Greg Molyneux Photography

Tag: peony

On Peonies
On Peonies — 100mm | f/3.5 | ISO 100 | EXP 1/800
Abundant spring rain paired with seasonably cool conditions gave us things to gripe about and a quality spring bloom. I’ve been slacking with posting them, but I have made some photographs as the flowers about my yard come and go.
As far as favorites go, peonies are up there. Probably top five. Their pink blossom is about as ephemeral as they come; felling themselves by any combination of weight, weather, or a Planck length of time. Nevertheless it’s a stunner. Much like its partner in pink, the cherry blossom, its blooming met with such anticipation of its coming, yet throttled back by the anxiety of its going. A mental push pull with good lessons to unpack for sure.
As for the goods: I present you with a 100mm macro photograph of a fresh opened pink peony blossom. Enjoy.
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June 4, 2024
Peony Leisure
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
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May 25, 2021
Layers
Layers — 100mm | f/3.5 | ISO 100 | 1/200
Life lessons lie in layers. It is a long game building individual layers unique to our person as we grow juxtaposed with peeling back layers of those with whom with we grow with. With time comes age and with age comes complexities. The layers of life encasing us in ever expanding experience in much the same way a tree adds rings as it marks time. Good, bad, indifferent, our layers of lived experience mold and shape our true self. They mark our journey, adding dimension with shades and highlights of color. Layers are our memoir.
This is where my mind drifts when I observe flowers loaded with layers. I imagine the story each small piece has to deal. I am tempted to pluck away at each petal, enticed to sit, listen, and learn. Tucked away in each fold are countless stories, some good, some bad—some happy, some sad. Yet even with the hardship and strife mixed in with joy and triumph, it is the great whole rendered beautiful and perfect. The stories of our lives are deep and complex, and all the endless layers lend testimony to that.
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June 9, 2019
Open Season
Open Season — 35mm | f/1.4 | ISO 100 | EXP 1/2500
It is still a bit soon to call the slump busted proper, but I am pleased my photography is getting back untracked. The past six weeks or so has me getting back to a more regular groove of shooting, blogging, and sharing my work. Aided big time by a high quality spring bloom, flowers aplenty have given me ample ready made subjects to shoot.
My front yard peonies are a favorite subject, and I was not going to miss out on their time in the sun this year. Captured about two weeks ago this photograph has been sitting in the hopper waiting for a proper unveiling. I am drawn to the simplicity of this photograph. 35mm lens, wide open aperture at f/1.4, a single peony blossom, low key lighting, and lots of white space above and around the peony. Propped up by the out of focus hint of a stem, the flower holds a singular focus a shade below frame center. It’s marked further with sharp focus holding fast to two petals closest to the viewer. It offers a ledge for your attention span to hang upon. From here the bulk of the photograph falls into nothingness, precisely the way I like it. It’s open season on flowers and photography once again, and I am damn sure happy to be back in business.
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June 5, 2019
Prime Peony
Prime Peony — 100mm | f/4 | ISO 100 | EXP 1/320
It was a great season for peonies in my neck of the woods—Ocean County, New Jersey. Backloaded winters aside, it seems extended cool, wet conditions are a peony’s friend. Check out the peony floral arrangements Eastlin Floral Design was busy putting together. This flower species is a serious boon to any bouquet.
As for my yard, it boasted a few primetime peony blossoms in 2018. They made an excellent subject for my 100mm macro lens. Lighting conditions proved ideal for creating a dreamy, high key picture set in a cool tone. Had the late afternoon sun been direct, a yellow tone with strong shadows and highlights would have cast a far different look. A high overcast was pivotal here, keeping a standout rose pink color tone on the peony petals.
To further maximize the high key effect from ample filtered ambient light I was at an open(ish) f/4 aperture at 100mm. Coupled with a close subject proximity this renders an airy focus and bokeh for days. The end result is a center weight flower macro evoking a calm, easygoing mood.
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June 4, 2018
Pinky Peony
Pink Peony — 35mm | f/1.4 | ISO 100 | EXP 1/1000
I’m not one for literal titles yet here I am. Strange things, man, they happen. In their death throes now, my peonies had their proverbial moment in the sun in late May. Pink and glorious, oversized bulbous blossoms beautified my shrub bed with their bounty. Tissue paper petals bunched together in a gift package of pink, ready to welcome a newborn child. Hardly long for this world they bring a respite of joy to eager viewers keen to seek them out. Many people I know laude the coming of the peony, and I am happy to count myself among their rank.
On another note, does anyone have a trick to keep these things from bending under their own weight? Not long after bloom the flower heads take on the oppressed posture of a people suffering under the yolk of a tyrant. It’s unbecoming of their beauty and power. My peonies could use some support, you guys. It is clear The Man (me) has got them down.
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June 2, 2017
Look Inside
Look Inside — 100mm | f/3.5 | ISO 100 | EXP 1/320
May 2017 brought the rain. With it came puddles of mud and big blooms of flowers. Currently on display are the peonies. I have four peony plants about my front and back yards, each a slight variation of the species. I’m no botanist and cannot label the differences. Two of the peonies are of the pom-pom variety. Bulbous fluffy flower petals with plenty of fluff. The two others are more sparse of petal and unfurl to reveal a large bundle of pollen rich yellow stamen. The pink version is the one you see above. Its purple counterpart will not be in bloom this year thanks to an overgrown spirea.
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May 27, 2017
Petal Your Wares
Petal Your Wares — 35mm | f/1.4 | ISO 100 | EXP 1/100
If you’ve been following along with my photo blog journey for any length of time you’d probably describe me as a landscape photographer. You wouldn’t be wrong, and frankly it’s how I’d describe myself. But if it wasn’t for flowers I’m not sure this hobby would have ever gotten off the ground. Let’s take the TARDIS we don’t have but sure do want back to the 2012 photo project that kickstarted my photo endeavor; back to the litany of flowering species populating my yard that taught me how to put an actual camera to use. That spring and summer I became an almost exclusive macro photographer, and in doing so I learned through trial and error how aperture affected depth of field while simultaneously engendering a newfound appreciation for the flowers of this world.
Conveniently enough it was this purple peony you see pictured above that proved to be one of the first hey, this shot is actually kind of OK photographs I ever took. Crucially it instilled just enough confidence to have me thinking maybe I can make something of myself in this space. At a minimum it offered enough visual evidence that I had at least some clue what I was doing. Feedback both positive and tangible are necessary to fuel the motivation to keep going. It makes effort and failure worthwhile, and it can sustain us through inevitable plateaus that are unavoidable in any task, career, activity, sport, you name it. Life is a serious of small victories mixed in with the moments of monotonous struggle.
For my landscape fans: please bear with me through the flower posts, and don’t worry there will be plenty of wide angle shots worked in over the coming months.
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June 3, 2016
Petey Piranha?
Petey Piranha? — 100mm | f/2.8 | ISO 100 | EXP 1/640
No, it’s not the goop spitting Petey Piranha of Bianco Hills’ Super Mario Sunshine fame, ready to chomp your day. But it is my front yard’s lone purple peony. After it went all last season without a single blossom I was most pleased to see a solo bloom make open for business this past Memorial Day Weekend. While I have several pink peonies scattered about my property, its purple shade is hands down my favorite.
Now that it’s made an appearance, who’s ready to play some Mario?
May 27, 2015