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Posts Tagged ‘Canon 60mm’

In my neighbor’s garden

Posted in Flowers, Gardening, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, Summer, tagged , , , , , , , on June 26, 2025| 5 Comments »

Shortly after waking up this morning, I walked over to my neighbor Cindy’s garden to see what was in bloom. The last time I checked, about a week ago,  there were lots of flowering day lilies, but I suspected that the recent heat had caused many of them to wilt and die. I am not sure if lilies close up at night, but I did not see any lilies in bloom in the early morning light—I was there about 6:15 today.

However, there were plenty of purple coneflowers and Shasta daisies open and I did my best to capture some their beauty with the short macro lens that I was using. I was delighted to spot a tiny insect creature crawling around on one of the daisies, as you can sort of see in the second photo. The limited light available forced me to open the aperture of the lens and created such a narrow depth of field that I could not get both the insect and the flower in focus.

Most of you know that I enjoy photographing wildlife and nature in more remote locations, but it is reassuring to know that I do not always have to travel far to find subjects—beauty is everywhere.

shasta daisy

Shasta daisy

coneflower

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Palm Sunday 2024

Posted in Art, Inspiration, Palm Sunday, Photography, tagged , , , , , , on March 24, 2024| 15 Comments »

I spent several hours yesterday morning helping to prepare palms and flowers for today’s Palm Sunday services at St. Martin de Porres Episcopal Church in Alexandria, Virginia, my home church. We made a lot of crosses from the palms (and I braided some too), but there are plenty left to wave this morning. We will begin our services outdoors with the Liturgy of the Palms and then the congregation will process into the church singing “All Glory, Laud, and Honor” as they wave their palm fronds.

I made this little arrangement when I returned home yesterday with a cross that I had folded, two braided lengths of palms, and a leftover camellia.

Happy Palm Sunday to all those who are celebrating today as we begin Holy Week.

Palm Sunday

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Raindrops on tulips

Posted in Flowers, Gardening, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spring, tagged , , , , , , , , on March 23, 2024| 8 Comments »

Raindrops on tulips are one of my favorite things. I photographed these different varieties of colorful tulips today in the garden of my dear friend and fellow photographer Cindy Dyer during a break in the rain.

I love spring flowers.

tulip

Lady Jane tulip

tulip

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Grape Hyacinth

Posted in Flowers, Gardening, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spring, tagged , , , , , , , , on March 21, 2024| 7 Comments »

I love the shape of Grape Hyacinths (g. Muscari), one of the early-appearing flowers that I look forward to each spring. The names of species sometimes do not match their appearances, but in this case the name fits perfectly—the little flowers do indeed look like a bunch of grapes.

Our recent weather has been windy, which makes it challenging to go out hunting for wildlife to photograph, because most of my potential subjects use common sense and seek shelter from the wind. As a result, I have resorted to visiting the garden of my dear friend Cindy Dyer and photographing her flowers, like this Grape Hyacinth that I spotted earlier this week.

I used a macro lens to get really close to the tiny flower to capture details, but the wind made it tough to get a sharp shot—as you get closer to a subject, the effect of any movement of the camera or the subject is magnified. On the whole, though, I like this modest portrait of one of my favorite spring flower.

Grape Hyacinth

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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First tulip of the spring

Posted in Flowers, Gardening, Macro Photography, Nature, spring, tagged , , , , , , , , , on March 20, 2024| 1 Comment »

As many of you know, I do not have a garden of my own. My dear friend and photography mentor Cindy Dyer, however, lives close to me and loves to plant photogenic flowers. At this time of the year I really enjoy passing by her garden to see what has popped up.

I was delighted yesterday to see a beautiful red tulip in bloom in the middle of the garden in front of her townhouse. There was only a single tulip blooming in the midst of some hellebore plants, but it was not hard to spot. I don’t know much about tulip varieties, but think that this might be a Lady Jane tulip (Tulipa clusiana var. ‘Lady Jane‘)—I recall Cindy mentioning this variety in previous years.

