Lotus abound!

Each morning is a thrill for photographing the lotus!  About 100 are in bloom right now, with buds still coming on.  The pods from the withered blooms are enlarging, with seeds beginning to show in their development.  Great season for these flowers!  I am enthralled by them.

Here are two images. One is a straight photographic image and the other is a montage produced through manipulation. I actually like them both. Your thoughts?

Day lily montages

After taking several digital images of the Day Lily Days flowers on Saturday, I am ready to manipulate some of them to produce some lily montages.  Note the extra white space after the manipulation. Hope you like it this way.

Luscious Lotus!

The lotus are filling the pond behind my gardens and are numbering about 50 in bloom at one time.  Hard to convey the full sense of the flowers swaying in the gentle breeze, glowing in all types of light, and changing hues depending upon the time of day, the age of the flower, and the amount of light.  I photograph them early in the morning, when the light is soft, or late in the afternoon for the intensity of back lighting.  This pond will be on the Garden Conservancy tour on July 31st, 10-4, if you are in the Ithaca area.

Day lily cultivars

The wild day lilies are abundant in NYS but can hardly compete with some of the gorgeous cultivars available.  These cultivars have a breath of colors, are robust, and beautiful to observe. Here is one I purchased a few years ago from Daylily Days, Ann Rider, in Ithaca.

nancyridenourartist: Lotus Montage.7.8.10

nancyridenourartist: Lotus Montage.7.8.10

Lotus Montage.7.8.10

The Artist Market is on July 30th at the Farmers' Market in Ithaca and I am working on some new montages to sell at the market.  Since the lotus are in glorious bloom, I have been lured back to photographing them at every possible angle and time of day.  Here is the latest montage.  Love to hear any comments and feedback.

Lilies

Lilies that grow from bulbs are in bloom in Ithaca right now.  The day lilies are also in bloom but are not the same plants.  According to an internet site, Lilies are believed to have been under cultivation longer than any other ornamental flower, having existed in gardens 3,000 years ago. Floral designs, particularly of Lilies, made their appearance and became very popular in the 18th dynasty of Egypt. Many flowers have interesting symbolism and use, which is always fun to study.  This lily was photographed back lit by the afternoon sun.

Sunflowers

The first sunflower reminds me of the fields and fields of sunflowers in Provence and the wonderful Van Gogh art that was inspired by them.  The intensity of the light in Provence is truly unique and well described by Van Gogh as almost piercing your brain through your eyes.  Here is a sunflower montage produced from a photo taken yesterday in a friend's garden.  Hope you enjoy it.

Lovely Lavender!

I visited friends who have an exquisite collection of Lavender in the peak of bloom.  The bees were seeking nectar with abandon and the lavender swayed in the very slight breeze. Such a hot day here in Ithaca, but it was fun trying to catch the flowers in the afternoon sun.

Public Library Show

Several members from the NYFA MARK program (marketing program for artists run by 

New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA)

) are participating in a show at the Tompkins County Public Library, which will be up for a couple months.  I submitted three pieces:  Lotus Montage, Tree Peony Montage, and the Cornell Uris Bell Tower with lotus montage.  If you live in or near Ithaca, please drop by to see the show.