Saturday, October 7, 2006
Banana in the Rain

A few weeks ago we found two beautiful banana plants at the hardware store that were looking for a good home. They live right out front now. The other day it started to rain just as I was leaving the house and when I saw how the drops of water collected on the leaf I had to run back in and get my camera.

Friday, September 22, 2006
Rebel Cyclamen

A few months ago we put some new plants in near our front door. Among them were a few white Cyclamen and one purple one. The Purple one was right next to this white plant but it did not seem to do so well. There is not much left of it above ground But it has managed to make it's presence known. (they are tubers, so hopefully it is still down there)

These plants are interesting and beautiful anyway. The flower is actually pointing down and the petals turn around and point up. (called "reflexed petals") But this little addition has made this one of the more interesting plants in the front yard at the moment!

Saturday, July 29, 2006
Mandevilla Buds

We've been setting up new misters in the yard for the plants and that made for some excellent photo opportunities.

Monday, June 19, 2006
Misty Mandevilla

It was hot here today. REALLY HOT! Fortunately we got this little mister thing from the hardware store. We hooked it up to our hose and made our little back yard a little cooler. After it was on for a while I noticed a nice effect on some of the plants near it.

Sunday, June 11, 2006
Sharp Pear Blossom

There are pads on this cactus that are completely covered around the edge with blossoms. I have tried to get some nice shots that show the amazing quantity, but the beauty of the individual blossoms and buds keeps drawing me in closer.

Thursday, June 8, 2006
Agapanthus Buds

Another of my rare morning shots. The light is nice in the morning, and I really try to take advantage of it when I am conscious. But that is a rather rare occurrence in the morning.

Saturday, June 3, 2006
Icing Rose

This is one of several small roses we got recently. The color of this one reminds me of a nice butter-cream frosting rose. And I would write more but I have to go get a snack now, it's making me hungry!

Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Rain Bud

Not usually awake very early in the morning. But once in a while I catch the good morning light!

Monday, May 22, 2006
Agapanthus in the Rain

It rained heavily last night, and this morning we got to see the SUN! It has been gray for so long I did not know how to act!

Yeah I did, I grabbed my camera!

I was up uncharacteristically early waiting for a ride, but as a reward I got to enjoy the morning sunlight in my front yard.

Sunday, May 21, 2006
Wet Lime Blossoms

I had just finished watering the plants in our back yard. I love what water does to close-up pictures. And I love the small freckles on the blossoms, they are a little more translucent than the rest of the petals, and you can really see that with the back lighting.

Wednesday, May 3, 2006
Cactus Feathers

Zoe took me for a walk today, as she has been known to do. We took a little different path than we normally do. We went past this beautiful Prickly Pear cactus up the street from us. It is about six feet tall and it is in a pot in front of a house near the street. It is pretty obvious by the health of the plant that the growth of the roots has not been slowed by the bottom of the pot!

I think the coloring on the petals makes them look like feathers.

Thursday, April 27, 2006
Minerature Rose XCU

I've been experimenting with studio lighting. Until recently most of my photos have been available or natural light.

This is a miniature rose, the flower is about an inch and a half across. Which explains why the water drops look so big.

Tuesday, March 7, 2006
Drops of Passion

Well yesterday was a really gray rainy day. It was starting to bug me. Then I took my camera into the back yard. Rain can be a wonderful thing for a photographer!

Recently, our Passion Flower vines made an incredible come back. We originally got them to attract butterflies and they were almost wiped out by their own success! The resulting caterpillars LOVED them.

This is an extreme close-up of one of the tendrils the vine sends out to climb things. It seems to have an amazing grip!

Wednesday, October 19, 2005
Bee's Eye View

A very cool flower at a different angle. One of the best things about building this site is it makes me stop and research my subjects a bit more. Today I found out these guys are native to South Africa. They can be grown from seeds, but the seeds are only viable for 20 days. And, even if you get them to grow in that short window, the resulting plants may have no resemblance to the parent plant.

