Random Flowers

Occasionally, I like to shoot some flower shots, at all times of the day, whether it be mid-day, sunrise, or sunset.  These photos are also at different locations which I will mention with every photo.  I'm not sure want all the flowers are so if you have any ideas, let me know so I can update.

Enjoy the flower pictures!

Daisy's located at the Boston Public Gardens.

As I walked over the bridge toward Beacon St. in the Public Gardens I looked left, right, left, right and spotted a lone Daisy sticking it's pretty head out and had to take a picture.  As the sun shined behind it creating a light spot in the perfect place directly behind the flower, I took the shot not wanting to miss that opportunity.  The dark green above was a neighboring tree's shadow cast upon the grass.  This created a dynamic photo of what I like to call "Lone Flower" 

Daisy's located at the Boston Public Gardens.

I also saw this Daisy that was basking in the sunshine.  I focused on the flower, while this time a group of white flowers stood behind in the shadow of a bush.  The light shinning upon a flower created some interested shadows.  

Close-up.

Public Gardens.

Lollypop Field.

Public Gardens.

Public Gardens.

This photo was taken during two of my best friend's wedding, Noah and Erin.  They got married in a beautiful church that had flowers all along the pews.  Here is a picture of one of them.  As I was sitting down waiting for the ceremony to begin, I took a picture of this flower with the altar in the background.

This picture was taken at Noah and Erin's wedding as well.  This was during the reception.  There was a beautiful bouquet near the entrance to the ceremony that I spotted.  Aiming the camera toward the full length glass windows that light was beaming through, I had the flowers in focus playing off the light vs. dark  You can also see some people that are a little blurring adding to the effect.

These next photos were shot right after a morning rain.  I woke up one morning and decided to ride my bike and take some shots of the sunset.  checking the weather the night before saying it was going to be partly cloudy, i ended up being nothing but cloudy.  It wasn't a let down though and I made use of the time I was there.  I ended up going to the Waterfront Park.  There was a little flower garden I wandered into since I couldn't get any good sunrise shots.  So, I several shots of different flowers from different angles to get...well...different perspectives.

Ahhh...the Flower Twins.

Knelling down angling the camera up with the cloudy background beyond, I took this shot.  Not much light was shinning upon this flower except the top of the flower a little bit.  But, this picture I feel is more about the colors and relationship from one flower to the other than anything else.  The connection there is, is much more powerful than anything else.  I guess that's why I like this photo the most out of the four.

Close-up of water droplets on flower.

The Rose Twins.

The Rose Connection.

I guess the next step would be to look at the aspect of artificial light to create more intense shadows for more dynamic photos.  To create more of a mood, for better or worse.

Arnold Arboretum

One of my favorite places to wander around is the Arnold Arboretum, owned by Harvard University, but located in Jamaica Plain, MA.  It's a beautiful park full of nature, full of animals, full of life.  I enjoy the scenery, the nature, the walk and just being there.  I would suggest going if you ever get a chance.

If you want to learn more about the Arnold Arboretum below is a link to the site.

http://arboretum.harvard.edu/

This place although big is beautiful.  It takes about 30 minutes to walk from one end to the other but well worth the walk. 

Below are some pictures I've taken in the park...Enjoy!

While walking through the Arboretum I found a little stream where I wandered and explored up and down looking for a spot to set up my tripod.  I wanted to find a spot where the water flowed over and around rocks to add a little more dynamic effect.  I actually found this spot not even using my tripod I set my camera on a rock with a wood chip underneath one end of it to level it off and took the picture.  I liked how this came out, it became one of my favorites.

Looking up a tree.

Group of trees with sunlight shinning through.

With these two photos I wish I had some artificial light with me to light the that black hole in the left photo and create more light on the ground in the right photo.

I was fooling around with different angles to take the pictures of the stream.  I tilted the camera a little bit and had the shutter open for 2 sec with an f/10 to create this image.  I also wanted to include that yellow leave their to pull your eye in the direction of the water's flow.

This picture was taken a little bit more downstream from the previous pictures.  I tilted the camera to get more of the stream in the picture.  Looking more at this picture I wish I had taken it with something to focus on instead of nothing.

Beginning of path into Arboretum.

Light of the Moon.

As I was walking back to catch the T at Forrest Hills I looked back noticing the light coming from another building illuminating the tree, at least that one side and decided I would take a picture.  It came out better than I thought it would, especially in HDR.

Chinese Path.

I really enjoyed how the composition of this photo came out.  As I was walking down the leave covered path on the partly cloudy day, I wanted to put my camera on the ground to establish a worm's eye view of the path.  I liked the blur of the leave's close-up and the angle of the camera almost promotes a twisting motion that is happening in the middle of the photo.  Can you see it?

Chinese Path.

I walked down the path a little bit more, turned around facing the beginning of the path and took some shots.  I put my camera down on the rock wall to take a picture.  I kept part of the wall in focus and the rest of the picture a little blurry.  The "Man in Black" came out well in the surrounding colors and although is blurry it is the main focus in this photo.

Worm's Eye view of path down toward stream.

Ahhhhh...the Arboretum.  It's a place to get away from the city but stay close.  It's a place to relax and enjoy views atop Peter's Hill.  A place to walk your dog, a place to run, a place to read a book.  Enjoy the nature, be a part of the nature, watch the nature unfold before your eyes.  Be a part of millions of different species of plants and trees.  This all combines into a wonderful experience that is worth the trip.