ThePhotoGardenBee » Garden Buzz

Have you seen the Daily Flower Lately?

Britt — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 12:43:27 +0000

The Daily Flower © Britt Conley

This is the time of year I shoot many of my Daily Flowers to make it through the coming Fall and Winter. I love to photograph them. If you haven’t seen them lately just click Daily Flower in the Menu. I’ll be heading out this week to see what else is out there!

Previous Daily Flowers © Britt Conley

‘Til Tomorrow…

Britt : )

Time Lapse Tuesday : two today!

Britt — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 07:46:51 +0000

Time lapse flowers © lamablog

Just click play

And another fun one with Tulips:

tulips © Webiocosm

Just click play:

‘Til Tomorrow…

Britt : )

Time Lapse Tuesday

Britt — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 09:29:17 +0000

This wonderful video of Lotus blooms emerging comes to us from Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden in Richmond, Virginia: A phenomenal garden!

Lotus Blooming © Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden

Just play the video below and enjoy!

Also, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden can be found on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/LewisGinter and they have a fantastic blog updated by the tremendous staff at http://lewisginter.org/blog. It’s well worth placing in your favorite garden reads.

‘Til Tomorrow…

Britt : )

Time Lapse Tuesday

Britt — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 10:33:27 +0000

This is a great time lapse of Cherry Blossom Time-lapse at Brooklyn Botanic Garden from 2008 by Dave Allen, BBG’s Web Manager.

Cherry Walk at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden © Dave Allen

I can’t wait to see this for myself this next Spring!

‘Til Tomorrow…

Britt : )

The Lost Gardens of the Brandywine at Winterthur Museum and Gardens through July 25!

Britt — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 04:47:24 +0000

The Lost Gardens of Brandywine exhibit showcases photographs of Pre-World War II Brandywine during the hay day of the Du Pont era featuring the area that now encompasses the famed spaces of Winterthur, Longwood, Mount Cuba and Nemours.

Lost Gardens of Brandywine. Photo by Jim Schneck, Winterthur

The exhibits curator, Maggie Lidz created the exhibit after writing the book The du Ponts: Houses and Gardens in the Brandywine (Acanthus Press, 2009). “There were so many beautiful photos that I couldn’t use in the book, she explains, “I loved having the opportunity to use them here.”

Mrs. Rumford C G Lawn and Flower Beds in May 1922. Courtesy of the Hagley Museum and Library.

Winterthur adds, these extraordinary garden scenes are, “Previously unpublished,” and were, “provided by garden clubs, families of the gardeners and descendants of the original garden owners.”

Mrs. Charles l Patterson at Fairhills Farm on June 17, 1923. Courtesy of the Hagley Museum and Library

Winterthur explains, “Until now, garden clubs have seldom been given the recognition they deserve: an entire section is devoted to their contributions. E. H. Wilson, the great plant explorer, dedicated his 1926 Aristocrats of the Garden: “To the Garden Clubs, the most potent forces in garden-making in America, with homage and respect.” In the early 20th century, local clubs such as the Garden Club of Wilmington, the Arasapha Club of New Castle and the Brandywine Garden Club formed to share information about gardening. The clubs, exclusively women, were seriously concerned about botany, horticultural and environmental and conservation issues. Because of the money and other resources that these women had access to (the drivers taking them to meetings, the nannies rearing their children, the staff working in the garden), they were able to devote themselves to becoming expert horticulturists of the sort that is rare today.”

Winterthur's Sunken Garden blooming with tulips, violas and clematis May 20, 1923. Courtesy of the Hagley Museum and Library.

Patrons can experience the projection area, which Winterthur promotes as an a place where, “visitors can sit on antique garden benches and view 60 color lantern slides of gardens from the 1920s.” They can also view the gardens from the Gardeners perspective! Winterthur explains,

“Although (Lidz), began her research with the owners, she quickly found herself engaged with the children and grandchildren of the estate gardeners. “Interviewing them might have been the most interesting part of the last year. They had so many fascinating stories and photos to share!” During World War I, hundreds of Italian workers were brought here to work in the ramped-up gunpowder factories. In 1921, when the mills closed, a surprising number of laborers found gardening jobs on du Pont estates, ever-expanding due to new postwar wealth. Immigrants from Giusvalla, Italy formed a local community that is still closely tied to its hometown and even has its own website: http://www.giusvalla.blogspot.com.”

Photo by Jim Schneck, Winterthur

The Lost Gardens of the Brandywine Exhibition runs through July 25, 2010. For more information visit http://www.winterthur.org/calendar/lost_gardens.asp

‘Til Tomorrow…

Britt : )

Happy Birthday Photo Garden Bee!

Britt — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 05:31:35 +0000

Hi. This is Britt’s Husband, Steve, and I’m hijacking the Photo Garden Bee to wish Britt a fantastic and flower-filled birthday!

Happy Birthday Bee!

5 reasons to spend the 4th of July at Longwood Gardens!

Britt — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 05:37:31 +0000

Bring your own chiars at Longwood Gardens © Britt Conley

Firstly, Longwood allows everyone to bring their own lawn chairs in early to have a seat in the viewing area. With most places this means having to sit with your furniture for the next five hours waiting for the event to start, but here they expect you to leave it and wander the gardens worry free. Being from the city, I thought really? But, that’s exactly what we did. There was nothing but a sea of empty chairs and happy strolling Longwood patrons. This is the view from the empty chairs!

The Main Fountain Garden © Britt Conley

Secondly , while wandering.. you have some of the best garden areas in the Country!

