Fireworks on Owasco Lake 2012. Auburn

Last night, there was another lovely display of fireworks shot from Emerson Park on Owasco Lake.  The view from the shore of the lake was perfect for the high flying boomers.  Here are some photos I captured.

The first four shots were flares that were ignited on a dock, while the rest were from Emerson Park.

Cornell Martha Young Garden

The Cornell Plantations gardens are full of color.  The annual poppies are in bloom and were full of bees this week.  There are also several varieties of iris as well as many upright lilies.  Here are some samples of flowers that I photographed in the late morning this week. The sun was almost too harsh in some instances.

Iris

Daisies

Allium

iris

Lilies

Lilies

Lilies

Daisies

Cana on the patio

annual poppy

Annual poppy

The Lotus are Blooming!

This season, everything is blooming early. The lotus have popped out 2 weeks early!  I hope they will last for a long time, since I have a Garden Conservancy tour here on August 4th.

The delicate flowers are always soothing to the soul and the leaves undulate gracefully in the breezes.

Other flowers that are blooming now are the Foxgloves and Day lilies.  And of course there are numerous frogs leaping into the pond as I walk by. No scarcity of them here!

Lotus

Frog

Day lily

Frog

Lotus behind a small willow

Day lily

Lotus

Lotus

Fox glove

Foxglove

Flowers on Black on a July evening

I set up black velvet against a trifold support and placed my camera on a tripod in front of this.  Several flowers from the garden were the subjects for the afternoon photo shoot. The sun was low around 6:30 and provided a warm glow to the day lilies, daisies, and petunias.  Here are some macro shots, some without adjustment and others with Photoshop artistic adds.

Japanese Garden and Poetry at the Johnson Museum

Yesterday, there was a poetry writing event in the Japanese Garden of the Johnson Museum in Ithaca.  What a lovely, inspiring site to meditate, reflect, and write!  Peter Fortunato led the group with some intro lines and we wrote and wrote.  I would not say I came up with any poetry, but it was fun, inspirational, and relaxing.  There is another session of poetry on July 25th if you are in the area and interested. Just call the museum.

Tree that came from Pennsylvania and was trimmed to appear as a Japanese tree

Moss on the floor under the tree

Stone representing one of the wise elders

Tiger Glen represented by stones collected in Connecticut for the project

Here are some photos I took while sitting there.  The story of Tiger Glen, after which Marc Keane designed the garden, is an interesting tale.  The following is from the Marc Keane website (http://www.mpkeane.com/tigerglen.html):

THE STORY

The Tiger Glen is the setting of a famous Chinese parable, often reproduced in Chinese and Japanese paintings. In the story three men, each of whom represents a philosophy or religion, experience a flash of enlightenment and mutual understanding. The story goes that Huiyuan, a Buddhist priest, lived in seclusion from society in his mountain temple, swearing never to leave its precincts by crossing the nearby Tiger Glen. One day, he was visited by two close friends: Tao Yuanming, a Confucianist, and Lu Xiujing, a Daoist. Late in the day, as he saw them off, Huiyuan was so lost in friendly conversation that he unwittingly crossed the Tiger Glen. At this, the three men broke out laughing, realizing true wisdom surpasses a strict adherence to dogma.

THE GARDEN

The Garden of the Tiger Glen, recreates the parable in abstract in the form of a sculptural garden. A simple field of green moss is split by a cleft that represents the glen. A “torrent” of small stones runs through the glen. Three upright boulders are set to evoke the three characters. They have qualities that are peaceful, sculptural and humorous all at once. Their position represents the moment of enlightenment in the story. One pine tree represents the deep mountains.

BROADER MEANING

Although the historical parable urges understanding between three Asian religions, the garden can also be interpreted in broader terms to be promoting mutual understanding between any diverse groups. Right now in the world, there are any number of situations where diverse groups compete violently with each other. The message of the garden — that true wisdom is found beyond divergent philosophies — is a good one for people to contemplate as they sit with the garden.

Peonies on Black

I think any flower looks great photographed with a black background.  I hang a piece of black velvet over a trifold upright on a table and wait for the afternoon sun to be perfect coming through the windows.  I prefer the natural light for these photographs.

I visited a friend's garden who has magnificent peonies, both of the tree version and the herbaceous. The rows and rows of peonies are magnificent.  I clipped a few samples and brought them home to photograph that afternoon.  Here is a selection from that "shoot".