I thought I would be photographing flowers close up, so I had a 60mm macro lens on my camera. This tulip, alas, was farther away than I would have liked and I did not want to step on any vegetation to get closer or to get a better angle.

I contented myself with a few shots to record this beautiful flower, my first tulip of this spring (with many more to come).

UPDATE: My memory failed me. Cindy let me know that the Lady Jane tulip is pink and white and not red like this one. I should probably have checked with her before I posted the images.

tulip

tulip

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

 

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Raindrops on irises

Posted in Art, Flowers, Gardening, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spring, tagged , , , , , , , on April 30, 2023| 10 Comments »

The rain has stopped for now, but some raindrops remain, sparkling like tiny jewels this morning on the bearded irises in the garden of my neighbor and fellow photographer Cindy Dyer. I tried to get creative with the framing of the first shot, with a blurred iris in the background of an unopened bud.

In the second shot, I was so close to the bearded iris that you almost can’t tell that the primary subject is a flower—I love my macro lenses. There third and fourth shows show a couple more varieties of irises that are currently in bloom in Cindy’s garden, with lots more still to come.

Iris

Iris

Iris

Iris

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Coming attractions

Posted in Art, Flowers, Gardening, Nature, Photography, spring, tagged , , , , , , , on April 9, 2023| 6 Comments »

Yesterday I stopped by the garden of my neighbor and fellow photographer Cindy Dyer. Her early-season tulips were well beyond their prime, but more tulips are getting ready to bloom. I was a little surprised to see that some of her irises are already starting to bloom too. I love to photograph flowers when they are at this stage of growth—they are already beautiful and give hints of the additional beauty that is to come.

Happy Easter to all of you who are celebrating this holy day. Christ is risen!

tulip

tulip

iris

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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After the rain

Posted in Art, Flowers, Gardening, Macro Photography, Nature, spring, tagged , , , , , , , on April 3, 2023| 1 Comment »

Raindrops were glistening in the sunlight after an April shower on Saturday, enhancing the beauty of these red tulips in the garden of my dear friend and photography mentor Cindy Dyer.

One of my favorite movies when I was growing up was “The Sound of Music” and I can still remember the words of many of the songs from the movie. In one delightful scene, Julie Andrews tells the children that when she is unhappy, she tries to think of nice things and begins a song with the words, “raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens…these are a few of my favorite things.”

Raindrops seem almost magical, whether they are on roses, on tulips, or on any other vegetation. If you are not familiar with the song “My Favorite Things,” here is a link to a YouTube clip of that wonderful scene from “The Sound of Music.”

tulip

tulip

tulip

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Spring flowers

Posted in Flowers, Gardening, Nature, Photography, spring, tagged , , , , , , , , on March 16, 2023| 4 Comments »

Although the weather the past few days has been cold and windy, it is beginning to look a lot like spring. Some trees have already started to blossom and pops of color are appearing in the front yards of many of my neighbors. In Washington D.C., the cherry blossoms are forecast to reach their peak flowering phase next week.

Yesterday I took my camera with me during a short walk through my neighborhood. Rather than toting the long telephoto zoom lens that I use to photograph birds, I carried the much lighter 60mm macro lens. When I am photographing flowers, I usually try to get up close to them in order to capture the maximum amount of detail.

I spotted some small daffodils adjacent to the steps of my next-door neighbor and stopped to photograph them. Daffodils are probably the most prominent flowers at this moment and I have seen them in multiple sizes and shades of yellow, including some two-toned ones.

I next visited the front garden of fellow photographer Cindy Dyer. I was delighted to spot a few Spring Snowflakes (Leucojum vernum) in bloom. I used to have trouble distinguishing between snowdrop and snowflake flowers, but now I know that the ones with the green spots on each petal are snowflakes.

