Late Summer
This picture is my entry to Gardening Gone Wild’s Picture This competition for this September. This is a link to the same picture that allows the picture to be saved. I had a hard time picking my entry, I like the picture above, I just wish it would be a bit better technically. Still the dahlias lined up in a fantastic way and the weather was co-operating, so I’m mostly pleased. The picture is a few years old and taken with my old camera. I’ve cropped it a bit and I’ve removed a small bug in Photoshop. It took a few tries to get the light right in the background and this is the best of them. The Dahlia is probably a ‘David Howard’, it’s one of my favorites and I’ve managed to take care of the tubers for a few years now. I have no idea why the stems twisted that way, but I’m glad they did since it really looks like the buds are kissing!
‘David Howard’ a few days ago, it might be the same plant..
This picture was a bit of a contender, but I think I should have taken away the bud stem that’s in front of the flower, maybe a few leaves and then I think the sun flare (right term?) could have turned out nicer. The colors could probably improve with the right photoshop treatment. However, I’m a bit of a chance and miss girl with that so this time around I didn’t even attempt anything.
I like this picture of a snapdragon ‘Cinnamon Bronze’, but the flowers are a bit of a doughy clump, so even though the color looks nice with that light, it’s still a bit un-elegant and ordinary.
It would be nice to submit a wider shot, I considered this, but it’s a bit messy, the flowers are a bit past it and the asparagus messes up the foreground.
I also considered this old shot of my Miscanthus ‘Malepartus’ and the kitchen garden, but it’s more fall than summer and still not my favorite (and frankly nowhere near as good as for example Saxon Holt’s shots of grasses).
Two more contenders, but: focus issues and just a one flower..
Under consideration, but a bit dull. I like the light with the tobacco plant and the composition with the variegated Euphorbia and the Anaphalis margaritacae.
This is one of the nicest spots in my garden during late summer, but as a picture – not quite there. Anyway, the first picture was my submission and then you got some thoughts around some other pictures as well 🙂 I hope you enjoyed them!
Koska osallistun Gardening Gone Wildin kuvakisaan tällä postauksella, niin jätän tekstin kääntämättä.
Eftersom den här skrivelsen, eller egentligen den första bilden, deltar i Gardening Gone Wilds fototävling så översätter jag inte inlägget den här gången.
HA
I'am a marketing and gardening professional and I plan to blog about garden photography (with an amateur’s perspective on it), gardens, plants, most things even vaguely garden related and garden trips around the world.
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8 Comments
Fager Dam
Jag är av annan åsikt gällande den tredje bilden. Jag tycker löven som är framför blomman och liksom trycker upp en del av kronbladen är just det som gör bilden lite spännande. Utan det skulle den vara pretty-pretty.
Bilden du skickade in är iofs rolig, kyssande knoppar, härligt!
HA
Thanks! Det är bara så att jag ofta har pretty-pretty som mål med trädgårdsbilder 😉 fast det som du säger stämmer nog också. Mamma tyckte mest om min sista bild med höstfloxen.. undrar om jag valde rätt, speciellt som dahlians blad är lite oskarpt i förgrunden – fast kanske det blir mer dramatik med det?
Malinda
Beautiful Pictures! I like the snapdragon and the lily too, but I think you made the right choice. A great photo with humor, what more can you ask for? Good luck to you too!
John
Dahlia buds kissing — a very nice garden moment. Good luck with the GGW contest. And thanks for reminding me about getting in a fall bulb order with your Sept 19 posting.
HA
No problem! I just hope the bulbs get here before the ground freezes 🙂 (which shouldn’t be in at least a month, maybe two)
Jennifer@threedogsinagarden
Ha, You are very critical of your own photography and I think I am the same way, never completely happy and always impatient to move on to the next shots I may take. That is how one learns right? I like your kissing dahlias. The sparkling light is magical. Good luck with the contest!
HA
Thank you Jennifer, and you are right, that’s the way you learn. One of my best friends is a professional garden photographer, and we talk a lot about the subject so being critical comes with the territory 🙂 It’s slightly comforting to at least know about some of your own mistakes – there should be room for easy improvements. It’s frequently a question of focus for me, using a tripod would help, but that takes away the spontaneity of just walking out in the garden with your camera 🙂
Hillevi Liljestrom
HEj!
Snygga pics!
Jodå, du kan ansöka om medlemsskap på SvenskaTrädgårdsbloggar.se.
Det finns en lista med de skandinaviska vännerna där:-)
Välkommen dit! Läs inlägget från häromdagen så ser du vad du behöver göra på din blogg i motprestation.
ha det gott, kram H.