The Long Color Walk © Britt Conley

Thirdly, There is the July 4th Fireworks BBQ, which, aside from great burgers, chicken and the like, we had the “greatest” hand made blueberry lemonade that either of has ever tasted. As I left I urged anyone who looked available, to get the blueberry lemonade! I ran into one person later who said, “That was the best lemonade my husband and I had!” I had to ask, “Does one come for the flowers, the food, the events, or the lemonade?” Any of them justify the entry fee.

The Blueberry Lemonade is to the right © Britt Conle

Fourthly, after the gardens, the food and the environment, there is still more… the actual “Fireworks and Fountains” show!. Well, here is Longwood’s own picture and it really says it all better than I could! It’s well worth the drive!!! The fountain show starts with the incredible 120 foot tall plumes of water and adds colored lights to the display. This is then choreographed to fireworks. The fireworks are incredible!

Fireworks by Longwood Gardens © Longwood Gardens

Lastly, the fireworks aren’t just one big boom after another. It is the most well choreographed musical display we have ever seen and, frankly, it was more emotionally and visually satisfying for this reason.

Just lovely with the music © Britt Conley

So if you’re in the mid-atlantic or upper east coast and want to hop online and get tickets for a great 4th of July experience I have to recommend Longwood Gardens. For more information visit, http://www.longwoodgardens.org/FireworksandFountainsEvent.html

Have a great Independence Day Weekend Everyone!

‘Til Tomorrow…

Britt : )

Fun with over-exposure

Britt — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 04:00:27 +0000

There are many ways to photograph a subject. One of them is the change the settings on your camera in order to play with over exposure.

Flowers © Britt Conley

Over exposing image separates the highlights from the mid-tones and the mid-tones from darkest darks. This leaves only a partial structure of visible information that can be gathered from the mid-tones down. The lightest lights become pure white, carrying no visual information.

Flowers © Britt Conley

What is great about blowing out the lights is that those areas create a negative space for the darker structures (that can be seen), to play in.

Flowers © Britt Conley

This inevitably creates a graphic quality to the image at hand.

Flowers © Britt Conley

This type of posterization is not only fantastic for flowers, but for just about anything! I even took a look down toward my feet!

Britt's shoes © Britt Conley

When using overexposure it’s very important to pay attention to the dark areas of the image and see how they will create the composition. After all when working with little information, composition is everything. Below is my favorite table at Dumbarton Oaks, a wonderful garden in Washington D.C. I shot this yesterday while tooling around the garden in the high heat. And boy was it hot!

Table © Britt Conley

One of my favorite things about this table are the hand carved curves and indents. Over exposing your images leaves just the mid-tones which this case holds all the information regarding these lovely curves. As in this image below!

Table © Britt Conley

The cained seats of the chairs here are lovely as well.

Chair © Britt Conley

I particularly love the chairs and tables here because they are always begging me to bring a board and friend for a chess game! Perhaps on a less hot day, however!

: Table © Britt Conley

Another cool thing about overexposing your images is that the final product can make the subjects you photograph appear to be covered in snow. Pretty cool!

: Table © Britt Conley

I particularly love these wrought iron seats. They remind me of the ones from my childhood and overlook a fantastic Rock Garden.

: The View © Britt Conley

So, next time you head out with camera in hand, experiment a little! Simply change the ASA up higher or your f-stop or shutter speed until you start seeing a lot of white on the back of the digital display. Make sure there is still something to see in the pictures and not an entirely white box! It’s fun to do and you never know what you’ll come up with!

: Britt’s shoes © Britt Conley

‘Til Tomorrow…

Britt

Wordless Wednesday

Britt — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 11:37:34 +0000

Lilytopia hit’s Longwood Gardens – LAST WEEKEND!

Britt — Fri, 28 May 2010 09:23:03 +0000

There are a thousand reasons to visit Longwood Garden on any weekend but this particular weekend is the last opportuntiy to see the 10,000 Lilys of Lilytopia! Longwood explains, the lilys, “were all flown overnight on Sunday, May 16th…”

They detail, “An extensive logistical network of breeding houses, warehouse and shipping facilities, airports, export agents, import and shipping companies, government agencies, and trucking companies were lined up to ensure a safe and speedy transportation of the flowers.”

“Inspired by the world-famous lily show at Holland’s Keukenhof, Lilytopia is the largest lily show in North America. Longwood’s newest annual event transforms the majestic East Conservatory into a breathtaking showcase for the latest varieties of lilies developed by Dutch hybridizers.”

There is a single room dedicated to lilys that have never been publicly displayed in North America before. These new varieties were developed by Dutch breeders to create new hybrids.

I was really impressed by the sheer variety! I especially loved the Margatone Lilys.

These particular type of lilys are small but pack a visual punch!

The entire East Conservatory is brimming with lilys. I’ve never seen anything like it!

Each vase holds a particular lily type with perfect photo ready blooms. I have to many close ups to even manage for one post!

Some contained color combinations I’ve never seen before!

while others, just seemed to stand out! Oddly, I rather liked the simple white and greens.

The East Conservatory lookes like lily wonka land! It really is magical!

In addition to all the exceptional vases of lilys, there are also walls of them…

as well as full columns of them…

Each featuring a unique sent!

I cannot recommend Lilytopia enough! Around each and every corner there is another massive lily section to take your breath away!

My husband just asked me, “so what happens to the lilys after the show? Do people buy them?” What a great question! Well, it turns out even they will be added to the famous Longwood composting operation! Don’t feel bad for the cut lilies, they are earning Longwood a pretty penny in visitors and they only last a short time. I’d say Longwood’s first ever Lilytopia was a tremendous success!

So if you live within driving distance head on over. This is the last weekend to see this grand event! For more information visit http://www.longwoodgardens.org

Have a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend everyone!

Britt : )