The last flower that I photographed in Cindy’s garden was a bright red tulip. This tulip was small and was not as showy as some of the other varieties that will appear in the coming weeks, but it seemed especially beautiful. It was the only tulip in bloom and did not have to share the stage with any of its siblings.

Those of you who see my photos regularly will definitely notice that these are not my “normal” shots. It is good, I think, to switch things up periodically and point my camera at some different subjects.

daffodils

snowflake

 

tulip

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Lilies in June

Posted in Flowers, Gardening, Nature, Photography, spring, tagged , , , , , , , on June 16, 2022| 10 Comments »

Lilies are now blooming in the garden of my neighbor, Cindy Dyer, who is also my photography mentor and muse. There are all kind of lilies there, including daylilies, Asiatic lilies, and giant white ones. Cindy deliberately likes to plant flowers that she knows will be photogenic.

I always feel overwhelmed when trying to photograph groups of anything, so I naturally gravitate to close-ups of individual flowers, focusing in on details that grab my eyes. Sometimes it is shapes, while at other times it may be colors or textures. Here are a few photos from my visit on Tuesday to Cindy’s garden, my impressions of some of the beautiful lilies that I encountered.

lily

lily

lily

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Cindy’s Garden in Late May

Posted in Flowers, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spring, tagged , , , , , , on May 27, 2022| 5 Comments »

Many irises have come and gone this spring, but I was delighted to see that this stunning dark violet one was blooming yesterday in the garden of my neighbor and fellow photographer Cindy Dyer, a variant that she told me is a Louisiana iris ‘Black Gamecock.’ Cindy also has some gorgeous Calla Lilies blooming in a container on her front porch in a wide variety of colors.

Intermittent thunderstorms are in the forecast for most of today and I doubt that we will see the sun. My senses need the stimulation provided by bright colors, like those of these beautiful flowers in Cindy’s garden in late May.

iris

Calla Lily

Calla Lily

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Prime time for bearded irises

Posted in Flowers, Gardening, iris, Nature, Photography, spring, tagged , , , , , , , on May 7, 2022| 3 Comments »

It is prime time for the bearded irises in the garden of my dear friend and fellow photographer Cindy Dyer. There are several dozen irises in bloom now in multiple colors, including these beauties, and it looks like even more flowers will be blooming soon.

Beauty is everywhere.

bearded irises

Bearded Iris

Bearded Iris

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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A few more tulips

Posted in Flowers, Gardening, Macro Photography, Photography, spring, tulip, tagged , , , , , , , , , on April 5, 2022| 9 Comments »

As we move deeper into spring, more and more flowers are popping up in the garden of my neighbor, fellow photographer Cindy Dyer. It is a fun adventure to walk over to the garden every few days to see what new bits of beauty have sprung forth out of the earth.

One of my favorites that I look forward to seeing each spring is the Lady Jane tulip (Tulipa clusiana var. ‘Lady Jane’), featured in the first photo below. It is a small tulip with pointed petals and a delicate pink and white coloration.

The red tulips are a bit more traditional in terms of their shape and coloration. I love to explore them from all angles and their bright, cheery color is a joy to behold.

Some more tulip buds are beginning to mature and it looks like there may be yellow tulips next. Spring is such a beautiful season.

Lady Jane tulip

tulip

tulip

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Coming attractions

Posted in Flowers, Gardening, Nature, Photography, spring, tagged , , , , , , , , on March 28, 2022| 5 Comments »

In the springtime we often watch and wait in the garden, anticipating the beauty that is to come. Sometimes, as was the case with these tulip buds, we have a sneak preview of the coming colors, but often the blooms take us by surprise. I love those kinds of surprises.

