Greg Molyneux Photography

Tag: flowers

Photographing the flowers I find. You will find wind open, bokeh smooth pastels of buds and blossoms here.

  • Floating on

    A macro photograph of a several wisteria blossoms. The diffuse processing lends a soft dreamlike mood to the picture.
    Floating on — 100mm | f/4 | ISO 100 | EXP 1/125

    I know. I’m going nuts with the wisteria photos. This one should be it. For this season anyway.

    I’ve come to appreciate my wisteria. It’s seasonal bloom makes the extensive maintenance of trimming (re: hacking) and shaping worth it. If you’ve never encountered a wisteria just know that left unattended its creepers will reach out and take over just about anything. You can work this aggressive expansion to your favor if you plan a setup accordingly, as seen here. With a little forethought it’s certainly all worthwhile. In the interest of full disclosure my wisteria is not set up accordingly. I’ve always been better at giving advice than taking advice.

    As for the picture, I’m drawn to the diffuse processing; reducing the clarity lends an ethereal feel to the finish product. As I look about the photograph my whole world slows down. I better appreciate the little things that while small simply hide in plain sight.

  • Homing in on Wisterias

    A cross processed, close cropped portrait orientation macro photograph of a single flowering wisteria bud.
    Homing in on Wisterias — 100mm | f/4 | ISO 100 | EXP 1/250

    This photograph is a holdover from this past Sunday and represents a bit of a departure for me. It started as a standard landscape orientation macro shot that I wound up aggressively cropping and flipping to a portrait orientation. This is the first time I’ve ever done the latter and one of the very few times I’ve done the former (aside from going to a 16:9 for some landscape shots). But for me, homing in on this single flowering wisteria bud, as it readied to unfold, and eliminating the extraneous negative space was the right decision here. Perhaps I’ll look to explore more with cropping in the future.

  • Wisteria when you’re near

    A macro photograph of a freshly bloomed wisteria flowering plant. The shallow depth of field and deep vignetting evoke a moody feel among the flowers.
    Wisteria when you’re near — 100mm | f/4 | ISO 100 | EXP 1/640

    I made some time with my camera yesterday albeit it brief. A steady wind backed by strong gusts made for futile macro conditions. Or so I thought. Having just uploaded my shots into Lightroom I quickly saw there were some winners in the set—in fact there were several. Luck was on my side, I somehow managed to snag some interesting selective focus with a shallow depth of field as blossoms erratically moved about the frame. Sometimes you gotta just go with it, right?

    Bonus points if you get the lyrically inspired play on words in the title.

  • A demure magnolia named Jane

    A vibrant macro photograph of a single jane magnolia blossom with a shallow depth of field and selective focus on the pistils.
    A demure magnolia named Jane — 100mm | f/4 | ISO 100 | EXP 1/640

    My side yard where the back meets the front features a fence gate, a forsythia, some tiger lillies and one modest Jane magnolia. It’s taken a beating in recent years—it simply has not responded well to its transplant two years back. After a complete bust of bloom last Spring my magnolia bush appears to be getting some of its strength back. While hardly covered with blossoms, there’s at least some quality bloomage to enjoy.

  • Putting your heart on the line

    A macro photograph of freshly blooming pink bleeding hearts. Still small and bunched together, this photograph is processed with a fine art film grain.
    Putting your heart on the line — 100mm | f/4 | ISO 100 | EXP 1/250

    Or hearts if you’re a Time Lord.

    It’s a grey, sullen day here in New Jersey. Rain, wind, and cold decided to bring shades of Winter back into the fold with highs that have struggled to get out of the 40s. But hey, it’s May tomorrow, right? Right?

    This shot is a holdover from this past Saturday; today seems as good a day as any to post a reminder that Spring is in fact here—even if it doesn’t know it yet. Bleeding heart flowers are a real favorite of mine, and my yard, front and back, is appropriately fashioned with them. An early season bloomer, I’ve got both white and pink varieties. I captured their development just as the hearts are beginning to take shape descending down to their final position on what amounts to be a flora close line. As soon as the good weather returns I’m sure I’ll be photographing them in full bloom.

  • The brooding Hyacinth

    A low key black and white macro photograph of a lone Hyacinth flower. The shallow depth of field and stark contrast lend a strong mood to the picture.
    The brooding Hyacinth — 100mm | f/4 | ISO 100 | EXP 1/200

    I’ve been waiting for this little guy to show up—one of my favorite early season flowers. At this point I was beginning to think it wasn’t gonna show this year. But finally, just the other day, this lone Hyacinth finally reared its welcomed head. Now ready for the camera, I spent some time this afternoon snagging a few macro photographs.

    Taking my first look at the shots in Lightroom, it became quickly apparent that sticking with color was going to be rather ho-hum. Fortunately, some strong contrast added to a black and white finish really stepped up the intensity to demand more attention.

  • Hear me

    A low key black and white photograph of an early spring three petal flower. Stark contrast and a center focus on the pistils mark the picture.
    Hear me — 100mm | f/4 | ISO 250 | EXP 1/400

    Update: Thanks to @dpalamino from Twitter I’ve learned this flower is a crocus.

    Here’s another shot from yesterday’s brief photo session. Bonus points if anyone can identify this flower for me.

    Onward with the black and white binge—I knew straight away I’d at least have to give this a look sans color. To that end, I needed this image to be dark. Dark with strong contrast to render well defined edges.The lines marking the three petals draw the eye inward toward the center bouquet of pistils. There, floating, the eye hangs with the image gradually letting you pull back out.

  • Spring things

    A cross processed, grainy macro photograph of a yet unopened daffodil bud. An early sign of Spring.
    Spring things — 100mm | f/4 | ISO 400 | EXP 1/320

    With weather types talking up the threat of early Spring snow for folks in the northeast, I made sure to document that springlike lifeforms are in fact making their presence known. My front and side yards are both home to daffodils and they never fail to be the first to make the annual flora journey back to life. Like clockwork they sound the springtime alarm, beating all of my other plants, trees, and flowers to the sunlight. In this case though, it looks like my buds may open just in time to be buried by snow.

    Ah, weather.

  • Off on the Edge

    Macro photography of a purple peony backdropped by rich bokeh
    Off on the Edge — 100mm | f/4 | ISO 400 | EXP 1/640

    Macro photography of a purple peony backdropped by rich bokeh. In hindsight I’d go back and crop off the top 10% of this photograph to tighten the overall image. I’d probably roll with the 2:1 ratio.