This is one of my favorite early morning images. This poppy, in the shade in my backyard, is still closed, but the sun is reflecting back from the brick wall. A single drop of dew is ready to fall.
April, 2010
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Apr 10
Poppy and Dewdrop
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Apr 10
Pampas Grass in Prunedale
Pampas grass is a grass from South America that is highly invasive throughout coastal California. It thrives in Prunedale, colonizing bare and disturbed ground. A single plant can produce up to a million seeds in a lifetime. The tall plumes can be attractive but they are full of seeds ready to start new plants. I came upon these plants just as the sun was rising and thought they made a striking silhouette. I gave the image a sepia tone to complement the earth tones.
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Apr 10
Glass Sculpture
A final photo from the Bridge of Glass. It is interesting to imagine Chihuly’s sculpture as a prism filtering natural light for many years to come, providing inspiration and pleasure for many generations. There is more information about the bridge here.
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Apr 10
Colorful Glass Sculpture from Tacoma
Another photo from the ceiling of the Bridge of Glass in Tacoma, Washington. The Bridge of Glass connects Tacoma’s downtown with the waterfront. Tacoma has become a destination for glass art tourism, thanks to artist Dale Chihuly. There is more information about Chihuly here.
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Apr 10
Glass Sculpture from the Chihuly Bridge of Glass
The Chihuly Bridge of Glass is a 500 foot walkway outside the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, Washington. The sculpture is from artist Dale Chihuly, a world famous glass sculpture artist from Tacoma. Thousands of pieces of Chihuly’s glass sculptures are imbedded in the glass ceiling of the walkway. Light shining through the sculpture creates beautiful and pleasing compositions.
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Apr 10
Echium Plants at the Carmel Mission
This statue is in the courtyard of the Carmel Mission. The plants seem to lead the eye up to the face of the statue.
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Apr 10
Echium plants in Pacific Grove
The large blooms look like feather dusters. Each spike is made up of tiny florets that are attractive to bees and hummingbirds. The plants are striking and make great foreground interest for wide-angle shots. The lens of the camera was 6 inches from the bloom in the lower left corner.
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Apr 10
Pride of Madeira
Echium candicans, sometmes called Pride of Madeira, grows profusely along the recreation trail in Pacific Grove, California. The blooms are usually purple but may also be a cobalt blue or pink. They begin to bloom in mid to late March and are a sure sign of Spring in Monterey County.
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Apr 10
Poppy and Raindrops
This is an early morning macro shot of a poppy in my backyard. It had rained the previous evening and this poppy had broken away from the stem. The raindrops seemed to weigh it down even more.
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Apr 10
Yellow Orange Glow
Poppies are difficult to photograph. They are in their glory in the direct sun but that is often a harsh and flat light. They are most dramatic when back lighted but that is a challenge to expose properly. This a macro shot of poppy petals with a very shallow depth of field. With so little in focus, the yellow and orange seems to glow even more.