As many of you know, I do not have my own garden. However, fellow photographer Cindy Dyer is one of my neighbors and she has an amazing garden, full of fun flowers to photograph.

tulip

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Grape Hyacinths

Posted in Flowers, Gardening, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spring, tagged , , , , , , , on March 27, 2022| 9 Comments »

One of the early signs of spring is the emergency of the tiny stalks of Grape Hyacinths (g. Muscari). As their name suggest, these spiky little flowers look a bit like bunches of grapes. Most of the time grape hyacinths are bluish in color, but they come in other colors too and sometimes, as you can see in the second photo, there may be multiple colors on the same flower stalk.

I captured these images in the garden of my dear friend and neighbor Cindy Dyer. Cindy is used to seeing me skulking about in her garden and I usually am able to keep her informed about what is blooming in her own garden.

Using my short macro lens, I was able to capture some of the interesting patterns of these grape hyacinths. In the first image you can see how the little “grapes” grow in a spiral pattern. The second image shows how the “grapes” open up at their ends as they mature. I really like the way that both images feature the raised three-petalled impression on so many of the grapes—the shape looks almost like it was embossed.

Grape Hyacinth

Grape Hyacinth

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Ladybug in March

Posted in Gardening, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, spring, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , , , on March 26, 2022| 10 Comments »

As I was scanning my neighbor’s garden for new growth yesterday, a small bit of bright orange caught my eye. I moved closer to see what it was and was shocked to find a tiny ladybug crawling around one of the plants.

The ladybug was pretty active, moving up and down the leaf, so it was challenging to get a shot of it. Eventually, though, my patience paid off and I was able to capture this image. Later in the year photos like this will become more commonplace, but during the month of March I am overjoyed whenever I have a chance to photograph an insect.

I did not get a good look at the face of this insect, so I cannot tell if it is an Asian Lady Beetle (Harmonia axyridis) or one of the native ladybugs, which are less common in most areas. Whatever the case, there is something whimsical about ladybugs that makes me smile, so I was happy to spot this one.

ladybug

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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First tulip of the year

Posted in Flowers, Gardening, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spring, tagged , , , , , , on March 19, 2022| 16 Comments »

I spotted this tiny red tulip yesterday morning in the garden of my dear friend and photography mentor Cindy Dyer, my first tulip sighting of the year. One of Cindy’s passions is gardening and she deliberately plants a lot of flowers that she believes will be photogenic.

Last fall she planted bulbs for some large, frilly, multi-colored tulips that she hopes will bloom later this year. (See my posting from last spring entitled Fire-breathing dragon to see an example of one of those crazy-looking parrot tulips.) I will be looking for those exotic flowers, but I have to say that am often drawn more to the simple, spare elegance of a single bloom, like today’s tulip.

When I first started to get serious about my photography almost ten years ago, I imitated the type of photographs that Cindy was taking, with a lot of emphasis on macro shots of flowers. Cindy taught me a lot about photography during those early days, lessons that have stuck with me as I have ventured into other areas of photography.

One of those lessons was about the value of a well-composed, graphic image, like today’s simple shot. Anyone, in theory, could have taken this shot, but they would have had to be willing to get on their hands and knees in the dirt to do so, another one of Cindy’s lessons. (If you want to see more of Cindy’s tips, check out her article How to Grow Your Garden Photography Skills that was featured several years ago on the NikonUSA.com website.)

tulip

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Last gasp of winter

Posted in Art, dragonfly, Flowers, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged , , , , , , on March 16, 2022| 16 Comments »

My thoughts have already turned to spring, with visions of colorful flowers and dragonflies dancing in my head. However, it turns out that winter was not quite done and last weekend we had a couple of inches of snow, a final hurrah for the season of winter.

Here are a couple of shots of my “winter dragonfly,” a metal sprinkler in my front yard that I featured in a previous post that showed the intricate detail of the dragonfly. I am also including a shot of some of the green shoots in the garden of my neighbor and fellow photographer Cindy Dyer. I think some of these might be tulips, but must confess that I am pretty clueless when it comes to plants.

