Tag: Flower Photography

From Garden to Lens: Week 3 of Botanical Art

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Another challenging week for my 30 day project From My Garden. Between my limited time for being able to shoot with natural light, my day job and mother nature, I wasn’t sure if making an image each would be possible.

My first image is of a dried pink lady apple tree leaf that is still hanging on. It amazes me how leaves held onto this tree during the winter. Between snow, ice and wind that at times was 50 mph, it shows how resilient plant life can be. The first image was taken during the late afternoon golden hour. The shadows and curves caught my attention. If you look close, you can see the tree starting to form a bud.

The next day was extremely windy, which is not unusual for Iowa. I had seen a few dried cosmos in one of my planter beds with the frilly leaves still attached. They had been in the back of my mind to be a subject for my 30 day From My Garden project. Breaking off part of a Cosmos, I took it inside and chose to use it for a flat lay photo. Using the same set up as before, I wanted to show both the seed head and the dried leaves that were once frilly. Now they are dried and curled.

One of the many perennial plants in my garden is Anise Hyssop. Bees love this plant. The aroma of anise is still present in the dried flowers. I love the texture of the blooms and how they curl. Several times I tried making an image outside and was never happy. Some days using the wind as my friend, some days trying ICM and some days a traditional image. Finally, I chose to bring a stem inside and make a flat lay photo. Diffused natural light in my south facing living room window and the same piece of barn wood I used during my first week of this project was my setup.

The next day was cold, rainy and windy. Not the conditions to have fun photographing outside. Not only was this next image made inside my home, but in my basement. This is my strawberry mint that is being overwintered in my basement. It will be a few weeks before my mint can be moved back outside. As mint is invasive, I grow it in terracotta pots. If they are left outside, not only is there the risk of the mint not coming back, but terracotta cannot withstand the extreme cold, snow and ice. I grow chocolate mint, strawberry mint and peppermint. All are on a table under grow lights, which weren’t on for this image as they shine purple.

Winter isn’t quite over in SE Iowa. High winds and blowing snow the next day. It was still windy after work. I went out and saw there was a small amount of snow on my limelight hydrangea tree. Waiting for a break in the wind, I was able to make this next image. If you look close, you can see how the snow had started to melt, leaving the flakes to look like ice.

Finally, a break in the weather and outside I went with camera in hand to explore my garden. On the west side of my house, with no wind barrier, is a flower bed with zinnias and cosmos. This particular zinnia was curved downward showing the delicate petals that have hung on all winter. The shape and colors grabbed my attention. At first, an image was made with my iPhone, but the background wasn’t as blurred as I wanted. To make this image, I went inside and picked up my mirrorless DSLR camera with my 105 mm macro lens attached and headed back outside.

Another of my perennial flowers, are Purple Coneflowers. The dried seed heads had not yet been chosen for one of my subjects for this project. Using my iPhone 13 Pro with the macro function enabled, I was able to make an image showing the texture and colors of the seed head.

Fourteen days into this project, From My Garden. It’s getting more challenging to come up with new images. Partly due to weather and partly due to my limited time for this project. Daylight Savings Time started this weekend which will give me an extra hour of light after work. The temperatures will be warmer than normal this next week. I’m looking forward to see how my garden changes.

From Garden to Lens: Week 2 of Botanical Art

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Week 2 of my 30 day From My Garden series ended a few days ago. The first week was bitter cold and all images were made inside. This past week it was above normal temperatures and being outside was wonderful. My garden is my happy place. Although, looking around my garden in both my front and back yards was exhausting. As I have stated before, my perennial plants aren’t cleaned out of my planter beds until spring. I will be busy cleaning my beds and getting ready for spring and summer. This past week of images were all of plant material from my garden and mostly made outside.

The first image was made inside, the dried black-eyed susan flower from the previous week. Unlike last week, showing the stem, I chose to photograph the flower only. A macro image, my favorite genre.

My lilac tree has started to bud with the recent above normal temperatures. Hopefully mother nature will cooperate and not drop so cold that the new growth will be damaged. The fragrance of lilacs on a breezy day fills my backyard garden. The aroma is intoxicating! This image was made on February 23rd. Way too early for my lilac tree showing signs of budding. The golden hour light was too much to pass up on creating this image.

Some photographers love the early morning golden hour. I prefer the late afternoon golden hour. This next image is soon to be new growth on my Reliance peach tree. It is too young to bloom this year, but hopefully next year.

In my backyard there are several raised beds. One is 4′ by 8′ and about 2′ high. Ideal for a strawberry bed. After the bitter cold temperatures of the prior week, it was amazing to see green leaves in my strawberry bed. Were they left from last season and next went dormant or new leaves in the mild winter we have experienced? As I haven’t paid attention to this bed over the winter, the answer will stay unknown. I’m cautiously optimistic we will have above normal spring temperatures and any new growth will not be damaged.

The next day found the wind to be calm. Perfect for macro photography. Some of my black-eyed susan’s were in a beautiful diffused light. Between wind, rain, freezing rain and snow, the dried petals are still hanging on. This image is my favorite of the week.

After a few days of warmth and sunshine, my lilac tree was showing signs of more growth. The beginning signs of lilac blooms. A few days after this image Mother Nature chose to have night time temperatures in the teens and twenties. Only time will tell if these tiny lilac buds will survive.

This next image is a multiple exposure (ME) made in Lightroom and Photoshop. One image was ICM (intentional camera movement) and the other a traditional image. The dried zinnia seed head was quite prominent, but even using a large aperture, the background wasn’t satisfying. The wind was a challenge, so I made it my friend. I used the wind and moved my camera. This allowed me to create an image that would make a great ME in post processing. The zinnia seed head in focus was the other layer. Using the screen blending mode, I was able to make the image below.

While some of this week’s images are more documentary, my goal of this project is to photograph plant life from my garden every day for 30 days. Some will be more documentary and some will be more artistic as the ME image above. I’m looking forward to see my garden change each day and discovering new ways to photograph the plant life both dormant and the emergence of new growth.