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.
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.
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.
The Huntington Library and Gardens is one of our favorite places to visit. It is also one of the most photogenic. The Japanese Garden is an old favorite, with the classical wood bridge arching over the lily and koi pond. While color images are nice, I like the timeless quality of black and white. It makes the scene very serene.
Last Friday, July 3, Tina and I had a day off from work for the Independence Day holiday. We went to Malibu via the Las Virgenes Road / Malibu Creek Road and had lunch at the Reel In restaurant along the Pacific Coast Highway. After lunch we went to the California Art Club show at the Frederick R. Weisman Museum at Pepperdine University, which was very good indeed.
On the way back we stopped at Malibu Creek State Park, which is about halfway between the coast and the 101 FWY. We'd hoped to have enough time to let Tina do some plein air painting and for me to do some medium format photography, but we got there later than we intended and discovered the road didn't go very far into the park. So we did a short reconnoitering mission on foot as it was very hot and we didn't have a lot of water on us. So I grabbed my 40D and we hiked about .5 miles down the dirt road past Las Virgenes Creek and on to Malibu Creek, where I shot this photo.
It turns out the set for the T.V. show MASH was not too far from where we were. Apparently a tent and ambulance were left as displays for people to see. The signpost said it was only a couple of miles further on, but again, it was very hot and getting close to closing time, so we decided it would be an adventure for another day. We certainly plan on returning and exploring the area more thoroughly - albeit in cooler weather and with lots of water!
As a belated Happy 4th of July to everyone, here's a General Dynamics (now Lockheed Martin) F-16XL at the 1998 Edwards AFB open house with an American flag reflected in its canopy. It was a fun image to shot.
The American Volunteer Group (AVG), otherwise known as the Flying Tigers, has to rank as one of the most legendary units ever to make a name for itself in combat. Using Curtiss P-40B Warhawks, the AVG first went into action in the skies over Burma on 20 December 1941, nearly two weeks after Pearl Harbor. It's last mission as the AVG, before the group was absorbed by the U.S. Army Air Force 23rd Fighter Group, was - fittingly enough - on 4 July 1942, nearly 67 years ago.
The shape of the P-40's nose lent itself to the sharkmouth motif. An AVG pilot saw a photo of a British Royal Air Force P-40 unit based in North Africa that had the sharkmouth and decided it would look great on their aircraft as well. The 23rd FG adopted that look and continues the tradition to this day on their A-10A Warthogs.
I shot this image at the 2002 Hawthorne Air Faire, Hawthorne, CA. This was at the end of the day, with the approaching twilight coloring the sky and clouds. The P-40 looked ready to take to the air at a moments notice. It made for a very nice image.
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. 