Many of you know that I am somewhat obsessed with dragonflies. In 2020 I saw my first dragonflies of spring on the 3rd of April, the earliest I have ever seen dragonflies—see my 6 April 2020 posting First dragonflies of the season. I will probably go out and search for them in earnest during the final week of March. There are a couple of early emerging local species that I will be searching for along with migrant species like the Common Green Darner that might be passing through our area.


dragonfly

dragonfly

plant

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Crocuses

Posted in Flowers, Gardening, Nature, spring, Winter, tagged , , , , , , on March 9, 2022| 6 Comments »

Pushing out of the still dormant winter earth, several crocuses in the garden of my dear friend Cindy Dyer were shining brightly yesterday, a hopeful sign of the spring beauty that is yet to come.

For the first image, I shielded the sun with my body to avoid the harsh highlights that the sunlight was creating. I then changed my shooting position so that the sunlight was streaming from another angle, which caused the yellow parts of the flower to glow.

Please continue to pray for the people of Ukraine and for all those affected by Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

Crocus

crocus

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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First daffodils

Posted in Flowers, Nature, Photography, spring, Winter, tagged , , , , , on March 6, 2022| 9 Comments »

As I was walking through my neighborhood yesterday, I was delighted to spot some daffodils (g. Narcissus) that were already in bloom. The ground is still brown and bare and not very photogenic, so it is hard to take a “pretty” picture of these beautiful little flowers.

I used a short macro lens capture these images of the early daffodils, the advance guard for a multitude of spring flowers that will arrive before long. I am ready for the spring.

daffodil

daffodil

daffodil

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Day lily detail

Posted in Art, Flowers, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, tagged , , , , on July 5, 2021| 14 Comments »

I was feeling a little “artsy” on Saturday morning when I composed this close-up image of one of day lilies now growing in the garden of my dear friend and neighbor Cindy Dyer. Over the last nine years of so Cindy has served as my photographic mentor and muse.  I remember how liberated I felt when she first told me it was ok to photograph parts of a flower and not just the whole thing—it opened my eyes to all kinds of new creative possibilities that went way beyond merely documenting “reality.”

Beauty is everywhere!

day lily

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Early bee

Posted in Bees, Flowers, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, Summer, tagged , , , , , on July 3, 2021| 11 Comments »

It was pretty early this morning when I walked over to the garden of my dear friend and neighbor Cindy Dyer, but a bee was already busy on one of her lavender plants. A shot like this is easy to get with my 180mm macro lens, which lets me stand back farther from my subject. However, I happened to have a much shorter 60mm macro lens on my camera, which meant that I had to be almost on top of the bee. The bee was focused on the flower and did not seem to be bothered by my presence.

bee

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Bonus bug

Posted in Flowers, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, Summer, tagged , , , , , , on June 25, 2021| 9 Comments »

It’s amazing the things that show up in my photos that I did not notice when taking the shot, like this little beetle in the center of a striking lily that I photographed recently in the garden of my dear friend and neighbor Cindy Dyer. Cindy likes to call them “bonus bugs.” According to our rules, any bugs that you see when capturing a shot don’t “count” towards a bonus.

I do not have enough information to identify the insect. At first I thought it might be a cucumber beetle, but the pattern does not quite match the ones I have seen before. Cindy suggested that it might possibly be a carpet beetle. I also checked out a lot of different types of scarab beetles, but eventually decided that I was ok with not knowing the identity of the bonus bug.

I have included the second photo as a bonus. My original purpose in photographing the lily was to capture its beauty and unusual coloration and the second shot accomplished that goal. I carefully focused on the stamens (and particularly the anthers) and allowed the rest of the flower to fall out of focus. If I had not looked at the first photos, I might not have noticed the fuzzy shape of the bonus bug in the second image, but it is definitely there.

lily

lily

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Bee and daisy

Posted in Bees, Flowers, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, Summer, tagged , , , , , , , , , on June 20, 2021| 17 Comments »

How do you draw attention to the main subject in your photograph? One effective way is to choose a camera setting that will give you a shallow depth of field, so that only the subject is in sharp focus and the rest of the image is blurred. Another way is to ensure that the colors and texture of the background contrast with those of the subject.

