Tag: #dogwood

Summer to Spring

In Naples, Florida in late April the weather was hot and sunny every day; temperatures would typically climb to 88 degrees Fahrenheit. Somedays, the heat and humidity were annoying.

So we drove north for two days to our Western Pennsylvania home and voila — the weather here is cloudy and rainy with temperatures in the mid-50s. This Spring weather can be kind of annoying too, especially when it’s time to walk the dog.

The silver lining of this “time travel” from summer heat to spring rain is the blooming dogwood. Our home is surrounded by four dogwood trees, blooming now in pink and white blossoms. In between rain showers, I took a few photos.

pink dogwood
When the pink dogwood blossoms first open, their color is darker and more vibrant.

I’m trying out my Macro lens, since I’m going to be taking a class in Macro Photography next week. I’m on my way to Tucson, AZ in a few days for the North American Nature Photographers’ Association Summit Meeting.

White Dogwood Welcome

On May 10, this white dogwood tree is in bloom and is welcoming visitors to the back porch of my home in Southwestern Pennsylvania.

#spring, #dogwood, #whitedogwood, #backdoor, #pennsylvania, #sewickley, #may, #home
Welcome to the Kelly’s house in Sewickley.

For the past week, I’ve felt a bit of “creative block.” Back home where my surroundings are familiar, I can’t seem to find a subject to photograph. Then, I noticed the sun hitting the white dogwood blossoms, and I thought I’d better go have a look through the lens before a hard rain or a sharp wind gust tossed them all to the ground. A wide angle lens made the flowers take center stage in the foreground.

Whirl of White Dogwood

Fresh white dogwood blossoms against a deep blue sky add up to brilliant Spring day.  This presentation, a photo with intentional camera movement, combines white, blue and green colors as well as the organic shapes in a unique way.

#white, #flowers, #may, #spring, #bluesky, #icm, #unique, #art, #nature
White dogwood in bloom on a perfect Spring day.

I love the painterly ripples around the outside of the swirl. This image is asking to be made into a large metal print. How does it make you feel?

 

Dogwood in My Own Backyard

Admiring some beautiful photos of the dogwood blooming in Yosemite, I realized there was an opportunity for me to photograph dogwood blooms in my own backyard — for my two white and two pink dogwood trees are now in bloom.

#dogwood, #backyard, #spring, #pink, #sigma, #macro, #bokeh
You can even find a flower within the flower in this macro image of the dogwood.

My photography practice was taking a break during the month of April, as my attention was focused on my father’s failing health, his hospice care, his death, mourning and support of my surviving mother. As you may know from experience, these events can be overwhelming.

Mother’s Day gave me a reason to pause and give myself the time to think about photography again. I sent myself to the garden in the late afternoon to look for some compositions. It’s a challenge to find a composition amid a tree full of blooms and a low vantage point on the ground, but I found a perch on my back porch and the lens to create just the right background bokeh, the 105mm Sigma macro lens.

It’s nice to be reminded that photo opportunities are right there in your own backyard.