A Photo a Day by Bill Heller

Farmers' market Photos
 
Friday, September 5, 2008

Curvy Pepper

 So we are trying to eat a little better. We stopped at the Farmers' market today to see if they had any good fruit. (The grocery stores have been a little weak lately.) We found some good peaches and strawberries then we found the cool peppers. My wife and I were looking for really interesting ones which caught the eye of one of the guys behind the counter. He started telling us that people even used to take these really nice black and white photos of these kinds of peppers. Like he was reading my mind. Well, except for the black and white part. But maybe tomorrow!

 
Sunday, November 25, 2007

Orange Gerbera Closeup

 More beauty courtesy the Santa Barbara Farmers' Market.

 
Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Paradise at the Farmers' Market

 This is another shot from last night at the Farmers' Market. I actually spent less time taking pictures than driving the few miles to get there, but I had a good time once I did. Maybe next time I'll get there a little earlier.

 
Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Tuesday Night Farmers' Market

 It's been a busy couple of months but last night the fog was so beautiful I thought I would try to get some sunset fog shots at the Farmers' Market. (Then I could get a little Thanksgiving shopping done too! :) Unfortunately, the fog was much lighter tonight and I was a little late for the sunset (still have not adjusted to that time change!) but it was still a fun night with my camera.

 
Sunday, June 17, 2007

Rose in the Studio

 We stopped at the Farmers' Market again this afternoon. I always love the multi colored petals, but this was my wife's pick. She has good taste!

 
Friday, June 8, 2007

Glowing Gerbera

 This is another Gerbera from last week's farmers' market. They are still beautiful, maybe we'll have to see if they have anything else interesting this weekend.

 
Sunday, June 3, 2007

Studio Daisy

 Usually I like to take pictures of nature where I find it and leave it for others to enjoy. (My neighbors have told me repeatedly to take some of their flowers but I just can't bring myself to cut them.) The trouble is, I have never seen a Gerbera growing that looked quite like this.

There was one cool one that I wish I had gone back to the Nursery for, but it was not variegated. So I had to bring this one home from the farmers' market and set up a little studio shoot.

Of course, he had friends. So you'll probably see more in the next few days.

 
Saturday, April 8, 2006

Palm Saturday Roses

 Today we went to the Santa Barbara Farmers' Market to find Palm Fronds to decorate our church for Palm Sunday. We didn't find much in the way of palms, but there are always fun things to look at anyway!

 
Wednesday, January 11, 2006

Pink Roses

 December 31st... ahh it was a beautiful day!

These are some of the roses we had at our wedding. The others were Dolce Vita, a nice combination but they pale in comparison to my beautiful wife.

 
Wednesday, December 28, 2005

Wedding Roses

 I was still getting used to this camera (Canon 20D) so these are a little brighter than I had intended. Still, I like the effect. And, these are special for another reason. On Saturday I will experience the indescribable pleasure of marrying my best friend, and these are the roses we picked to celebrate the occasion!

(I think it's particularly fitting that the name of these roses means "Sweet Life" in Italian.)

 
Sunday, December 18, 2005

Farmers' Roses

 The Farmers' Market is a great place to play with a camera. Most of the people are nice there (as long as you don't get in the way of paying customers.) Of course, we were actually looking to order roses for a big event on the 31st!

 
Wednesday, February 9, 2005

The Orchid Cactus

 Another in the "Photos I Grew Myself" series!

This plant is the reason I moved out of my previous home. The vertical bars in the photo are part of the railing on the patio of our old apartment. At the time of this photo this cactus had over sixty blossoms, each about three inches in diameter. Only a small part of the plant is actually in the picture. Our neighbors complemented us all the time on our plants.

Why did I have to move? The management of the property thought that the plants were a little disorderly hanging through the bars like this. So they wanted us to trim this one in particular.

Now we live in a much nicer place where my plants have a lot more room, and I was able to get a Basset Hound!

I have always loved Cacti, and this has got to be one of my favorite types. I have several of them, but this one is by far the happiest. I got it as a small start at the Santa Barbara Farmers' Market.

This Cactus is known as The Orchid Cactus, but the similarities between this beauty and the tropical flowers go much deeper than just the impressive blossoms. These Cacti are indigenous to the jungles of South and Central America where they live in the tree tops. Just like most orchids, they depend upon their host plant for access to the jungle canopy so they can reach sunlight, but they are not parasites. Their nutrition comes from decaying vegetation and other things trapped in the pockets of the trees where they live. This type of plant is called an epiphyte, as opposed to a parasite which draws nutrition directly from it's host. Orchids and Bromeliads are the most recognizable members of this group, but it includes a vast array of plants from ferns to mosses, and lichens.

Update...

This plant is a "day bloomer" hybrid, whose blooms last for several days. Most naturally occurring Epiphyllum species bloom only in the evening creating enormous fragrant white blossoms that only last for one night. I guess you have to do this when your "bee" is as big as a bird, only comes out at night, and is as blind as... well... a bat. Which, incidentally, is exactly what pollinates these plants in the wild, along with the occasional large moth.

 
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