A Beacon of Hope

A Beacon of Hope

It was over 3 weeks ago that we enjoyed what we thought was the last Pink Apricot Serenade daylily – the queen of our garden.  Yet a little over a week ago a new bud began to form, and we knew we were in for one more treat. Each day it got a little bigger, and we thought it would bloom this past Thursday, although we hoped it wouldn’t since the forecast was for heavy rain. And she held out for one more day, blooming gloriously on September 11th, a beacon of hope on this most solemn of days.

6 Comments

  1. Lyne Nagele

    Lovely! Looking forward to reading and seeing your photos Anita!

    Reply
    • Anita

      Thank you so much, Lyne – you are so kind!

      Reply
  2. Donna Milburn

    What a gorgeous flower and photo. I can see why it is called the queen of your garden and it was meant to bloom on September 11.

    Reply
    • Anita

      Oh Donna, thank you so much for your lovely comments! It felt so right to have it bloom on September 11 and I’m so glad I had the chance to capture it!

      Reply
  3. Ann Davis

    This is fantastic. It would make a wonderful card for this date. You do have a way with the lilies.

    Ann ?

    Reply
    • Anita

      Thank you so much for your lovely comments, Ann! I have a lot of practice shooting them!

      Reply

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The Dance of Joy

Joyous Dancer

This glorious black-eyed susan,  joyously pirouetting on a most perfect summer’s evening, was one of the highlights of our recent  visit to the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in Boothbay, Maine. The gardens usually close at 6:00 in the summer, but this was a member evening so we had the pleasure of shooting in the magical evening light until 7:30.

We’d been looking forward to this evening all month, so we were a bit dismayed when raindrops started to fall as soon as we arrived. But the shower passed quickly and the rest of the evening was just, well, picture-perfect!

I processed this graceful dancer in PS with RadLab (customized setting) and a touch of Topaz Detail, then added layers of Ovid Banished (Flypaper Textures) and Jai Johnson’s Touch of Autumn canvas texture.

 

4 Comments

  1. Lyne Nagele

    So full of light! I too, use flypaper textures! I’ve not tried Jai Johnson’s yet! Gorgeous.

    Reply
    • Anita

      Thank you so much for your delightful comments and for taking the time to go through my blog, Lyne! I’ll send you a link to Jai’s textures – they are wonderful!

      Reply
  2. Viv Halliwell

    What a glorious image Anita such a happy colour.

    Reply
    • Anita

      Thank you so much for your lovely comments, Viv! And I’m sorry it took me so long to reply!

      Reply

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Every Flower is a Soul…

Every Flower is a soul blossoming in nature.Coneflowers are one of my favorite flowers, and I always enjoy spending time among them in our garden. As with all flowers, each one has its own personality, and this one really caught my eye. She seems to be looking up at the sky with a sense of joy I could feel as well as see. And I love the soft glow effect from the Lensbaby Velvet 56.

I wasn’t familiar with the Gerald De Nerval quote, but once I found it I knew i was the perfect complement to my lovely coneflower.

Processed with On1 Perfect Effects 9, customized preset from Nicole S. Young’s Portland Matte presets, and added Lemoncello from Flypaper Textures and Light it Up #19 From 2 Li’l Owls.

14 Comments

  1. Beverly

    I’m late … This is really beautiful and I like all the processing you added to it. Glad you shared your blog link on FB. xx

    Reply
    • Anita

      Thank you so much for your kind comments and your support, Beverly! xx

      Reply
  2. Lyne Nagele

    This is such beautiful softness. Beautiful work.

    Reply
    • Anita

      Thank you so much for your lovely comments, Lyne!

      Reply
  3. Melinda

    This is really lovely- I love the hazy look and composition! I have Perfect Effects- just checked and I don’t have that preset- darn! I never think to do this kind of processing in that program (tend to just use it for landscape and gritty photos)- you’ve inspired me to explore some of the other options!

    Reply
    • Anita

      Thank you so much for your lovely comments, Melinda! I do find that some of the presets work better on the kinds of images you mentioned, but I’ve had good results with Portland Matte presets on some of my flower images. You can check them out here: Portland Matte presets.

