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 Bees, Flowers, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, bee, Canon 50D, green spring gardens, lotus, lotus flower, Tamron 180mm on July 19, 2020| 11 Comments »
This bee seemed to be having a great time inside of a lotus flower when I spotted it last Tuesday during a brief visit to Green Spring Gardens with my friend and photography mentor Cindy Dyer. This county-run historical garden has only a relatively limited number of lotuses and waterlilies at a small pond, but it is much more accessible and less crowded that Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens, an amazing facility in Washington D.C. operated by the National Park Service that has multiple acres of cultivated ponds with a wide array of water lilies and lotuses.
© 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, Gardening, Landscape, Summer, tagged Anacostia, Canon 24-105mm, Canon 50D, Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens, lotus, lotus flower, Nelumbo nucifera, Sacred lotus, Washington D.C. on July 12, 2016| 10 Comments »
Normally I try to move in really close to my subjects using a telephoto or macro lens. Yesterday, however, I decided to try to “see” the world differently by using a wider lens (24-105mm) during a quick trip with my photography mentor Cindy Dyer to Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens in the Anacostia area of Washington D.C. to check out the water lilies and lotus flowers.
The trip was a spur-of-the-moment decision while we were eating lunch, so we knew that we would miss out on the soft early morning light that we both prefer. However, the weather was beautiful, with the temperatures and humidity less oppressive than in recent weeks, so we decided to brave the Washington D.C. area traffic to check out the park.
Cindy is no stranger to the park. Last year four of her images of water lilies from the park appeared on US postage stamps, which were so popular that half a billion were printed. Check out this link to see information about these stamps. Earlier this year, one of Cindy’s images of Sacred Lotuses at the park was on one of the 16 postage stamps issued to commemorate the centennial of the National Park Service. Check out this link for more information about that stamp.
Here are some of my images of Sacred Lotuses (Nelumbo nucifera) from yesterday as I tried to step back a bit and see the flowers as part of a larger landscape. Initially I struggled a bit as I kept focusing on details, but my mind and my eye grew accustomed to the idea that the lens was not going to let me get in close. Gradually I started to see things differently and to frame my photos accordingly.
Acres and acres of lotuses
Lotuses fading into the distance
Lotus and seed pod
© 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, tagged Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, extreme make-over, green spring gardens, lotus, lotus flower, make-over, rain, raindrops, transformation on August 27, 2012| 3 Comments »
I love to shoot photos after the rain (and sometimes even during the rain). The rain somehow transforms the world, adding drops of water to some surfaces when the water beads up and darkening others when the water is absorbed. Sometimes the weight of the accumulated water even causes shapes to change. That seems to have been the case with this lotus flower. The petals now hang down to the side, revealing the beautiful green seed pod. The glistening raindrops add to the distinctive look as does the yellow fringe hanging from the center.
I like the new-look lotus flower—it’s almost like it has had an extreme make-over, flower-style.
Lotus flower after the rain
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 