My blog has moved

I moved my Beautiful Flower Pictures Blog to my website this week. It is now located at http://www.beautifulflowerpictures.com/blog/

What this means for people who follow my blog either with an RSS subscription or by email – is that you’ll need to resubscribe at the new location.

You can subscribe to the RSS feed from the Follow box on the top left corner of any page. 

You can subscribe to the email version of the blog by entering your email address in the Subscribe by Email box on the left column.

I apologize for any inconvenience the move causes you. I look forward to seeing you on my new blog at http://www.beautifulflowerpictures.com/blog/

Patty

Brain Celosia – celosia cristata

I recently had the chance to photograph some Brain Celosia (celosia cristata). Also known as cockscomb, these striking plants thrive both indoors and outdoors. These hardy members of the Amaranthaceae family are annuals, and grow relatively easily from seeds.

I photographed the Brain Celosia in early morning light after a night of intermittent rain shows. The remaining water droplets on the plants really brought out the textures in the celosia. And the color was amazing – ever changing from reds to almost pink-purples as the light changed.

 

© 2012 Patty Hankins

© 2012 Patty Hankins

© 2012 Patty Hankins

© 2012 Patty Hankins

© 2012 Patty Hankins

 

Early One Morning in Phoenix

In August I spent a week at a conference in Phoenix, Arizona. I didn’t get much photography time while I was there – conference ran all day into the evening most days – and it was ridiculously hot. 

But I did head out early one morning to see what I  could find  - and I found some wonderful desert plants to photography.

First was a night blooming cereus cactus – cereus peruvianus. Native to South America, these cactuses can grow to 10 feet tall. The flowers bloom only for one night.

© 2012 Patty Hankins

© 2012 Patty Hankins

I also photographed some Red Bird of Paradise – caesalpinia pulcherrima – flowers. A member of the pea family, these beautiful red, yellow and orange flowering plants can be found throughout the tropical and subtropical regions of the western hemisphere. 

 

© 2012 Patty Hankins

 

© 2012 Patty Hankins

I’ve always loved the patterns created by the needles of the barrel cactus. I had fun photographing this one from above.

© 2012 Patty Hankins

And finally – the fruit of a prickly pear cactus. 

© 2012 Patty Hankins

I think it was definitely worth getting up and heading out to photograph that morning! What do you think?

 

Links – September 28, 2012

Painted Lady Hibiscus (c) 2009 Patty Hankins

Here are some posts and articles that I enjoyed this week; I hope you enjoy them as well

National Park and National Wildlife Refuge Links

National Parks Traveler has Does Shenandoah Celebration Signal End Of CCC’s “Greatest Generation?” and 15 Ways To Enjoy The National Park System This Fall

National Parks Conservation Association has Make Plans for Public Lands This Saturday–and Enjoy a Fee-Free Park Day

Wildlife Links

The Telegraph has Scientists solve the mystery behind the flight of the bumblebee

The New York Times has  Cat’s Stripes and Spots Are Tracked to a Gene 

Scientific American has Japanese River Otter Declared Extinct

Kitchen Daily  has 19 Crops That Would Disappear Without Bees

Mother Jones has Night of the Living Honeybees?

Environmental Issues Links

The New York Times has How ‘Silent Spring’ Ignited the Environmental Movement

Mother Jones has Crossing the Melting Arctic in a Sailboat

Yahoo! News has What Will Ice-Free Arctic Summers Bring?

Photography and Art Links

Visual Science Lab has One of those weekly phone calls that makes you question your career choice…

NBC News has Gay couple sues after photo used in anti-gay flier

Jim M. Goldstein has Digital Is Not Forever

The Trichordist has Is The New Internet Association Really Just A Pro-Corporate Version Of The Pirate Party? No It’s a Transparent Ploy by Google To Curry Favor With Congressional Republicans.

DC Area Flower Safari

If you are in the DC area, I hope you will join me and other flower lovers at our DC Flower Safari Meetups. The next Meetup is scheduled for Saturday, September 29 at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, PA. We will meet at 6:30 AM at the Grosvenor Metro Station. Then we can carpool to Longwood. I hope to see you there!

Dazzling Dahlias

I recently had the opportunity to photograph some dazzling dahlias at a local garden. The colors were amazing – very intense in the mid-morning light. Some of my favorites to see and photograph were backlit dahlias with the sunlight streaming through the petals

A La Mode Dahlia – a striking orange, red, yellow and white flower

© 2012 Patty Hankins

It’s A Girl Dahlia – a beautiful pink and yellow dahlia

© 2012 Patty Hankins

© 2012 Patty Hankins

A backlit yellow and peach dahlia

© 2012 Patty Hankins

A lovely soft pink dahlia

© 2012 Patty Hankins

An orange dahlia – when the sun hit the petals at just the right angle – the effect was incredible

© 2012 Patty Hankins

© 2012 Patty Hankins

© 2012 Patty Hankins

And finally a bright red dahlia

© 2012 Patty Hankins

I love photographing dahlias. Does anyone know of any public gardens in the DC area that has any currently in bloom? I’d love to photograph them

New Photo: Princess Irene Tulips

Princess Irene Tulips © 2012 Patty Hankins

I’ve recently added a new photo – Princess Irene Tulips – to my Beautifulflowerpictures.com website.

Tulips are one of my favorite spring flowers. The Princess Irene Tulips are some of the most beautiful ones I’ve photographed. I love all the colors in the flame pattern on the petals. Until I saw the Princess Irene Tulips – I’d never seen any tulips with this many colors in them. Princess Irene Tulips are early blooming triumph tulips, growing to about 14″ tall.

This photograph is available as either at 10 X 10″ or 20 X 20″ gallery-wrapped canvas. You can order Princess Irene Tulips from my website.

Links – September 21, 2012

Panama Pacific Water Lily (c) 2009 Patty Hankins

Here are some posts and articles that I enjoyed this week; I hope you enjoy them as well

Flower and Plant Links

The Garden Plot has Pantone’s Spring 2013 Color Report and How it Affects Garden Trends

National Park and National Wildlife Refuge Links

National Parks Traveler has State Of Utah Hoping 10th Circuit Judges Agree A Creek In Canyonlands National Park Is Also A Road and Solar Power Is Valuable, But NPCA Report Says It Needs To Be Generated Away From National Parks
Refuge Wach has USFWS to Remove Wild Burros and Horses from Sheldon NWR in 5 Years , California Wildlife Refuge Gets Ax and Salazar Establishes 558th NWR Unit in Colorado’s Sangre de Cristo Mountains
National Parks Conservation Association has Victory! Plans for Coal Plant Near National Parks in Virginia Suspended

Wildlife Links

The Washington Post has Resurgent wolves again are fair game
Mother Jones has To the Bat Cave! Scientists Hope Bunker Can Halt Deadly Fungus

Environmental Issues Links

Mother Jones has Hottest Ever Water Temperatures Off East Coast All the Way Down to the Bottom of the Ocean
The Christian Science Monitor has Appearance of explosive WWI relics underscores Alps glaciers’ retreat

Photography and Art Links

The Copyright Zone has Maybe We Are Just Skeptical, But…
Virtual Photography Studios has You Mean I Can’t Use An Image From Google Images?
Maria Brophy has How to File Your Copyrights and Keep Track of Them

DC Area Flower Safari

If you are in the DC area, I hope you will join me and other flower lovers at our DC Flower Safari Meetups. The next Meetup is scheduled for Saturday, September 29 at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, PA. We will meet at 6:30 AM at the Grosvenor Metro Station. Then we can carpool to Longwood. I hope to see you there!