The Azaleas are Starting to Bloom

We traveled to Annmarie Garden again this year to photograph their azalea collection.  There were quite a few different varieties.  Last year we were a little late, and this year we were almost too early.  Enough were blooming for me to get some nice photos.

More Spring Flowers May 7, 2018

 Azaleas

 White Dogwood

 Painterly Bluebells

Jenkins Arboretum Azaleas

We visited Jenkins Arboretum in Paoli, PA when the azaleas were in full bloom and the skies were drizzling and misty.  You might think that would be a terrible time to visit, but the opposite was true.  There was lots of rain on the flowers and the colors were lovely.

     Curving trail

     Pink on pink.  Never tried this before.  What do you think of the colors?

     White azalea

     Pink azalea

     Could this be an azalea?

     Pink and white azalea

     Magenta azalea

Annmarie Gardens

We recently visited Annmarie Gardens in Dowell, MD (near Solomon's Island) to photograph the azaleas.  

      Possibly iris

      Entrance

There were quite a few fairy and gnome homes scattered around the gardens.

I photographed a few to share, but I rarely post other people's art unless I am adding something unique to the artwork.

     

      Made of green plastic bottles

      Beach view lighthouse

     Gnome with poison ivy (yipes) tucked into the trunk of a tree!  

     Chalk walk

     Interesting artistic fence

Later, we dropped off my 2 photos for the SWARM:  Invasion of the Insects Exhibit (May 20th-Aug 28th).

Photographing Spring flowers

I've spent some time recently photographing spring flowers using a micro (macro) 60 mm Nikon lens and 2 small flashes on a ring around the lens (a special Nikon flash system).  The azaleas, dogwoods and tulips were in bloom.  A tip for photographing flowers is that uneven numbers of blooms look particularly nice.  I often like dark or blurred backgrounds and the flower's center and foreground should be in focus.  Azaleas were difficult because they tend to bloom in pairs not triplets.  Red flowers tend to get overexposed with a digital camera, so I underexpose them a little in RAW format and check them on my camera viewing screen often.  I particularly like backlit flowers and flower shots taken from unusual angles, like underneath.  To learn a little more about flower photography, check out this article by the New York Institute of Photography.