Lavender Lilies - Striped Pads

A bit trickier to shoot are lilies in bloom against the dark green of the leaves and black water in direct sunlight. This is one of those cases where a bit of diffusion from high clouds or even a little overcast would be welcome. White and yellow lilies especially are prone to high contrast blow-outs. Lavender lilies, on the other hand, can turn out quite well. I really like the green and reddish brown stripes on the leaves.

This was shot on the same day as yesterday's post, but at the new Chinese Garden at the Huntington. If you haven't seen it, it is well worth the visit.

Koi & Lilypads Study #1

For those who expressed a desire to see green lilypads on water, this one's for you. As I mentioned earlier, there is a tranquil quality about lilypads that attracts me in both black and white and in color. While these aren't the most attractive and green of leaves, they make a startling contrast with the black water and orange Koi. And yet the contrast does not disturb the peacefulness of the image, but takes it in its own unique direction. There is a reason why these fish in particular and ponds and aquariums in general are so popular. An oasis of calm in our stressful lives is both welcome and necessary for our sanity. Or at least some semblance of what sanity we can salvage these days. It brings new meaning to the phrase, "so long and thanks for all the fish."

Like the previous two posts, this was shot at the Huntington Gardens, but at the dolphin fountain in the statue lawn.

Lily Pad Study #1 - Huntington Gardens

I don't know why, but I find lily pads very peaceful. They are also very photogenic in both black and white and color. I think what attracts me is the reflective quality of the water mixed with the shape, texture and colors and/or tones of the plant. The various ponds at the Huntington Library and Gardens offer some very nice lily pads and I never tire of shooting them. These were at the base of the Japanese bridge in the previous post and shot on the same evening. They make a rather complimentary set of photos.

Lilies for Georgia

A must see venue in Sante Fe, New Mexico, is the Georgia O'Keefe Museum. I've always liked her work, but it wasn't until I saw her actual paintings on our first visit eleven years ago that I became a fan. Tina is attending the Oil Painters of America national convention in Sante Fe this week, so we again visited the museum. Thus fortified, we then we started gallery hopping.

The Verve Gallery had these lilies in their space to compliment their photography show. As we were contemplating the photos on display and in their backstock (Don Kirby has some marvelous work there) Tina decided she wanted some grab-shots of the lilies so she could try her interpretation of O'Keefe's style as practice. After asking permission to take some quickie shots (always important to ask "mother-may-I" in a gallery), I used our old cheapie Canon A-80 PowerShot and took a couple of angles. I liked the results, so here is my homage to the marvelous Ms Georgia.