I used both of these techniques yesterday morning when I spotted this metallic green sweat bee (g. Agapostemon) on one of the Shasta daisies growing in the garden of my neighbor and photography mentor Cindy Dyer. I love these little bees with their large speckled eyes and shiny green bodies and got as close to this one as I dared with my Canon 60mm macro lens.

I opened the aperture of the lens all the way to f/2.8 to let in lots of light and to achieve the narrowest possible depth of field. That is why the center of the daisy falls so quickly out of focus. As I was composing the shot, the flower reminded me of an egg that had been fried “sunny-side up” and I chose an angle that emphasized that look. (In case you are curious about the other camera settings, the ISO was 800 and the shutter speed was 1/800 sec.)

There is nothing super special about this image, but it is a fun little photo taken close to home that reminds me that beauty is everywhere. A series of creative choices in camera settings and composition by the photographer can often help to draw a viewer’s attention to that beauty. (I encourage you to click on the image to get a better view of the beautiful details of the little green bee.)

green sweat bee

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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First lily

Posted in Flowers, Gardening, Nature, Photography, tagged , , , , , on June 7, 2021| 7 Comments »

Many of the irises have withered in the garden of my dear friend and neighbor Cindy Dyer, but her lilies are now starting to open, like this beauty that I photographed early on Sunday morning. It is hot and humid today, so I did not feel much like venturing outside with my camera. Instead I decided to share this burst of bright color.

Have a wonderful Monday.

lily

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Colorful irises

Posted in Flowers, Gardening, Landscape, Nature, Photography, spring, tagged , , , , , , on May 11, 2021| 24 Comments »

More bearded irises? Yes, I decided to do another posting on the colorful bearded irises in the garden of my neighbor and photography mentor Cindy Dyer. We are probably near the peak period right now and there is a wide variety of irises  in bloom. There is only a stem or two of some of the irises that I photographed, each with several blooms, but there is also one patch, shown in the final photo, where there are at least several dozen irises of the same type concentrated in one area.

One of the challenges of photographing these irises is that the background tends to get very cluttered. I have tried to blur the background by choosing my angle of view and camera settings, and the results are ok.

Cindy has come up with a more elegant solution—she photographs them in situ against a black velvet-like background, which requires the assistance of another person to hold the background in place. Usually her husband Michael is drafted, but yesterday in the late afternoon I was an emergency fill-in when the late day light spontaneously prompted her to photograph the irises that were blooming outside of her yard around an electrical junction box. The final photo is one that Cindy took with her iPhone of me in “action.”

What kind of results do you get with this process? Check out Cindy’s blog postings Bearded iris blooming in my garden and Bearded iris (taken last year) to see some samples of the stunning studio-like portraits of these flowers that Cindy has taken.

bearded iris

bearded iris

bearded iris

bearded iris

bearded iris

bearded iris

photo assistant

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Raindrops on irises

Posted in Flowers, Nature, Photography, tagged , , , , , , , , , on May 6, 2021| 23 Comments »

Raindrops on flowers are among my favorite things. Yes, I am a huge fan of The Sound of Music and as soon as I see drops of rain on the petals of a flower—it doesn’t have to be roses—Julie Andrews starts singing in my mind the memorable song “My Favorite Things” that begins with the words, “Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens…”

I captured these iris images yesterday morning in the garden of my dear friend and neighbor Cindy Dyer during a break in the rain. Right now there are probably at least thirty irises of various colors in the process of blooming in her wonderful garden, an endless source of delight for me when I feel a need to take some photos or just desire to lift my spirits.

