Backlit Photos

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Friday, November 23, 2007

Backlit Grape Leaf

One nice thing about living in Southern California is the fact that you can take pictures like this even this time of year. On the other hand, we were walking The Hound yesterday when we passed a tree with beautiful fall colored leaves. Makes me think about taking a trip somewhere to see some real fall colors!

Thursday, August 30, 2007

Glowing Succulent Blossom

This was a surprising find at a local nursery. I saw the flower as we were coming up to it and I was surprised when I saw that it was growing on a cool little succulent plant. We didn't bring it home with us yet, but I'll probably be going back to get it. Usually when the photos come out like this I regret not going back to get the plant. Too bad they don't sell bigger back yards to go with it.

backlit ₄₂ | blossom ₂₄ | Calandrinia spectabilis ₁ | flower ₃₁₃ | succulent ₂₀

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Purple Nightshade

It's a common flower around here, but I never knew it had so many names. This one was in a nursery in Carmel Valley.

Monday, August 20, 2007

Lily of the Rain

The yard is a completely different place in the rain. Unfortunately for my camera I love the look of the flowers when it's raining. It's not just the drops of water. If it was I could just spray them. The soft lighting from the clouds changes the feel of the photo completely.

Thursday, August 16, 2007

Peach Lantern

This is one of my favorite flowers. I don't usually see them in peach though. It took a very low angle to get this shot, as the name suggests they kind of hang down like lanterns or bells. I was almost sitting on the ground.

Saturday, August 11, 2007

Backlit Lantana

We took a walk around one of our favorite nurseries today. The late afternoon light combined with the smoke in the air from the Zaca fire near us made for some beautiful lighting. Well, if we are going to put up with the fire danger we might as well get something out of it!

backlit ₄₂ | creative lighting ₁₈ | flower ₃₁₃ | Lantana ₂

Wednesday, June 6, 2007

Ackermanii in the Morning Sun

My wife pointed this blossom out to me this morning. It's a good thing too. The sun was so harsh this afternoon that the top of it got burned! This is on our biggest Orchid Cactus. It has been blooming non-stop for about a month which is pretty impressive since even in the shade each blossom only lasts for a few days.

Thursday, May 31, 2007

Glowing Kalanchoe Close-up

I have been having a lot of fun with my plants and cameras lately. This flower is less than a quarter of an inch across. When you see it normally as just one in a cluster of flowers (called an inflorescence) the colors look continuous. Fading from red to yellow. However, on closer inspection you can see the speckled nature of the color like the printed page in a magazine.

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Blooming Tiger

It was another good weekend to take pictures. But, as usual it was just too short. Fortunately I had enough time to get a shot of this cool Tiger Lily. This is actually a native Santa Barbara plant.

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Creative Kalanchoe

I have always had a soft spot for these plants. They have amazing thick leathery leaves and when they bloom they are absolutely covered in flowers.

Recently there have been a more creative variety available. I found a "double" variety last year, and the coloring on this one is absolutely unique!

They make great subjects for creative photography lighting experiments too.

Monday, May 14, 2007

Glowing Sun Star

I have been playing with some creative lighting on my flowers lately. That's the reason that the photo of the day has been the flower of the day lately. :-D (Well, that and the fact that it's spring and there are some amazing plants out there that all seem to follow me home.) I\'m pretty happy with the results though, both in the back yard and my photos!

If you ended up here because you have one of these beauties and you are looking for care instructions, take a look at the main Sun Star page. There are more tips and discussion on the March 25, 2006 Sun Star too. If you find any of it helpful, or have questions that have not been answered there, drop us a note!

Thursday, May 3, 2007

Mandevilla Sky

This is one of the plants that recently scored a new pot and trellis. We originally got this vine and one other to feed the butterflies in the back yard. The butterflies (and resulting caterpillars) almost got the best of them. But they have come back strong. A couple of weekends ago I spent about two hours unraveling the two vines from each other and putting them on their new trellises. It was like an elaborate living puzzle.

