Golden Joy

It's pretty safe to say that a laughing baby brightens up any moment. It's golden. There's another discovery that is pretty sure fire.  Sunflowers!  A short detour from my outing to fill the car's gas tank this morning took my mind off the long "to do" list that I faced.

Today was a very busy day as we prepared to depart for some granddaughter time.  I had only minutes to explore the field.  I think the field will have a long run as a succession of golden flowers reach peak, and then fade into reddish seed heads. 

I think the flowers take on facial characteristics, as some look joyfully upward and others nod downward as maybe being thoughtful.

Maybe the sunflowers energized me.  As I write this, my entire list for the day is completed.

I hope you can find some sunflowers just as I did.

Paul Schmitt

Traveling Light on a Foggy Morning

At 6:30 am this morning, I began a walk at a nearby park with the aim to get it done before the morning rain arrived from the west.  I am not a regular early walker unlike several gentlemen. As I turned on to the abandoned Rhode's farm road, one of the regulars called out "what, no camera today?"  He knows me.  My reply was simply "I'm traveling light!"  Light meant my iPhone 13 Pro seen at right.  I expected mostly a nice walk and maybe a few birds.  

I'd forgotten how nice the early morning is with everything damp from some fog.  The first discovery was a trio of teasels newly in bloom.  Notice how they begin blooming at the top and work their way down.   Bumblebees love them.

I rediscovered using the portrait mode on the 13 Pro.  Portraits keep the focus near the front and rather shallow, so the background doesn't compete with the people (subject).  If your phone has a portrait setting, give it a try for more than people shots.

I really did not pause very long to photograph, as the rain was on the radar. My next find was a wild Morning Glory.   The pink flowers are low thistles that will soon be the target for Goldfinches collecting seeds for newly hatch chicks.

Next, I had to stop for a single Sumac.  The dampness produced richly saturated colors, and soft light avoided any shiny hot spots.

Again, the portrait mode blurred the background.  The key for capturing my attention was a single isolated subject.  I wish that early in my learning a teacher had explained the value of composing  without confusing intersections (called conjunctions.)  

I got underway quickly and was maintaining a good pace until I saw a two layer composition-  teasel and goldenrod.

You might complain that the goldenrod is not quite sharp. True.  The teasels are closest and brightest.  That's where nearly everyone starts, and surely we know the form of goldenrod sufficiently.  

Back underway, I reached the end of the road and turned back.  Have you ever walked a long hiking trail, and when turned around, the view was unfamiliar?  You might even be confused.  Well, I was not puzzled, but I did see another interesting composition. None of the Queen Anne's lace seemed attractive. But now it was floating over the abandoned road showing me the way home.

Again, the subject avoids being conjoined with the green surrounds. 

Now, back towards my car. Reaching Lowe Pond, I just had to stop for this single Purple Loosestrife.  Yes, it's an invasive plant that will never yield its place, but using the portrait mode did make a nice result.

I could now see sprinkles on the pond, so there were no more stops. The tracker says 2.03 miles in 58 minutes.  Not bad considering nine stops along the way.

Paul

Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens

Along the banks of the Anacostia River in the District of Columbia is the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens. It's operated by the the National Park Service.  In mid-July, it's predictably hot and humid, so I arrived when the gates opened at 8:00 a.m.  As you can see at the right,  it does get crowded around 10:30 am, when I'm leaving for the day. 

The main attraction for me is the large number of water lotus in bloom.  The huge flower is matched by the disc-like seed pods that appears later.

Photographing the water lotus has its difficulties.  They grow in large, shallow water pools that are easy to admire, but much more difficult to photograph from dry land.

Luckily, on this visit there were no mosquitos at add to the challenge.  I find the new flower buds very appealing, if I can find an uncluttered setting with a bit of early morning light.

Another favorite setting is the combination of a new bud plus a fully open flower.

Mixed in with the lotus are pools with water lilies.

 

Water lilies are more challenging because they are not standing on a tall stalk at my eye level, and frankly, getting down to their level muddied my knees, and attracted bemused looks from non-photographers.  (I'm used to it.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

There was another unexpected flowering plant in the shallow water, identified by my friend Rosemarie Parker as spider lily.  It's appearance suggested tome "orchid", so I had to once again get down low to capture its beauty.

I was rather pleased with the resulting image.

An added bonus to my early bird arrival was capturing one of only three parking spaces under some shade trees.  

Paul Schmitt