If I were a bee, I’d see this view every day, over and over, drunk with joy and pollen. I wouldn’t need an iPhone camera. I’d have my wings.
“Flowers always make people better, happier, and more helpful; they are sunshine, food and medicine to the mind.”
~Luther Burbank
“In joy or sadness flowers are our constant friends.”
~Kakuzō Okakura, The Book Of Tea
and my favorite:
“The earth laughs in flowers.”
~Ralph Waldo Emerson
(for Sally D’s Mobile Photography Challenge: Macro)
Descano Gardens in La Canada Flintridge, California, isn’t as big as Huntington Gardens in Pasadena, which I visited during my visit two years ago, but it’s large, beautiful, and much less expensive. My daughter suggested I go there the last day of my visit and am I glad I did! I spent well over two hours walking, smelling, sitting, changing lenses on my Nikon, and taking photos with my iPhone. It was such a wonderfully overwhelming experience that I finally reached the point at which I could not take one more photo or linger in one more garden area!
This shot qualifies for Sally’s theme of “Macro” this week. I like it because it looks as though the flower is sticking its tongue out or the doctor or dentist said, “Say ahhhh.”
These days, spring comes closer, only to flirtatiously retreat, leaving me craving color. That desire lures me deep into the heart of a flower this week with this macro shot. Dive in with me. Drown in color! Who knows what you’ll find in the heart.
As much as I enjoy winter, preferably with snow rather than the rain we’ve gotten recently, a hit of color now and then brightens the spirits. Hence, I offer you this as a cheerful response to Sally’s on-going challenge to us to take photos with non-traditional cameras, in this case, an iPhone 5s.
I admit to a fondness for shots of water drops. Since today is the “Macro” theme, I thought I’d play with this drop a little bit. It’s always good to begin the week with some fun. I hope your week’s off to a good start and that it’s warmer than it is in the Chicago metropolitan area!
Sometimes when I walk, I’m focused mainly on the big picture, the sky, the sunrise, the clouds and the plants and trees reaching for them. Often, though, I look more closely, down lower, seeking the smaller, hidden or less obvious things, their minute beauty waiting to be discovered and appreciated. That’s the fun of macro photography, seeing the other side of nature or, in this case, the other side of a leaf, and presenting it as something that looks very different.
When out for a walk, I alternate between looking to see what’s in the distance and checking to find out what gems are close at hand. I love finding the little, sometimes hidden, things like this shy drop hanging resolutely to its beautifully veined leaf. Any day now, the drops will become frozen diamonds, but for now, we’re enjoying the last warm days of autumn.
Do you use a phone or tablet to take photos? You’re always welcome to be part of the group at Sally’s challenge every Monday. It’s not a large group, but the phrase “Quality, not quantity” certainly applies.
One of the enjoyable things about fall is that ornamental kale and similar plants make an appearance with their fall color combinations. Macro photography takes us into the center of this beauty. Don’t lean over too far. You might fall in!
It’s Macro time at Sally’s. Today I offer you an intimate look into the center of a rain-decorated rose, a shot taken with my iPhone 5s, the perfect camera to carry in my favorite outdoor pants when on my way to another walk in the forests of the Voges in France.
It was June, and the world smelled of roses. The sunshine was like powdered gold over the grassy hillside.
― Maud Hart Lovelace, Betsy-Tacy and Tib
It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important.
~Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince
Some people grumble that roses have thorns; I am grateful that thorns have roses.”
~ Alphonse Karr, A Tour Round My Garden
I love taking shots of water drops, even more so when there are reflections in the drops. There’s something magical about seeing millions of drops glistening in the sunshine, outlining spider webs, hanging suspended just before dropping. This drop appears to have living veins as well a string of baby drops. What fun!
For those of you following my Wyoming journey (lots more photos and commentary to come and I also have to finish my French trip), I left at 5:15 am yesterday and drove about 11 hours. That means I only have a bit over 7 hours to do today. It’s wonderful to have a place I love to vacation and a home and husband I love to return to.
Have a happy Monday!
This, that and the other thing 