flower

White Water Lily

White Water Lily

 

There’s not much to say about White Water Lily, other than that we have a pond in our backyard filled to the brim with water lilies. In winter they are a sad, limp, discolored array. But in summer the leaves spread and curl up to the sky and the vibrant white and yellow blossoms open to the sun by day, closing tightly again into buds for the night. Resident frogs fill the evenings with discordant croaking, and from their sunbathing vantage points quickly plop into the water to shelter beneath the blanket of lily pads when startled.

I spent a couple of hours early one morning photographing the blooms from every conceivable angle. On review, this image rose to the forefront for the simplicity of the composition, the strong, bold shapes created by light and shadow, and the translucence of the backlit petals.

White Water Lily was introduced to the public in New York City in an exhibit mounted by Agora Gallery, a contemporary art gallery in New York’s Chelsea art district. Prints are available for purchase HERE.

Nikon D4, 1/350 sec at f/5.6, ISO 100, 260 mm (200.0-400.00 mm f/4.0 lens). Handheld.

Photo is copyrighted and registered with the U.S. Copyright Office. Please respect.

 

 

Posted by Carol in Arizona, USA
White Water Lily

White Water Lily

 

There’s not much to say about White Water Lily, other than that we have a pond in our backyard filled to the brim with water lilies. In winter they are a sad, limp, discolored array. But in summer the leaves spread and curl up to the sky and the vibrant white and yellow blossoms open to the sun by day, closing tightly again into buds for the night. Resident frogs fill the evenings with discordant croaking, and from their sunbathing vantage points quickly plop into the water to shelter beneath the blanket of lily pads when startled.

I spent a couple of hours early one morning photographing the blooms from every conceivable angle. On review, this image rose to the forefront for the simplicity of the composition, the strong, bold shapes created by light and shadow, and the translucence of the backlit petals.

White Water Lily was introduced to the public in New York City in an exhibit mounted by Agora Gallery, a contemporary art gallery in New York’s Chelsea art district. Prints are available for purchase HERE.

Nikon D4, 1/350 sec at f/5.6, ISO 100, 260 mm (200.0-400.00 mm f/4.0 lens). Handheld.

Photo is copyrighted and registered with the U.S. Copyright Office. Please respect.

 

 

Posted by Carol in Arizona, USA
Summer Nostalgia

Summer Nostalgia

It’s high summer here in Tucson. The clouds building up each the afternoon, the lightning flashing on the horizon and thunder rumbling in the distance – all are tantalizing hints of monsoon rainstorms. Sometimes there’s even a payoff with a sprinkle or a deluge, our reward for suffering through the high humidity of the season.

June as always was hot and dry, burning the spring flowers to a crisp. So it is a pleasure to go through my files and relive that glorious season of just a few months ago when the desert was bursting with color, blanketed in rampant wildflowers and cacti in vibrant bloom.

CBPP_20130501_Cloud-199-Mstr

Nikon D4, 105.0 mm f/2.8 @ 105mm, ISO 1600, f/3.5 @ 1/8000 sec, 0EV

I photographed the lavender Santa Rita prickly pear cactus with its profusion of yellow blooms, hand-holding a 105 mm lens to narrow the focus down to just a few very fine details. And I crawled on my belly at dawn with a wide angle 14-24 mm to capture a landscape blanketed in pink by a bumper crop of Mexican primrose.

Enjoy. I did.

Click on any photo below to open up a slideshow.

Posted by Carol in Arizona, USA