      I hope you have fun playing with presets and trying new things with your lovely images!

      Reply
  4. Caz

    What a lovely photo , so soft and tranquil, love it so much !

    Reply
    • Anita

      Oh, you are so kind, Caz! Thank you so much!

      Reply
  5. Kristi

    Beautiful quote Anita and the picture is just gorgeous….so soft and inviting!

    Reply
    • Anita

      Thank you so much for your delightful comments, Kristi!

      Reply
  6. Ann Davis

    Anita,

    Perfect flower and photo. Nice and gentle. Just what we all needed after yesterday.

    Ann

    Reply
    • Anita

      Thank you so much for your lovely comments, Ann! And yes, we can all use some “gentle” after yesterday!

      Reply
  7. Lynn

    Your photo art is just beautiful , and I love the quote, fits it perfectly !

    Reply
    • Anita

      Thank you so much for your kind comments, Lynn! I’m so glad you like it!

      Reply

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Here’s Looking at You, Kid!

Dragonfly in our Yard

 

I don’t do a lot of insect photography, mainly because they move quickly and I move slowly, but this dragonfly kindly stayed around for me to shoot for almost 5 minutes, around 6:15 p.m. a little over a week ago. He was perched on the lovely begonia plant in our backyard, giving me a lovely backdrop for his portrait.

There wasn’t much light in that part of the yard, so even with ISO 2000 I had to shoot at f / 5.0. Not surprisingly, I didn’t get much in focus, but at least in this shot his eyes are pretty sharp. Not as sharp as I would like, of course, but I’m happy to have gotten at least one decent shot.

Since Casablanca is one of our favorite movies (we saw it on our first date back in 1972 at the Harvard Square Theater) I couldn’t resist using this quote for my title.

Processed in with basic adjustments and with Brushed Rose from Flypaper Textures, using Adobe Paper Textures.

5 Comments

  1. Lynn

    Wow, isn’t he a beauty, your work always amazes me!

    Reply
  2. Carolyn

    This is an amazing photo with all the detail you have captured . . even the wings. Love your back story as well.

    Reply
    • Anita

      Thank you so much for your lovely comments, Carolyn! I was so lucky that he “posed” for me!

      Reply
  3. Ann Davis

    Anita
    Love the story, picture and just found your gallery. So wonderful. All 3

    Ann

    Reply
    • Anita

      Thank you so much for your kind comments, Ann!

      Reply

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Queen of the Garden

Pink Apricot Serenade

The daylilies in our garden have given us a magnificent show all summer. Although most of them have finished blooming, we are lucky that the most majestic of them all is still strutting her stuff.

She is called Pink Apricot Serenade, and she holds court in the far upper corner of our garden where she can be seen and enjoyed up close and from afar.

This majestic beauty may have been the most glorious all season. Wider than my hand span (about 7 inches) and bursting with life, she summoned me to shoot what would have been many rolls of film, and I’m so thankful that digital photography gives me that freedom! The early evening light was magical, and shooting toward the west gave me a lovely background.

Processed in Photoshop with a touch of Oil Paint from Snap Art 4 and 2 textures (Caspian and Brushed Rose) from Flypaper Textures, using Adobe Paper Textures.

8 Comments

  1. Carolyn

    Glorious . . . . a piece of nature that you captured and turned into what would be a fleeting memory into a forever art piece.

    Reply
    • Anita

      Oh, you are so kind, Carolyn! Thank you so much!

      Reply
  2. Kristi

    This is wonderful, Anita! Congrats on your new website!

    Reply
    • Anita

      Thank you so much, Kristi! I’m so glad you stopped by!

      Reply
  3. Melinda

    Fabulous, Anita! Beautiful image and beautiful website- congratulations!

    Reply
    • Anita

      Thank you so much for stopping by and leaving such a lovely comment, Melinda!

      Reply
  4. Ann Davis

    Anita,
    What a beautiful flower and a great story. Congratulations on your relaunch. I am excited for you Your flowers are amazing.

    Ann??

    Reply
    • Anita

      Thank you so much for your kind comments, Ann! It was a labor of love!

      Reply

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