have been uploaded at  spokesman.com/outdoors. 

People are telling us where they’re going, what they’re doing outdoors and best of all, what catches their eye.

They’re sharing their love for going solo or with a partner or group – and dogs in the outdoors are favorite reliable companions and therefore popular subjects.

The photos offer insight on the changing of seasons, the emergence of wildflowers, the power of nature and the return of migratory birds.

The Spokane River, with all of its moods and the recreation it provides, is a popular subject.

So are sunsets – the kind that make you vow to be outside in just the right spot next time weather serves up such a beautiful end of the day.

But some photos venture beyond the easy.

Images are coming in from west in the scablands, south in the big-river canyon lands and northeast from high in the mountain wilderness. Shutterbugs are sharing sights many folks would never see.

Our March 2015 Readers Outdoors Photo Gallery may be the best overall monthly collection since the online feature debuted last year. 

I tried to pick the top 10 and failed miserably at narrowing it down that tight. 

I’ve posted on the Outdoors Blog my picks for the top 25 images from the photos uploaded last month, and I’m still leaving out a lot of shots that caught my interest.

Some of the images are excellent because of their photo quality.

Others are great because they capture a moment that enlightens us about the outdoors.

Some are appreciated real-time field reports on trail conditions.

The images capture the flows of rivers and waterfalls from downtown Spokane to Towell Falls on Rock Creek south of Sprague.

They chronicle where the snow is, and where it isn’t anymore.

In March, photographers looked up to capture porcupines and birds in trees as well as the full moon.

They gazed down to picture the first flowers bursting from the soil, marmots venturing from their holes, lady bird beetles swarming in the duff and amphibians emerging from the recently thawed pond mud.

It’s not surprising that people head out with cameras at night chasing the Northern Lights, although the quality of the results has us begging for more solar flares.

More enlightening, perhaps, is how many hikers and even cyclists leave the warmth of home to enjoy the quiet under the stars.

Check out the good work readers are posting. Upload your own.

Fantastic images from outdoors enthusiasts and observers already are starting to be posted on the April page of the Readers Outdoor Photo Gallery.

Collectively you are creating a picture story of the outdoors around the Inland Northwest that no other single person could tell.