Monday, October 10, 2005
Lucifer Canna

My mom gave me this Canna many years ago and it is blooming again. It was never very happy in a pot until we got two very tall (2.5 feet) skinny (12") pots. It seems to love to put its roots down, way down.

It is called a Canna "Lily" but it is more closely related to Ginger and Banana plants.

Thursday, August 18, 2005
Waking Orchids

These guys look like they are about to stand up, stretch and yawn.

There used to be a great place in Carpinteria that had some amazing orchids. But they moved to Tennessee or somewhere like that. Fortunately we still have the Santa Barbara Orchid Estate!

The people at both places have always been very kind when I am interested in taking pictures. Of course I rarely leave without taking one of their babies home with me so it works out good for everyone.

Friday, May 6, 2005
Daisy Dew

Yesterday was a bit rainy. I kind of like the rain, especially when the timing is right to lay around and listen to it on the roof. Right after the rain is a great time to take pictures and yesterday was exceptional. The clouds were clearing after an overcast day as the sun was slipping down. I'm sure I got some beautiful shots, one of which this is not. I took an uncharacteristically small number of shots so the roll is still in the camera. But I will finish it off soon and upload the results!

In the mean time, the lighting in this photo reminds me of what I was seeing in the viewfinder yesterday.

Tuesday, April 5, 2005
Lily Curves

Another of the beautiful things as close as the back yard. This was right after the sprinklers went off, on a foggy morning. The dim light made the background dark and everything a little softer. But this shot was one of only a few taken as the fog parted a little which made the drops a little brighter and sharper. To see the difference in the light you can see another shot here, taken only minutes earlier.

Wednesday, March 23, 2005
Abstract Lily

Well this was one of the few days I missed posting. So I'm trying to go back and put something nice in these little holes. This photo was taken at the same time as this image.

Saturday, March 19, 2005
Spring Daisy

The intense colors of this photo are partially from the fact that it was a particularly beautiful flower. But, it was made more striking by the color of the light at sunset.

Tuesday, March 8, 2005
Lily Drops

So, I was sitting at my computer (as I am told I do too often) when my best friend said "Hey grab your camera and come look at this!." Seems that the sprinkler had reached the new Calla Lilies that just came up in the back yard. About a half hour later and a couple rolls of film I was back at my computer, but much happier!

Monday, February 7, 2005
Dew Drop Web

One of the things I like about taking my images one at a time and preparing them for this site, is the opportunity it gives me to think a little more about each subject. When I saw this web I took an entire roll of film because of the beauty of the dew, like pearls on a string. Now, while preparing it for the site, I started to think about why the drops of dew stayed there. The water should run down to the lowest point, collect and drip to the ground but the web is covered with it.

I realized that not all of the web was sticky, the spider walks on the radial threads, which are not sticky. The concentric threads are where the sticky part is. (Apparently it is even more complex than that, There are seven different kinds of silk that spiders can spin but that is a little off topic.) The interesting thing about the sticky thread is the fact that the sticky comes from small drops of liquid on the silk. These small drops make an imperfection on the slick silk that the drop of water can hang on. Which also explains my next thought about the water, why is it so regularly spaced? Because the spider places the sticky drops evenly.

Of course, the trouble with that explanation is the fact that there are drops on the radial threads in this photo, albeit not as large and not as many. Perhaps there is some stickiness to all of the strands on this particular type of spider web? Or just other imperfections in the strand? Perhaps specks of dust?

Friday, January 21, 2005
Dewdrop Marigold

This is another picture from my back yard. When I am feeling like taking pictures but don't have enough time to go on a full expedition, I like to wander there. There is always something new if I look close enough.

Tuesday, January 18, 2005
Canna Close-up

One of my favorite subjects, flower closeups. This was actually the theme of my first show at the Santa Barbara Public Library in August '04

This one is a special favorite because the plant was a gift from my mom over six years ago, and it is still going strong.