Posted in Flowers, Gardening, Nature, Photography, Summer, tagged Canon 50D, Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens, lotus, lotus bud, lotus flower, lotus seed pod, Tamron 180mm, Washington D.C. on July 15, 2021| 20 Comments »
I captured this image last Saturday at Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens and love the way that it shows lotuses at various stages of development, from budding to flowering to turning into seed pods. I have included a close-up shot of a seed pod, in case you have never looked closely at one. These seed pods always get a mixed reaction from my friends—some find them to be fascinating, while others find them to be creepy.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Art, Flowers, Gardening, Nature, Photography, Summer, tagged Canon 50D, Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens, lotus, lotus bud, lotus center, lotus seed pod, Tamron 180mm, Washington D.C. on July 12, 2021| 17 Comments »
On Saturday I traveled with a few fellow photographers to Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens, a National Park Service site in Washington D.C. whose main attractions are the the numerous water lilies and lotuses in a series of interlocked cultivated ponds. It was tough for me to figure out how to tackle photographic subjects like these and I must confess that I spent a fair amount of time chasing after the numerous dragonflies that were present at the park.
Here are a few shots of some of the lotuses that I encountered that day. The first image is a peek through the petals at the distinctive seed pod in the center of one lotus. The second shot shows a lotus in full bloom. Only about half of the lotus plants that I encountered were flowering and many of them were beyond the reach of the lens that I was using or were in harsh, direct sunlight, so I was happy to capture this one so well. The final photo shows a lotus bud with petals that are just beginning to open.
I think it is good to push myself sometimes to photograph different subjects and to step outside of my comfort zone. It forces me to think creatively about what I am doing and how I am approaching the subject. Flexibility is a key ingredient in all of this, which seemed appropriate as I was trying to get into the lotus positions.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Art, dragonfly, Flowers, Nature, Photography, Summer, tagged beauty, Canon 50D, Libellula incesta, lotus, lotus bud, lotus flower, Meadowlark Botanical Gardens, Slaty Skimmer, Slaty Skimmer dragonfly, Tamron 180mm, Vienna VA on July 4, 2020| 12 Comments »
There were only a few lotuses in bloom on Thursday at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens, but they were more than sufficient to sate my senses. How much beauty is “enough?”
Increasingly I am finding that I enjoy beauty in small doses. So many voices in our society try to convince us that we need “more,” when perhaps “less” is even better, especially when we slow down and take the time to explore and appreciate that beauty.
I love the layers of petals of the lotus flower; the details of the center of the lotus, revealed when the petals open up and begin to shrivel; and the promise of future beauty in the lotus bud on which the Slaty Skimmer dragonfly (Libellula incesta) had chosen to perch.
Sometimes when searching for beauty, it is more beneficial to search deeply, focusing on a few things, than to search widely, always looking for something newer and better.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Flowers, Nature, Photography, Summer, tagged Canon 50D, lotus, lotus bud, lotus seed pod, Meadowlark Botanical Gardens, Tamron 180mm, Vienna VA on September 13, 2019| 10 Comments »
I thought it was too late in the season for lotuses, so I was thrilled to see them at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens earlier this week in bloom, as seed pods. and most surprisingly as buds.
I am fascinated by lotuses in all of their stages. I love the three-dimensional quality of the flowers and the way that you can look into the center of them. Lotus seed pods are a little creepy—from certain angles they look like a cluster of eyeballs that follow you around. By contrast, I always feel a sense of calm when I am enjoying the simple beauty of the lotus buds.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Flowers, Gardening, Nature, Photography, tagged Adamstown MD, Canon 50D, Lilypons Water Gardens, lotus, lotus bud, lotus flower, lotus seed pod, Tamron 180mm macro on July 31, 2015| 5 Comments »
The lotuses were a bit faded and past their prime last weekend at Lilypons Water Gardens, but the beauty and elegance of the lotus flowers was undiminished in my eyes.
I love the look of the lotus throughout its life cycle—from the elegant simplicity of the bud to the showy outburst of petals to the alien-looking seedpods.
The beauty of the lotus never fades, though it is transformed and changes as the flower grows and matures.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Flowers, Gardening, Nature, Photography, Summer, tagged Canon 50D, Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens, Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens, lotus, lotus bud, Tamron 180mm macro lens, Washington D.C. on July 10, 2015| 4 Comments »
Lotuses are gorgeous flowers when they are in bloom, but the lotus that really drew my attention was this bud that is just starting to open, full of hope and promise, clothed in a sense of mystery and expectation.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Art, Flowers, Gardening, Nature, Photography, Summer, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, green spring gardens, lotus, lotus bud, Nelumbo nucifera, Tamron 180mm macro lens on July 17, 2014| 5 Comments »
Even before they have bloomed, the buds of the Lotus flower (Nelumbo nucifera) can be spectacularly beautiful, like this one I photographed this past Monday at Green Spring Gardens, just a few miles from where I live in Northern Virginia.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Bugs, Flowers, Gardening, Insects, Nature, Photography, tagged Blue Dasher, Blue Dasher dragonfly, Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, dragonfly, green spring gardens, lotus, lotus bud, Pachydiplax longipennis on August 23, 2012| 5 Comments »
I finally managed to get a shot of a Blue Dasher dragonfly (Pachydiplax longipennis) on a lotus flower bud this past weekend. Previously I had photographed Blue Dashers on various plants and stalks and other things, but I have always thought that it would be especially cool to get on perched on the tip of a lotus bud.
It’s nice sometimes to have your wishes fulfilled and, yes, I think the photo met my expectations.
Blue Dasher dragonfly on lotus bud
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Flowers, Gardening, Humor, Nature, Photography, Reptiles, tagged brown water snake, Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, cottonmouth, green spring gardens, lotus, lotus bud, lotus flowers, lotus seed pods, nature, Nerodia taxispilota, peace, reptile, snake, tranquillity, water, water moccasin, wild on July 17, 2012| 11 Comments »
One evening this past week I was photographing lotus flowers at a local pond in a quasi-meditative state, enjoying the calm after a thunderstorm had passed.
The life cycle of the lotus, from bud to flower to seed pod
Suddenly a woman screamed out in my direction, “Snake, there’s a snake right behind you.” My first reaction was one of disbelief, because I was standing on a flat rock partially surrounded by water that was flowing rapidly between two man-made ponds. All at once I saw the submerged snake swimming strongly against the current. Then to my surprise the snake lifted his head out of the water.
My next reaction was to spring into action to take his picture. My camera was already on my tripod and I swung it around and snapped a couple of shots without having time to adjust my exposure or shutter speed. The image below is far from perfect but it gives you an idea of the cascading water and the snake poking his head above the surface.
Swimming snake lifts its head above water
After that brief photographic opportunity I returned to my peaceful pursuit of the lotus flower.
Sidewards-facing lotus (a variation of the lotus position)
It was only much later that I wondered whether I had encountered a poisonous snake. An article entitled “Snake Mistake” by Christine Ennulat in Virginia Living helps readers distinguish between the harmless brown water snake (Nerodia taxispilata) and the venomous water moccasin (Agkistrodon piscivorus). I am pretty confident the snake I saw was “only” a brown water snake.
Maybe I will react more quickly the next time someone tells me there is a snake right behind me. I might even get a better photograph!
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 