I love water lilies and one of my favorite places to see them is Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens, a National Park Service site located in the northeastern corner of Washington, D.C. My photography mentor Cindy Dyer photographed water lilies there that were featured in 2015 on US Postal Service stamps and I helped her during a presentation she did at the special dedication ceremony for the postage stamps—check out Cindy’s blog posting entitled Special dedication ceremony for Water Lilies Forever Stamps for additional information.
Yesterday I traveled with Cindy to Kenilworth Gardens to drop off some matted prints for the gift store and it was fascinating to see the aquatic gardens in the off-season. It is much too early for water lilies to be blooming, but I could see lots of lily pads floating on the surface of the small ponds.
The lily pads were mostly colored in shades of rust and orange and I was able to capture some “artsy” shots of them. Obviously there photos are different from my more typical wildlife shots, but I like mixing it up and challenging myself to photograph different subjects. It forces me to stretch myself creatively outside of my comfort zone, which I believe is a good thing.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
How beautiful, Mike!
Thanks. It is so cool to see how things change as we transition into new seasons. I would never had guessed that the leaves of some lily pads would change to red and orange.
You’re welcome! I never knew any but green lily pads!! It’s cool indeed!
These are beautiful photos, Mike. I love the close up in the clear-ish water
I enjoyed the water lily series, Mike. I liked hearing about your adventures at Kenilworth Park, too. I especially like the second photo with the inviting curve of the lily stem, the hairs on the stem, and the color contrast.
Thanks, Jet. The middle photo is my favorite of the three images. I know from experience that WordPress Reader thumbnails do not handle images well that are in portrait mode and I get better results with images in landscape mode.
I lingered over the middle photo, a great success that shot!
That one was definitely my favorite one too. 🙂
What unusual rich colours! I have always seen them in shades of green so this is really different.
Do you happen to know if these leaves are new, or left over from last year? Generally speaking, water lily leaves down here begin turning these wonderful colors when fall’s weather change arrives. If you have this sort of color with yours throughout the year, I’d say, “Lucky you!” They certainly make for fine images.
I really like these, Mike, especially the composition of the second image. Visiting locations in their “off” season can be very satisfying.
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