Flowers
Wild Yellows
The Daffodil
Is there any flower so bright and perky as the Daffodil? One of the first to bloom…and whither in spring.
My good friend, Tood Lohenry, recently asked me why he couldn’t find any daffodils within my photo galleries. That was a good question. Last Saturday, I spotted some nice daffodils on someone’s lawn in Algoma, WI and snapped a few – photographically speaking.
Click the image for to get a larger version.
Love’s Vortex
“It is at the edge of the petal that love waits.” ~ William Carlos Williams
There is no other flower that so vividly conveys love, beauty and passion as a red rose. I can easily be mesmerized by the delicate symmetry of a well-formed rose. The swirl of this one’s petals seem to lure you, helplessly, into its center. I spent quite a while gazing upon it…and photographing it from every angle. This is the view I like most.
This is dedicated to the one I love…a woman most worthy of such beauty… my wife, Sara. We are celebrating 18 years of wonderful marriage. (No exaggeration. Ours is a match made in heaven. You will never encounter a more perfect marriage or solid love. I am greatly blessed!)
To see a larger version of the rose, just click on it.
Future Bleeding Hearts
New life is springing up all around our place…finally. I had stepped outside to snap a view of the sunset and, as I often do, just walked around our yard with my camera. The vibrant color of this new growth on the bleeding heart plants in our flower bed caught my eye.
Eventually the buds you see in the large photo above will produce flowers like the ones shown on the right.
For a larger view of the photo above, simply click on the image.
Spring’s Serenade
According to Wikipedia… In music, a serenade (or sometimes serenata) is a musical composition, and/or performance, in someone’s honor. Serenades are typically calm, light music.
The warm background tones, combined with the vivid color of spring’s first emerging leaves, really appeals to me. It has a light and airy feel that reminds me of a classical music composition.
These are truly the first leaves of spring, photographed on a walk through some woods near my home. I posted another image from this same walk entitled: The Scarlet of Spring.
Clicking on the image will bring up a larger version.
Woodland Flora & Friend
Ladybugs all dressed in red
Strolling through the flowerbed.
If I were tiny just like you
I’d creep among the flowers too!
~Maria Fleming
This photo was taken in some woods not far from our home. It’s still early spring here and this small stand of early bloomers were a welcome sight. The ladybug was an added bonus. The surrounding trees, just starting to sprout leaves, provided a gentle filter for the afternoon sun.
To see a larger version of this image, simply click on it.
The Scarlet of Spring
We went for a walk along a trail through woods and farm fields. The very first signs of spring were bursting forth. This is the twig of a budding tree.
The unique qualities of this image were created by the camera and nature, itself. Behind the sprouting twig was a river with sunlight sparkling off the ripples, through the leafless trees on the bank. I was using a 300mm lens, so everything beyond the twig was blurred.
If you look closely, you can see a small bug resting on the left side of the top leaf.
To view a larger version, simply click on the image.
Bluebird Dawn
Just before sunrise I noticed a bluebird checking out the bluebird houses in our yard. I grabbed the camera and headed out the back door. I got a picture but not the one I was after. Here’s the story…
My goal was to snap a picture of the bluebird posed on the bluebird house, framed by a big, bright sun behind him. While I was trying to line up the shot, the bluebird flew off the house, into a nearby tree. I was able to click off a quick photo of the bird in the tree before he flew off for good. Then I turned my camera to the sunrise and snapped a couple of frames.
The image above is a combination of two different photos (shown on the right). I started with a shot of the sunrise and overlaid the silhouette of the tree branches with the bluebird. As you can see, the original photo of the bird and branches had a background of just light gray sky. Not very interesting or appealing. The sunrise was pretty on it’s own, but the branches and bird adds interest .
Both photos were taken within a minute of each other. Not quite the image I was shooting for, but I think the final result turned out well.
To see a larger version of the above image, simply click the photo.
Petals of Purple
Today, please accept my simple gift of purple.
Studies show colors can affect us mentally and physically. It’s said the color purple can be uplifting, calming to the mind and nerves, offering a sense of spirituality and encouraging creativity.
I’m sorry, I don’t know what kind of flower this is. I found it was flourishing in a flowerbed in rural Indiana.
Click the image to see a larger version of it.
Tiny Dancers
This spray of Forget Me Nots remind me of giddy, forest sprites dancing among the greenery.
With the dreary, winter weather we’ve been experiencing lately, I thought a spring-like image would be welcome. (No need to thank me.)
Forget Me Nots are some of my favorite flowers. However, they are so small, I have rarely captured an image of them that I really like. I really like this one.
I put my index finger into the photo on the right to give you a reference for how tiny these little beauties are.
According to Wikipedia:
Myosotis (maɪ.əˈsoʊtɪs; from the Greek: “mouse’s ear”, after the leaf) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Boraginaceae that are commonly called Forget-me-nots. Its common name was calqued from the French, ne m’oubliez pas and first used in English in c. 1532.
To see a larger version of the main photo, just click on it.