My favorite time of the year. The sights and sounds of Christmas. So since I’m in a festive mood here are some reds and whites from the floral kingdom.
Photo 1: Festive Dahlia
Photo 2: White Orchids
Photo 3: Red Dahlia
Photo 4: Red Orchids
Photo 5: Speckled red orchids
Happy Holidays everyone!
Dahlias are remarkably beautiful. They used to grow prolifically in my Grandfather’s garden and the ease of growing such large and striking blooms almost made me take them for granted. After not seeing them in such abundance for several years and then coming across the patch near the San Francisco Conservatory of flowers they were a true joy to behold so I got up nice and close.
Photo 1: Pom Pom Dahlia
Photo 2: Higgledy Piggledy Dahlia
Photo 3: Pink Pom Pom
Photo 4: Dashing Dahlia
Photo 5: Starburst
Photo 6: Red Pom Pom
Photo 7: Red Dahlias in the garden
We’ve had some very welcome rain in California this week! Thrilled for my garden and especially the roses that have bloomed beautifully and bravely through the drought.
Photo 1: Morning Rose
Photo 2: Pink Rose
Photo 3: Just pretty
Photo 4: Rosey
Something old, something new, nothing borrowed, nothing blue! Some vintage rose photos just for you!
Photo 1: Vintage yellow roses
Photo 2: Single red vintage rose
Photo 3: Vintage roses on a bed of petals
Photo 4: Vintage rose pair
Photo 5: Vintage rose bouquet
The first Friday in October is World Smile Day! Harvey Ball, a commercial artist from Worcester, Massachusetts created the smiley face in 1963 and thanks to him we now have more opportunities to share a smile and an act of kindness!
Here a few photos that I hope will keep you smiling!
Photo 1: Darling Dahlia
Photo 2: Spray of Pink Orchids
Photo 3: Flowers and Swords make me smile (this was at a photo shoot with my Kuk Sool Won Master)
Photo courtesy of Portrait Photographer, Sharon Cohen (@TheVanityFlare)
Photo 4: Bounty of Black-eyed Susans
Some things simply connect with us, resonate with us or excite us. There is no standard recipe for discovering what these things will be or deciphering how the connections are made.
I love flowers. They ignite my soul.
I also love traditional Korean martial arts (aka Kuk Sool Won) – who would have guessed?
I have a blog for martial arts as well as floral photography because I love sharing what I care about. Some may find that weird but in a recent post about a contest by Seth Godin it was reassuring to hear that we are all weird.
So I went in search of a connection to my diverse passions and discovered that Hibiscus Syriacus (Rose of Sharon), also known in Korea as Mugunghwa is their official flower. This flower also just happens to grow readily in our neighborhood and the shrubs are in full view of the dojang where I train.
Weird isn’t it?
Photo 1: Rose of Sharon
Photo 2: Hibiscus Syriacus
Photo 3: Mugunghwa
There are few better ways for a floral photographer to celebrate a birthday as being surrounded by exotic flowers with camera in hand and time to spare.
My lovely family took me along to the Conservatory of Flowers in San Francisco and I spent a few happy hours bonding with the beautiful blooms.
Photo 1: Orchid
Photo 2: Hibiscus
Photo 3: White Orchid
Photo 4: Yellow Cattleya orchids
The walk home after the bustling activity of the school run is my time for some quiet reflection and focusing my mind for the day. What’s great when I get home is that the wonders in the garden greet me and there is always something to see and make me grateful for being here.
Photo 1: Rose blooming
Photo 2: Memorable rosey moment
Photo 3: Glowing rose
Photo 4: Opening rose
Photo 5: Musing Society Garlic
September is worth celebrating! Not just because it’s my birthday month but my husband celebrates his a few days before mine too!
I found this poem by John Updike to be a lovely reflection of the feel of September where we are.
Wishing you all a fabulous September!
Photo 1: Mother cuts Chrysanthemums
September Poem by John Updike
The breezes taste
of apple peel.
The air is full
of smells to feel-
Ripe fruit, old footballs,
burning brush,
new books, erasers,
chalk, and such.
The bee, his hive,
well-honeyed hum,
and Mother cuts
chrysanthemums.
Like plates washed clean
with suds, the days
are polished with
a morning haze.
Photo 2: Yellow Chrysanthemum Buttons
As is customary when I have a striking bunch of gladioli, I was out in the back yard with my camera trying to capture their beauty. Being so focused on the task at hand I was rather surprised when a cobweb strand appeared in my view and then I noticed the little golden visitor too!
Photo 1: Golden visitor on Red Gladiolus
Photo 2: Hiding
Photo 3: Reappearing
