Tag: Garden

From Garden to Lens: Week 4 of Botanical Art

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The final week of my 30 day project From My Garden has come to a close. At the beginning, the project seemed feasible. Then, as I was getting more into the project, it became daunting. The restriction of making images only from plant life from my garden in late winter was not the best choice.

The image below is a multiple exposure processed in both LR and PS. One image is an intentional camera movement and the other is a traditional image. Both are of dried limelight hydrangeas in my front yard. The images were blended in PS using the difference mode.

We have had warmer than normal temperatures the last few weeks. My strawberry patch is already sending out new leaves. Have you ever looked close at strawberry plants new leaves? The bright green leaves and red hairy stems were eye catching. More so with the macro image below.

My limelight hydrangea are one of my favorite flowers to photograph in my garden. This winter they have held up well and given me many opportunities to photograph them. The trick was to photograph them in new and different ways. This next image is a single ICM processed in LR. The lime green and purple tones were brought out by adjusting the sliders in the calibration panel of the develop module.

We had bad weather on March 14th. Storms were coming with rain and high winds. Even the potential for tornadoes. After work, we had to batten down the hatches so to speak. Making an image was not possible. I did post the below image on the 15th as I had missed the day before. This image is of an allium that has already started to spout. This delicate sprout was eaten by the rabbit living in our back yard. It will be interesting to see if it is able to recover.

I have been watching my lilac tree closely as we have had some below freezing temperatures and snow in the middle of the above normal temperatures we have been experiencing. Making images of the same lilac buds has become a second project. I posted these buds in a previous post. As you can see, the bud on the top right has either succumbed to the cold temperatures or has been eaten. I was excited to see the leaves below sprouting and a new lilac bud beginning to emerge. Since this image was made, we have had more snow and below freezing temperatures. I’m not sure if my lilacs will survive having sprouted too early and more below freezing temperatures are expected.

This past Sunday, I awoke to snow covering our front and back yards. This next image is of my Naked Ladies aka Surprise Lilies that have already sprouted and are three or four inches tall already. The green leaves, snow and a few dried oak leaves caught my attention. Not only the color, but all the different textures.

This is the first year to see my Pink Lady Apple tree bud out. I first planted a Pink Lady Apple tree in the fall of 2023. It did not survive that next winter. Fortunately, there was a one year guarantee and the nursery replaced the tree last spring. Knowing, my first tree did not survive, I was anxious to see if the replacement would survive. Fortunately it has! There probably won’t be any blossoms until next year, but even if just one appears, I hope to make many images.

The finally image is of rhubarb that has started to sprout. I love all the creases in the leaves and the green and red colors. Again, we have more below freezing temperatures in the forecast, so hopefully I’ll have a good crop this year.

Now that the project is complete, I have been able to reflect on the challenges of such a restrictive project. While some of the images are certainly more documentary than artistic, the project wasn’t about making artistic images for 30 days. Some may say, what was she thinking showing such documentary images? And that’s okay. The project was about picking up my camera each day and noticing all the potential images that could be made in my own garden.

The project certainly made me look close at my garden. Finding plant life each day made me realize how much was happening in my garden. While my garden is many shades of brown, it is also made of many textures. Both I would not have noticed without this project. Some days were overcast and some were full sunshine. If you’re not a photographer, have you noticed how the different light changes the look of your garden? The light is also changing with the season, changing from winter to spring. And then daylight savings time also came into play. Some of the images are of the same plants, but with different light they look different.

Some images are certainly more artistic than others. Recently, I attended an online photography conference through Out of Chicago. Using some of the styles of photography presented during the conference, as well as post processing techniques I learned, were used to make some of the images in this project. It was fun to practice some of the techniques. Some of the images were successful and some are just okay at best.

Do I consider this project a success? Absolutely! It forces me to pick up my camera each day and be creative. Something I haven’t done enough of the last few years. I look forward to see how my garden changes the next several months. I typically have something blooming in my yard from April through September. However, last year I had cosmos, zinnias, purple coneflowers and black eyed susan’s still blooming in November. If you missed that post, you can read it here.

If you have been reading my posts on this project, I hope you have enjoyed seeing how many different images were made all from plant life in my garden. If this is the first post you have read, you can select the previous posts below this one.

Until next time, I hope you get outside and look at what is happening in your garden!

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.