Tag: flowers

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

  • Ground Level

    Ground Level

    35mm ground level photograph of flowers at Longwood Gardens backlight by powerful golden hour sun.
    Ground Level — 35mm | f/1.4 | ISO 100 | EXP 1/2000

    I finally found myself at Longwood Gardens. An exquisite bit of preserved property open to the public—for a fee, of course. And I do not mean to be cynical. Such a place needs and deserves its funding. I am happy to contribute to such conservation and presentation. My brother from another mother took me with his family, and we had ourselves an afternoon. Wandering the grounds, exploring the conservatory. An exceptional afternoon.

    Worthy of its name, flowers were everywhere. Color and smell played upon the senses on what proved an idyllic spring day. It was wonderful to take it all in. More uplifting, however, was to be among the people. The families families and friends; the solo wanderers, all brought together to experience a garden in springtime. I cannot wait to return.

    Interested in buying? Purchase

  • The Worn One

    The Worn One

    35mm low key photograph of a tall and withering purple coneflower silhouetted and brooding at sunset.
    The Worn One — 35mm | f/1.4 | ISO 400 | EXP 1/160

    July light fades a pink kiss goodbye. The worn one knows well not to believe the false promises softened in its pastel glow. Sirens of lies singing us onto the rocks of the forever young. Stay here forever and there will be no pain or woe. Life as it is with light moves on indifferent to any one plight or pleasure. For the Universal Powers have big work to do and none of it includes waiting on you.

    We stand afield planted, seeded and watered to grow only to wear and wither in but an eye blink of Big Time. In our winking we open ourselves to the beauty of worlds both big and small. People, places, and things to make us whole and worth it. This warmth buzzes about in orbit to pollinate our lives with richness and love.

    Then comes the crisis. The light fades stealing with it the freedom and innocence. It moves on unburdened as the oily peddler selling death in a bottle. Rooted the worn one wanes alone, naked and afraid.

    Interested in buying? Purchase

  • Peony Leisure

    Peony Leisure

    35mm portrait orientation photo of a single bright pink peony blossom. Shallow depth of field and smooth bokeh frame out a pollinating insect flying to the flower.
    Peony Leisure — 35mm | f/1.4 | ISO 100 | EXP 1/1250

    may peonies spring
    bright puffs to float you away
    to the home right here

    Interested in buying? Purchase

  • Heaven Scent

    Heaven Scent

    35mm dreamy photograph of pink lilacs fresh bloomed and glowing in silky smooth bokeh.
    Heaven Scent — 35mm | f/1.4 | ISO 100 | EXP 1/1000

    flowering lilac
    our fragrant welcome to spring
    atonement breathing

    Interested in buying? Purchase

  • The April Fool

    The April Fool

    Moody 35mm photo of a yellow daffodil blossom shot wide open with a bokeh rich shallow depth of field.
    The April Fool — 35mm | f/1.4 | ISO 100 | EXP 1/320

    The April Fool tramples his path
    Running roughshod through this world
    Joyous conceit
    Close-minded and haughtily assured
    Gilded, unperturbed

    Dazzled masses froth over such trappings
    The success, the power, the sprawling paper card manse propped up on the hill
    How do I get mine?
    Follow the April Fool
    For he knows not he knows nothing

    Interested in buying? Purchase

  • Best Photographs of 2020

    Best Photographs of 2020

    35mm photo of a lilac blossom. Shot wide open at f/1.4, it features soft focus and smooth bokeh, cross processed to a green hue.
    Green Sight — 35mm | f/1.4 | ISO 100 | EXP 1/6400

    Green Sight | Captured: May 12, 2020 | Location: Ocean Acres, Stafford, New Jersey

    I shot about my yard quite a bit this year. Easy access and all that. Perfect for a lockdown. My lilacs bloomed up nice this year, and I am a particular sort of pleased with the ethereal, dreamlike quality evoked here. It’s as though this bloom somehow belongs to the Fair Folk living in a parallel world superimposed atop ours yet somehow still eternally far away.

