18 beautiful macro photos capturing springtime in Israel

Finally, it's the time of year when photographers don their macro lenses to get detailed shots of flowers, honey bees and all things that epitomize springtime.

Spring in Israel is celebrated as a time for going outdoors, beginning with the Red South Festival in February to the Eilat Bird Festival in March, and all the perfect-weather days that follow. After the welcome rains of winter, foliage blooms across the country. Warm but not too hot, it's by far the best time of year for hiking and exploring nature.

First, the green fields of the northern Negev turn red with anemones, and northern Israel's forests become carpeted with delicate pink cyclamen flowers. But the real sign of the approaching season is in the white-pink blossoms of the almond trees throughout the countryside. 

Spring lasts well into June with highs in the 70s throughout the northern region and along the coast, with slightly warmer (but no less pleasant!) temperatures in the south – and yes, even the dry desert comes to life this time of year. With ample parks and nature reserves, there is no shortage of places to go to see the spring blooms. 

To celebrate the spring equinox, we're bringing the colorful blossoms to you with a curated collection of the most beautiful macro photos taken in Israel:

Purple flowers grow in Galilee (Photo: shoufany/Flickr)

Sunflowers grow on a farm in Israel (Photo: Rebecca Schear/Flickr)

A spring rose growing near Tel Aviv (Photo: achituv/Flickr)

Cabbage white butterfly on a yellow flower (Photo: Ziva & Amir/Flickr)

An up-close look at the tiniest details in an iris flower (Photo: Uzi Yachin/Flickr)

A ladybug walks across a tiny yellow flower (Photo: Eran Finkle/Flickr)

Blue flowers after the rain (Photo: Naama ym/Flickr)

Tiny yellow flowers form spherical shape (Photo: Rodrigo Balan Uriartt/Flickr)

A cyclamen flower peeking out of the ground (Photo: Uzi Yachin/Flickr)

A tiny blue flower (Photo: Eran Finkle/Flickr)

A cassia fistula flower (Photo: Eran Finkle/Flickr)

Almond tree flowers after the rain (Photo: Izhar Laufer/Flickr)

Oriental viper's grass flower on Mount Gilboa (Photo: vad_levin/Flickr)

A honeybee on chive flowers (Photo: Eran Finkle/Flickr)

Blue flowers (Photo: Adib Roy/Flickr)

Flowers growing in spherical bunch (Photo: thechosenrebel/Flickr)

Erodium subintegrifolium (Stork's bill) wildflower growing in Tel Aviv (Photo: Janie Easterman/Flickr)