“I simply remember my favorite things and then I don’t feel so bad.”

bearded iris

bearded iris

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Bearded Irises

Posted in Flowers, Gardening, Nature, Photography, tagged , , , , , , on May 3, 2021| 13 Comments »

Although I don’t have my own garden, I am blessed to have a neighbor and friend, Cindy Dyer, who loves to plant photogenic flowers, like these beautiful bearded irises that are now in bloom. Cindy is a self-employed photographer and graphic designer who I consider to be my photography mentor and muse. She and her husband Michael make up the rest of my “pod” that has helped to sustain me through this past pandemic year.

What else does Cindy do? Here is a little extract from the “Stuff About Me” page of her blog.

“Oil and acrylic painting, photography (portraits, glamour shots, nature, macro, floral/botanical, travel), cement leaf casting, crocheting hats like crazy come winter time (what else can a gardener do when it’s cold out?), needle felting, sewing, murals, faux painting, Polaroid transfers (if it’s something crafty, I’ve probably at least tried it once), biblioholic (any topic, you name it—we probably have at least one book on the subject…don’t even begin to guess how many gardening books I’ve amassed!), animal lover—currently three cats…”

You can get a look at some of Cindy’s photography and writing on her blog at cindydyer.wordpress.com. If you want a real treat, though, you should check out the slide show of her portfolio at cindydyer.zenfolio.com, where your eyes will be delighted as you see an amazing series of stunning images.

bearded iris

bearded iris

bearded iris

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Fire-breathing dragon

Posted in fantasy, Flowers, Gardening, Nature, Photography, spring, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on April 13, 2021| 12 Comments »

Are you the kind of person who sees shapes in the clouds? If so, then perhaps you too may see the shape of a fire-breathing dragon in this amazing parrot tulip that I photographed yesterday in the garden of my dear friend Cindy Dyer.  As more of Cindy’s parrot tulips pop open I am becoming convinced that these are the craziest flowers that I have encountered, with all kinds of wild shapes and colors.

I am equally convinced that we all need a little whimsy, fantasy, and child-like fascination in our daily lives. As adults we tend to take ourselves too seriously too often. Wouldn’t it be cool to see the world afresh as a child does, full of excitement and imagination?

Keep your eyes open today—you too might unexpectedly encounter a fire-breathing dragon or equally fanciful creature.

parrot tulip

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Lady Jane tulip

Posted in Flowers, Gardening, Nature, Photography, spring, tagged , , , , , , , on April 12, 2021| 10 Comments »

Here’s another beautiful tulip that I spotted yesterday morning in the garden of my good friend and neighbor Cindy Dyer, an elegant variety known as the Lady Jane (Tulipa clusiana var. ‘Lady Jane’) . The pink speckles in the background are fallen petals from her crabapple tree.

As I returned back to my townhouse, I could not help but notice that my front yard was carpeted in pretty pink petals from my crabapple tree, thanks to the gentle wind and light rain in the early morning. I felt like I should be lighting candles and pouring champagne—clearly all of those lovely petals meant that I was loved. Yes, I am an unapologetic romantic.

Lady Jane tulip

petals

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Parrot tulips

Posted in Flowers, Gardening, Nature, Photography, spring, tagged , , , , , , on April 11, 2021| 13 Comments »

Tulips come in many varieties and my good friend and neighbor Cindy Dyer, who is also my photography mentor, likes to find photogenic ones to plant. For several weeks I have been keeping an eye on her garden, waiting and wondering what type and color tulips would emerge from the green growth that was slowing pushing upward.

This week some of those tulips finally burst open and I was delighted to see that they are Parrot tulips. Parrot tulips are whimsically-shaped, with uncontrolled ruffled edges that somehow make me think they have a bad case of “bed head.”

I captured these images on Friday, a gloomy day punctuated with periodic rain showers. The colors of the tulips are more subdued and do not “pop” as much as they do in the sunlight, but I like the moody feel of the images. The raindrops add a nice touch too—I love to photograph the drops of rain that bead up so beautifully on so many plants and flowers.

 

parrot tulip

parrot tulip

parrot tulips

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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