    14mm wide angle sunset photo capturing stunning pastel colored cotton candy clouds draped over a bright green salt marsh.
    This Is Not Important — 14mm | f/8 | ISO 100 | 7 Bracketed Exposures

    This Is Not Important | Captured: June 15, 2020 | Location: Cedar Run Dock Road, Stafford, New Jersey

    Pockets of beautiful imagery and picturesque sunsets belied the extraordinary upheaval 2020 wrought. In the midst of a pandemic not seen in a century, centuries old issues of race and social justice exploded in death and protest. It is of critical importance we remember the importance of all that sacrifice and pain.

    100mm low key macro photo of a single honey bee pollinating purple coneflower pistils. A strong single light source creates stark contrast of highlights and shadows. A deep blue monochrome treatment drives a dark, serious mood.
    Working Class Hero — 100mm | f/4 | ISO 100 | EXP 1/1250

    Working Class Hero | Captured: July 8, 2020 | Location: Ocean Acres, Stafford, New Jersey

    Dark and brooding. A melancholy in monochrome. The ever faithful honeybee plying his craft to provide for the hive delivered through an indefatigable sense of duty. Understated is the power of bees. Here with stark contrast the sun’s sidelight shows a spotlight on our special little bee. His moment in the sun. Pollinate on, my friend, and be well.

    14mm wide angle sunset photo made over the Cedar Run Dock Road salt marsh creek. The photo is intentionally blurred to create a streaked, painterly effect moving left to right.
    Safe Haven — 14mm | f/8 | ISO 100 | EXP 0.3 sec

    Safe Haven | Captured: July 14, 2020 | Location: Cedar Run Dock Road, Stafford, New Jersey

    Pulling shots is my jam. I’m not sure that’s a technical term, but it’s how I best describe the motion blur photographs I make by design on occasion. An easy sweeping motion left to right parallel to the horizon. Tis pulls the image in a way not unlike a painter taking a wide dry brush purposefully across wet paint upon a canvas. It brings movement, color, simplicity, and flow. I’ve made about a dozen or so of these by now, and this is by far my favorite yet. The color and stretch of the marsh, sky, and water is sublime. Someday I’d like to make of show of my best blurry pulled shots.

    14mm square format photo of a potent pastel sunset reflecting over a glassy Cedar Run creek. Two vertical pilings mark the mid ground.
    Peace and Pilings — 14mm | f/8 | ISO 100 | 7 Bracketed Exposures

    Peace and Pilings | Captured: July 18, 2020 | Location: Cedar Run Dock Road, Stafford, New Jersey

    Simple. Symmetrical. Balanced. Beautiful. This square format production is either my second of third favorite photograph of the year. Either immediately behind or in front of Safe Haven. Coincidentally shot only days apart from the same location—where my parents keep their boat. There is real peace here. The colors all hit just right. The scene is calling out, imploring you to stay awhile and listen. Nature will always teach us.

    85mm photo of several purple coneflowers spread in full bloom. Smooth bokeh and shallow depth of field move the eye in and out of the picture.
    Bloom Squad — 85mm | f/1.2 | ISO 100 | EXP 1/6400

    Bloom Squad | Captured: August 1, 2020 | Location: Ocean Acres, Stafford, New Jersey

    Thanks to the Carrs and the opportunity to make photographs of their adorable daughter’s first birthday, I got to play with the 85mm L glass. What a lens! Wide open and it is tack sharp, razor thin depth of field with bokeh for days. Yeah the glass is about the size of a grapefruit and weighs a ton, but damn is it one hell of a portrait lens. Testing it out in the morning I made this photograph of my purple coneflowers and I love the scene. A faerie world of flowers, blooms, and fanciful stories of full and well loved hearts. Someplace somewhere the storybooks are true.

    14mm wide angle winter sunset photograph reflected over the derelict of Rand's Marina along Great Bay Boulevard Wildlife Management Area. A powerful December sunset smolders with flaming clouds cast in deep orange and red colors making first rate winter sunset intensity.
    The Gift of Winter — 14mm | f/8 | ISO 100 | 7 Bracketed Exposures

    The Gift of Winter | Captured: December 13, 2020 | Location: Great Bay Boulevard, Little Egg Harbor, New Jersey

    We end with power. My favorite photograph of the year, and for my money my best sunset photograph since 2015. It’s the spiritual successor to Ruinous Splendor, somehow recapturing the magic and energy. I never thought it was possible. Yet somehow twice the some spot at the same time of year a half decade apart and history found itself looping back upon itself. Time is a flat circle. This hobby will always teach you, always surprise you, and always make you humble.

