Okay, I Do Photograph Flowers
June 5, 2022
I have said over the years on this blog that I don’t photograph flowers. And then I show my exceptions. Now that my husband is developing a major garden in our community, I need to go there and look around to see what he has done. And I might as well bring the camera. Here is the haul from May 27. The first of the six photos of irises is from the walk over to the garden, and the fourth one is from the walk back home.
1 This iris was in front of a neighbor’s dark red brick wall that I made much darker.
2 I have a visceral reaction to this color blue. I want to fall into it.
3
4
5
6
7 David had a hard time tracking down and ordering this old-fashioned peony. He has very strong likes and dislikes when it comes to plants. One of those he dislikes is the peony most of us are used to seeing—the one whose blooms droop down in the rain because they are heavy with so many petals.
8 Our complex is replete with columbine, but except for what David planted in the Courtyard Garden, they’re all modern hybrids. This one is the wild type.
9 I’ve long thought that there is something special about bleeding hearts. Maybe that’s because when I was about eight, my girlfriend Dorothy showed me her mother’s bleeding-heart plant in their backyard. She was downright reverent in presenting it.
10 Lynn at Bluebrightly.com has her own take on this plant in her May 29 Bluebrightly post. Who can resist a maidenhair fern?
11 Redbud-tree flowers are some of my favorites, partly because they come so early in the season. But the developing seed pods are awfully attractive, too, when the sun shines through them.
Romancing Reality 
That’s a nice chiaroscuro in your opening picture, made possible by the white (rather than blue) flower.
The wild columbine you showed also grows in Texas.
The prominent “veins” in #5 got me wondering if they serve a purpose. In the process of looking for information I came across an article that details the parts of an iris flower: https://www.leonineiris.com/l9ie_partsoftheirisflower.php. It seems the three parts with veins are called falls.
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June 5, 2022 at 8:22 AM
Thanks, Steve. The chiaroscuro is also made possible by the sun targeting the flower. It was really outstanding. Glad you’re able to see this columbine in person. It’s a beauty. Thank you for the interesting link.
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June 5, 2022 at 8:49 AM
Your comments are as heart-warming as your photos, Linda. Thank you!
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June 5, 2022 at 9:39 AM
Thanks you, Marjorie. And you’re welcome.
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June 5, 2022 at 9:47 AM
I think that you realize that photographers are required to shoot flowers when they see them. Like the basket of kittens. You’ve made good use of lighting on these, too. Good flower shots are more difficult than many folks give them credit. Lighting and composition are critical. Nice work, Linda.
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June 5, 2022 at 12:11 PM
I wasn’t compelled to photograph flowers in the past. I don’t know what happened. They just appeal to me more lately. Lighting helps, and in this collection it helped the most with #1. Thank you, Ken.
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June 5, 2022 at 7:57 PM
Very beautiful series of the flowers Linda! The last picture of the seed pods is my favorite with number 5.
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June 5, 2022 at 12:42 PM
Thanks, Jag. I’m especially glad you like the seed pods. I’d never seen them this young with the sun shining through them. There’s always something new to notice, even by geezers.
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June 5, 2022 at 8:11 PM
And a nice job of it you do, Linda. My favorite is the Maidenhair Fern. I planted one in our little woods and haven’t figured out how I want to photograph it. You figured it out beautifully.
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June 6, 2022 at 4:23 AM
Thank you, Steve. I hope I get to see what you figure out about photographing your maidenhair fern.
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June 6, 2022 at 8:54 PM
Yea! What fun to see this. Before I forget, please tell David about this iris garden:
https://www.presbyirisgardens.org/
It’s absolutely wonderful to walk through it at peak bloom – so many colors! And they have a number of very, very old varieties. I get what he says about peonies – his pick and your photo are beautiful. The white iris against the dark background is very effective – well done! There’s no question that falling into that blue would elevate my day. It strikes me as a spiritual color.
Did you think of the famous Japanese iris screen when you photographed #4? https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/39664 That was always one of the best things to see at the Met.
I can go on and on – you know I can – about each image but suffice it to say that these are a delight. Thank you both for making this possible.
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June 7, 2022 at 1:03 PM
I would love to say that I thought of the Met’s Japanese screen when I photographed the irises in #4, but I’d be lying. Glad you thought of it, though; thanks for the link. And thanks for the link to the Presby Memorial Iris Gardens. I’ll send it to David. I wonder how many varieties of this flower exist. Maybe some day I’ll think of a better way to describe my reaction to the blue in #2. I can understand why you think of it as spiritual. Thanks for all your comments, Lynn.
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June 7, 2022 at 5:08 PM
Wonderful collection of photographs, Linda. The appearance of irises is one of the highlights of summer. I remember discovering them when I was six or seven after my family moved to a new house. I was so taken by them that I disassembled a couple of flowers to see what made them so beautiful…it was the parts! So, I tried to sell them door to door in our new neighborhood. As I recall, my mom was not pleased…
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June 8, 2022 at 11:53 AM
Thanks, Mic. I love your iris story. About disassembling the flower: David still does that. Before I knew him well, I handed him a flower and asked what it was. To my horror he ripped the poor thing apart to show me how he knew what it was. So now I don’t let him touch an unknown flower that I want to keep.
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June 9, 2022 at 7:01 PM
If David still does it then I think I’m in good company.
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June 11, 2022 at 12:45 PM
Thanks for the warning, Mic. Now I know never to let you hold a flower for me. 😉
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June 11, 2022 at 1:42 PM