Old school

We are definitely spoiled by color and sometimes, we forget the great images that can be had in black and white. Normally when I desire black and white images, I still shoot in color and then convert to black & white. Sometimes it  works and sometimes, not so much.

Today I decided it was time I got back to the basics and shoot only in black & white. Eliminating color right from the get-go gives a completely different perspective. No longer can you rely on color to tell your story. Form  and composition, along with highlight and shadow, are the main tools at your disposal.

"Garbo" (Lanceleaf Coreopsis "Baby Sun") Old Hollywood Glamour Series, Nikon D300, 105mm macro, F/6.3, 1/200s, -0.7EV, ISO 640

Coreopsis ‘Baby Sun’ worked well for today’s exercise as it has strong areas of color and contrast. It is also quite simplistic. Using a relatively shallow depth of field and focussing on the center tuft allowed the petals to blur nicely.

Not bad. Not bad at all.

Last chance

Today was the day, the very last day to get a nice shot of my ‘Judith’ Daylily. After today, there would be no more blooms until next year. Over the past week, I’ve photographed the flowers up close, far away, individually, as a group, etc. and nothing has worked. Soooo, this was it. No pressure, right?

To add to the difficulty, dark clouds were looming and rain was imminent! I decided to do the best I could and let fate decide the outcome.

"Judy" (Hemerocallis 'Judith' Daylily, Old Hollywood Glamour Series), Nikon D300, 550mm (200-400mm w/1.4x teleconverter), F/20, 1/40s, ISO 640

I bought this particular daylily many years ago in honor of my mother-in-law, Judy, who was taken away from us much too soon. Just like the blossom that bears her name, she was also larger than life, with rosy-pink cheeks and eyes that would twinkle when she smiled. She welcomed me to the family with open arms and engulfed me in warm hugs. Those are what I miss most.

Admittedly, I wasn’t much of anything (wife, homemaker, gardener, cook, etc.) when she was here with us. I’ve certainly come a long way since then and her influences weave in and out of my life. When I look at these flowers, I see her and hope that she is proud of the daughter-in-law I’ve become.

Lovely Rita

"Gilda"(Red Daylily), Old Hollywood Glamour Series, Nikon D300, 460mm (200-400mm w/1.4x teleconverter), F/18, 1/30s, -1.0EV, ISO 1600

The red daylilies have ‘popped’ and how fortunate for me to catch this one in all its stunning glory! I’d been looking for a red flower for the ‘Old Hollywood Glamour’ series and I don’t think I’ll find one better than this.

The fiery red color made me immediatly think of Rita Hayworth - an American film actress and dancer who attained fame during the 1940s not only as one of the era’s top stars, but also as the era’s greatest sex symbol. Ironically, in her personal life, Rita was naturally shy and reclusive – the antithesis of the characters she played.

Therefore, it seemed a more fitting tribute to name this image after her most notable role.

Pow!

When I can’t find inspiration in my own landscape, all I have to do is step next door! My neighbor Nancy has a wonderful garden and, in addition to being a dear, dear friend, over the years she has provided a wealth of gardening tips and how-to’s. Thanks, Nancy!

Although situated right next to each other, our gardens can sometimes seem worlds apart (her landscape receives so many more hours of sun and therefore, tends to be a bit ahead). For example, both our gardens contain ‘Endless Summer’, a variety of Mophead Hydrangea, but, while mine are still in the beginning bud stage, hers are already putting forth their sumptuous blooms.

"Harlow" (Hydrangea macrophylla 'Endless Summer'), Old Hollywood Glamour Series, Nikon D300, 70mm, F/2.8, 1/1600s, -0.3EV, ISO 200, SB800 w/Gary Fong Lightsphere Cloud, -1.7EV

There is something so timeless about hydrangea blossoms and one in particular just knocked me out! I adore the sweetheart shape painted in delicate hues of cream and blue with the slightest touch of purple.

Just screams to be part of the Old Hollywood Glamour series, doesn’t it? 

She’s got Bette Davis eyelashes

Besides peonies, my garden also hosts many varieties of clematis, which I also love and have photographed a hundred times (at least). One particular variety, ‘The President’ boasts very large, deep purple blooms with centers of pinky-white filaments and red anthers surrounding a tuft of creamy white. It’s truly a magnificent flower!

A prolific bloomer and fairly vigorous vine, it grows up a trellis and then along the angled roof of our small garden shed. I noticed that one blossom up high had lost a couple of petals exposing the center from one side. Perfect.

The first tricky part was setting the right focal point and depth of field in order to achieve a tack sharp center. The second difficulty was capturing the right amount of light to set the center aglow without also getting nasty sunspots as I was shooting in the direction of the sun. I’ll admit, this took more than a few tries to get right.

As for the name? I thought this image was a good candidate for the ‘Old Hollywood Glamour’ series and when my husband said the filments looked like long eyelashes, boom! it all clicked. 

"Bette" (Large Flower Clematis 'The President'), Old Hollywood Glamour Series Nikon D300, 200-400mm, 400mm, F/13, 1/100s, -1.0EV, ISO 640

I can almost hear Kim Carnes singing in the background…..

P is for Peony

Growing up, we had one particular plant in our backyard that each year I couldn’t wait to see bloom. I would check it every day in anticipation for when the enormous round buds would burst open! At the time, I had no idea what it was, though I am sure my mom told me. All I knew was that it was the most beautiful flower I had ever seen.

Now that I am all grown up, peonies of every shape, size, color and bloom time can be found all throughout my garden. I’ve lost count at this point and each year I seem to add more specimens to my collection. I just can’t resist!

"Marilyn" (Herbaceous Peony, Unknown Var.), Old Hollywood Glamour Series Nikon D300, 70mm, F/11, 1/250s, -0.7EV, ISO 200

Introducing ‘Marilyn‘, the first image in a new series called “Old Hollywood Glamour“.

She’s stunning, dontcha think?