    Coda

    It somehow seems wrong and callous to talk about the best of anything in the year 2020. A year unlike any other in our lived experience. A year brought low. Lessons of challenge, perseverance, self-reliance, loss, grief, isolation, prioritization, adaptability, change, upheaval, deceit, failure, wellness, and so much more served up in ample doses whether or not we cared to receive them. Each and every one of us challenged in unique, manifold ways. How will we emerge from the crucible? What choices and actions will we take in the wake of the circumstances and challenges we’ve faced? How will we respond? How will we come together? How will we again strive through the long dark walk home and thrive? These answers all set chained inside ourselves clawing at their fated fetters desperate for liberation. May your 2021 be better in every single way.

    Retrospective

  • Autumn Intonation

    Autumn Intonation

    35mm photo of a quick fire hydrangea bathed in rich golden light. The autumn pinks, yellows, and oranges of the flowering bush explode in a panoply of autumn color backdropped by smooth bokeh.
    Autumn Intonation — 35mm | f/1.4 | ISO 100 | EXP 1/1250

    Autumn colors burn with such righteous intensity it’s as if we can breathe it in and hear its glow serenade at the core of our heart. The last golden ember of a great fire poised for transcendence. As a symphony to all senses it plays true to a cultivated soul. It’s a paradox, of course, nature revealing the esoteric mystery of life’s fated dance with death while veiled in a golden cloak of unspeakable beauty. The death of life colored in celebration for its promised rebirth. Autumn intones this ministry to the world. A miraculous offering made for those with the keen sense to receive.

    Interested in buying? Purchase

  • Dahlia Dreams

    Dahlia Dreams

    100mm macro photograph of a pink dahlia blossom with soft focus and smooth bokeh creating a dreamy look.
    Dahlia Dreams — 100mm | f/3.5 | ISO 100 | EXP 1/125

    Serving up a soft focus dahlia on a Friday afternoon. Smooth and inviting this flower grows to soothe. When viewed through a macro lens we come close to the tiny tubular petals emblematic of the dahlia. These petals are numerous as they are fascinating. There must be 50 our more making up each full flower. This late season dahlia came to me by way of another splendid Eastlin Floral Design bouquet. As ever, Erin expertly plies her craft.

    I am going to miss photographing flowers. As we pivot to autumn the opportunities grow fewer. As is the way of things. As I reflect back on this years floral work, I am satisfied with some of the photographs I have made. I have said it before and will again, were it not for flower macros I would never have learned to handle myself with a camera. The broad, sweeping landscapes would have never come to be. It is good to stick to roots that bear fruit, and I am happy to stick with my floral friends. Looking forward to honoring you again next year.

    My heart grows a little bit softer remembering the inexplicable tragedy that struck 19 years ago today. May we all find a little more ease in troubled times.

    Interested in buying? Purchase

  • Lilium Inter Spinas

    Lilium Inter Spinas

    100mm macro photograph of an unidentified yellow lily. 6 stamen with prominent anthers circle about the flower in an even pattern, blended by smooth bokeh.
    Lilium Inter Spinas — 100mm | f/3.5 | ISO 100 | EXP 1/400

    The lily among the thorns. As it is in Latin it is in life. Beauty bounded in time. The glove of power sleeved in subtlety. The self-governed restraint necessary for functioning freedom. Dualities of life shaded in paradox. Polarities bring balance. Gifting equilibrium to produce a harmonious stasis. Yet there is discord. An episodic if unpredictable dissonance that plays in temporary favor to tip the scales. Here there is emotion, often times uncomfortable and burdensome. It is here we are watered. It is here we learn to grow. I caution you yet, resolve not to reduce everything to a binary—it will prove a crutch. For life is seldom so simple.

    Interested in buying? Purchase