Sometimes transition is a hard thing, like this flower, past beauty, now gravid with tomorrows life.
Sunrise, and sunset.
We are the children of those that came before us. With eyes closed we can see backwards, in time, to the very beginning of those lives. We can see their existence as part of our own lives, and now they are gone. Part of our life has ceased being, except as memories already fading. We can no longer smell the flower that was there, or hear the laugh of a father friend.
Look to your children, your friends, and rejoice in the present. Hold them, and love them, for tomorrow they will feel as you do now.
Spring is here. Go outside and stand, very quietly, for ten minutes, listening. I just heard, what must be hundreds of, birds singing in every direction my attention was focused. What a wonderful sound.
This image is from the Huntington Botanical Gardens in Pasadena. In the image is a little red headed House Finch for you to compare colors. The flowers are that color green, and beautiful.
This is in the cactus gardens, and they have separated planted areas of these kinds of flowering plants. Each of the areas has flowers of one color. Blues, greens, yellows. … Of them all, the blues and the greens caught my eyes most.
Mesembryanthemum crystallinum – Crystalline Ice Plant – (Aizoaceae) – common ice plant – Native of South Africa, but, living on Fiesta Island in San Diego. It has been used as a landscape ornamental and is named for the small glistening vesicles that cover its leaves and stems.
This was shot in the very late afternoon, almost sunset, and the sun was very low, streaming through the crystalline vesicles that caught my attention while I was walking around with my macro lens on my camera. I have some other images of the plant with its beautiful small white flowers. … Oh, and by the way, you can eat this plant, leaves and all.
When I shoot weddings, I shoot with a team of three photographers. Patricia Cabezas, Cameron Gary, and myself. … This is one of the images I shot of the gathered family. …
Honestly, I shot a thousand images, and I am sure Patricia shot that many as well, so we have a lot to choose from.
I love weddings. Everyone is always super nice, and it was the same with this wedding.
Congratulations Medelyn, and Almario!
And a little Nerd Speak . “Live long, and prosper!”
I am getting ready to head out to the desert this week and shoot whatever the spring has brought to the Southern California deserts, usually aiming at the new growth.
Ahhh But! I am also a very opportunistic photographer. This image was from a previous spring jaunt into the barren land with a friend who also possesses the eyes of an eagle. He spotted this group of Big Horn Sheep from quite a distance, pointed them out to me, like a hunter siccing a dog onto a prey.
So I started walking towards these sheep, at an angle, moving closer towards them every step, but not directly towards them. That angled approach kept them from being spooked, and hightailing it for higher ground. In the end, this is the best I could do.
Notice the flowers, and the green all around the sheep. The flowers were the target of the day, the sheep was the true bonus, and best images of the day.
I just love this image, and thought it was about time I put it on my blog.
This flower is one of many that grow in a planter on the back yard patio. The flower is that color, but the little tinge of blue or purple on some of the petals comes from the reflected sky on a shiny part of the petals.
These flowers always look best in the morning to me. It has to do with them being refreshed from the cool of the night, and the wonderful north light that infuses the patio with a soft glow.
And the fact that I am on the patio, in San Diego, drinking coffee, and feeling great!
Today is very peaceful, as the air wafts softly through the leaves of the trees. It is warm, and comfortable when one sits in the shade. I can feel the hairs on my arms as they are gently moved by the low breeze. Soft chirps of spring birds can be heard across the valley.
This flower is part of a plant that sits in two worlds. The body and its roots lie submerged in the small pond, while the leaves and flowers dance in the sun. Leaves sucking the energy out of the sunlight to process the nutrients out of the pond. There would be no flower without both.
There is a balance in nature that we must have for ourselves. … I live, yet I am looking still.
I do not know what kind of flower this is. … Do you know?
This is a volunteer flower that jumped into a planter last year, and came back this year. I again noticed it the other day and decided I would try to capture some of its colors. Eventually, all the small purple buds in the middle open like the others that are spread around the center.
It is beautiful. … I will try again tomorrow. This morning it started to get a little windy to capture all the angles I wanted to shoot.
Found it!
Botanical Name: Scilla peruviana
Other names: Portuguese squill, Caribbean lily, Cuban lily, Giant squill, Hyacinth of Peru
Genus: Scilla
Species: S. peruviana ~ S. peruviana is a clump-forming, semi-evergreen, bulbous perennial with a cluster of lance-shaped, mid-green basal leaves and racemes of nodding, deep purple-blue or white flowers in early summer.
I have always thought these Passion flowers were a little bit strange. When I was young, there was an old abandoned house that we could see the roof of from the street. We could not really see more than that.
Young semi-delinquent that I was, mostly just a young guy whose brain was not connected to reality, I picked up a rock with a good feel in my hand. Its weight felt perfect as I gently tossed it my hand. The house was past the very longest distance I had ever thrown anything. … I conscientiously gauged the length of the required throw, and judged that I could not possibly hit the house.
Did I also say that at that time in my life I might have been part idiot, and a major league pitcher? Because, when I reared back and stretched into my gut, I let loose such a spring of energy that the rock, when released, sailed high and far. Farther than idiot me thought possible. … No, I did not hit the house; I hit the window of the house. I heard the unmistakable crash of a rock through glass. I ran like hell and hid for a while.
When the fear of being caught fled, I walked over to see the window. It was smashed really well. But next to the window was the vine growing on the fence, and I saw the scariest flower I had ever seen. A purple Passion flower is what it was. But, it certainly looked like something from the Body Snatchers to me.
We have had a wonderful set of well timed storms this year. The ground, and spring growth, have never dried out since the storms began. As the land started to dry, another storm came through.
That little cycle of rain, followed by a small pause, followed by rain again, has been the way of this winter. … Like a gardener coming through with the water can every couple days, ensuring the harvest of flowers will reward the conscientious watering.
This is at the North end of Fallbrook, overlooking the Santa Margarita River valley.
These orchids have been sitting around the kitchen for a few days. This particular morning I decided to place them in the direct light of the early morning sun. … So, they are lit directly from behind, that is why we see shadows in the petals.
