Closeup of Phlox

Here is a somewhwat closeup view of Plox beside Newfound Gap Road in the Smokies on April 11, 2006. Each flower has five petals, arranged as shown here. This plant can be confused a purple mustard flower (Dame's Rocket) that grows beside the road during late spring. A key difference is that the phlox flower consistently has five petals, while the mustard flowers have four. Check a few flowers in each cluster just to be sure.
As for the color of phlox flowers, the woodland phlox species tend to be more of a bluish purple, while some of the prarie species tend to appear more pink. But it does vary. Also, when photographing flowers like these, they appear very different on film when you photograph them in the shade versus the sun. In the shade, they appear more bluish, while in the sun they appear more pink. In the above photo, the flowers were lit by somewhat diffused sunlight, but in the photo below, the flowers were somewhat shaded due to a passing cloud. Though sunlight can lead to too much contrast in the image, it can also help emphasize the texture and three-dimensionality of the subject. Shade offers even lighting, but can make the image look flat.