Sunday, March 25, 2007

Bouganvilla

There is always something blooming around here! Which is great for someone who loves to take flower pictures. This is the Bougainvillea that we have coaxed over our back fence, it's always happy. So happy in fact I just had to tuck all it's new growth in so the gardeners don't come by and cut it.

As I recall, last year this time I almost had to change the name of the site to "The Calla Lily of the Day," since they go wild this time of year too. Fortunately, this year we planted some spring bulbs out front and they are looking good already so I'll have lots of subjects to keep things interesting. Now all I need is more time to play with my cameras. Too bad that won't grow as easily. :-D

Friday, March 2, 2007

More Flowers!

This is in response to the feedback I received this evening on the flower photos page. Ironically, flowers are the biggest category in the site. Of course, they are one of my favorite subjects too so I am happy to add more! It was actually a flower photo that inspired me to start the site.

Thanks for your feedback Sahana!

backlit ₄₂ | bud ₃₂ | flower ₃₁₃ | Rose ₄₈ | rosebud ₅

Thursday, February 22, 2007

Backlit Morning Daisy

Even in the middle of winter there are beautiful flowers to photograph here. That's not to say it is not cold. The day after I took this was the windiest coldest day of the winter so far. But fortunately the ocean seems to keep things just warm enough for things to survive. Even if we get frost it is usually mild and patchy.

Aside from these tough daisies, the Calla Lilies are starting to really put on a show now too. Some of our spring bulbs are already coming up that we planted in the fall. So many beautiful subjects! So little time!

Thursday, February 15, 2007

Mallow After the Rain

This was taken right after yesterday's photo of the day. The rain had just stopped and the sun came out beautifully. This shot is looking up at a couple of exceptionally tall branches of our small potted Mallow tree. The drops of water are actually on the other side, the top of the flower. It would probably be a good idea for us to prune it. But it blooms constantly and if we had pruned it I would not have had the opportunity to get this shot.

Sunday, December 10, 2006

Cosmos Sunset

I like the angle of the flower in this one. Kind of like it is turning to watch the sun set.

backlit ₄₂ | Cosmos ₃ | Cosmos bipinnatus ₃ | flower ₃₁₃ | Mexican Aster ₃

Sunday, November 26, 2006

Mandevilla in the Garden

This was another one of those "break from my computer" images. I had to go out back and wander around the flowers for a while.

Friday, November 24, 2006

Backlit Calla

I particularly like the glowing edge of this lily on the left. The curves that you can follow in the shadows are interesting too.

Monday, September 25, 2006

Pink and White Bougainvillea

The Bougainvillea are going wild around here right now. This one is in a hanging basket in my neighbor's yard.

Sunday, September 17, 2006

Flutter Bye Rose

Yesterday was a great day to take pictures. We went to La Sumida Nursery, where we bumped into a good friend from church. We were looking for a rose, and after much debate this is the one I chose as my favorite. It is called "Flutter Bye." As the flowers bloom they are bright yellow and almost solid. Then as the blossoms get older they change to this beautiful peach - orange - yellow combination.

backlit ₄₂ | creative lighting ₁₈ | flower ₃₁₃ | Flutter Bye ₁ | Rose ₄₈

Sunday, September 10, 2006

Backlit Grapes

This is another shot from yesterday's trip to Seaside Gardens. The grape leaves are amazing in the sun. Makes it look like autumn.

Tuesday, August 29, 2006

Glowing Mandevilla

The light was particularly nice in the backyard so I had to take a break from my computer and wander around with my camera.

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Glorious Morning

Actually, it was in the afternoon. But it was a really nice day!

This was on a recent "escape the heat" trip to San Luis Obispo. Not that it was that much cooler there. But the hotel had air conditioning. :-D

Friday, July 28, 2006

Backlit Tomato Blossom

When I am busy and I just want to take a few pictures to relax I head into the back yard. These days that usually means taking pictures of tomatoes. But that's ok with me! They really are beautiful, especially when the light is just right.

backlit ₄₂ | blossom ₂₄ | flower ₃₁₃ | nightshade ₁₉ | tomato ₁₃