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Posts Tagged ‘pink’

Spots of color

Posted in Art, Flowers, Gardening, Nature, Photography, tagged , , , , , , , on December 27, 2012| 7 Comments »

As I have mentioned in some other posts, the local gardens are looking awfully bleak and colorless. I did manage to find some new growth and posted some photos of blooming snowdrop flowers yesterday morning.  I had to search even harder, though, to find some small splashes of color in the midst of all of the brown, shriveled vegetation.

I found two plants that still had some color, though I have no idea what kind they are. One is pink and has some kind of berries and the other is red and has small spikey flowers on it.

The plants are modest and the colors muted, but they will help to tide me over as I await the return of the glorious colors of spring.

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© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Just another bee

Posted in Bugs, Flowers, Gardening, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, tagged , , , , , on September 4, 2012| 4 Comments »

This bee is not as perfectly sharp as some that I have shot, but the softness of the image and the pink flower give this photo more of a romantic mood (if that is at all possible with a bee as the primary subject). I also like the beautiful colors in the bee’s fuzzy hair. Sometimes I feel like I would be content to photograph different kinds of bees every day, focusing at times on their hard work, at other times on their beauty, and at other times on their ferocity. It would take a long time for my fascination with bees to wear off.

Bee on a pink flower

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Unusual pattern inside a flower

Posted in Flowers, Gardening, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, tagged , , , , , , , on August 15, 2012| 9 Comments »

I have to admit that I am really challenged when it comes to identifying flowers. I just don’t know where to start in researching them. So I apologize in advance for not knowing the name of this flower.

I spotted this distinctive small flower when I was shooting with some friends at a local botanical garden. The outside of the flower was not really that unusual, but I was immediately attracted to the inside of the flower. The shape and unusual pattern on the inside reminded me of a pleated curtain installed by a designer who was color-challenged. The color and pattern of the inside did not seem to  go well with the outside (or maybe I just watch too much Home and Garden TV).

I like that I was able to isolate and photograph this unusual flower which for now remains nameless for me.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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American Painted Lady

Posted in Bugs, Flowers, Gardening, Insects, Macro Photography, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , , , on August 12, 2012| 4 Comments »

Today I photographed an American Painted Lady butterfly (Vanessa virginiensis), which is also know as an American Lady.

At first I thought it was a Painted Lady butterfly (Vanessa cardui), a type that I had previously photographed (see my posting from 3 August). A closer examination and some internet research showed it was not the same butterfly.  You can find more information in Wikipedia but the easiest identification features for me were the eyespots on the ventral side—the American Painted Lady has two large eyespots and the Painted Lady has four smaller ones.

I learned a good lesson today too about the need to carry a camera with me as often as possible. I took this photo at the outdoor sales area at a local Home Depot store.

American Painted Lady butterfly (Vanessa virginiensis)

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Missing the big picture

Posted in Gardening, Macro Photography, Photography, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on July 12, 2012| 4 Comments »

“You’re not seeing the big picture.”

Has anyone ever spoken those words to you? They are often used as a tacit (or explicit) criticism of your supposed lack of perspective. The person speaking those words usually has an air of superiority, asserting that they have a better view of some figurative “big picture.”

You literally are not seeing the big picture when it comes to the banner of this blog. I was forced into a box of a specified size by the requirements of the theme I chose. It’s time now to think (and to see) outside of the box.

So, I am posting the “big picture” that you see partially in my banner. Why? One of my friends told me it is her favorite image out of the dozens I have shown her the past few months (and it is one of my favorites). You might like it too!

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Pretty in pink

Posted in Gardening, Macro Photography, Photography, Travel, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 9, 2012| Leave a Comment »

For much of my life I have loved impressionist paintings and especially those of Monet. Monet painted a series of approximately 250 paintings of Water Lilies (or Nymphéas) and they were the main focus of his artistic work for the last thirty years of his life, according to Wikipedia .

Last November I spent countless hours at the Musée de l’Orangerie in Paris visually exploring eight massive paintings of water lilies by Monet that covered the walls of two large oval rooms. The painting were all different and covered the themes of morning, clouds, green reflections, sunset, reflections of trees, clear morning in the willows, morning in the willows, and two willows.

The Musée de l’Orangerie allows you to see each of the paintings in high definition on the internet but navigation is not exactly direct. Click first in the left column of the main page on “Les Nymphéas” and then on “L’ensemble de l’Orangerie”  which brings you to a page with all of the paintings. You click on the painting you want to examine and click again on the box that says “explorez le tableau” (“explore the painting”). You then can drag your mouse to see each part of the painting or zoom in at 2x or 4x. There also are detailed explanations of the paintings in French that are fascinating, as is a history of Monet and these paintings. You get to that part of the website by following the previous directions and selecting “De Giverny à l’Orangerie” instead of “L’ensemble de l’Orangerie.” I should warn you that it is very easy to lose track of time as you take in the beauty of these paintings.

I love photographing water lilies surrounded by green lily pads, with reflections of their beauty in the dark water, the same flowers featured in Monet’s paintings. Until this past weekend, however, all the water lilies that I had seen had been pure white in color. At Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens I encountered and managed to photograph some water lilies that were a beautiful pink in color.  They made quite an impression on me.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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