Tennessee Wildflowers II

Just a quick post with some more of my wildflower photos from my trip to Tennessee. I spent a couple of days before and after the Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage photographing in the Great Smoky Mountains National park
. GSMNP is my favorite national park – everytime I come here to photograph I fall more and more in love with it.

These first two photos were taken at Lookout Mountain in Chattanooga. I spent a couple of hours hiking on Kiddie Trail in the Chickamauga & Chattanooga National Military Park.

Eastern Bluestar – Amsonia tabernaemontana

(c) 2010 Patty Hankins

Mayapple – Podophyllum peltatum

(c) 2010 Patty Hankins

And here are my first few photos from GSMNP

Painted Trillium – Trillium Undulatum – photographed on Porter’s Creek Trail

(c) 2010 Patty Hankins

Rue-Anemone – Thalictrum thalictroides – photographed on the Cove Hardwood Trail

(c) 2010 Patty Hankins

And finally a pair of photos of Showy Orchis – Galearis spectabilis. The first set was photographed on Porter’s Creek Trail, the second on Cove Hardwood Trail

(c) 2010 Patty Hankins

(c) 2010 Patty Hankins

I’ll be photographing wildflowers for a few more days in Tennessee – then heading home via Asheville. I’m hoping to stop at a few favorite spots in the Asheville area – the Asheville Botanical Garden and the North Carolina Arboretum. I’ll try to get one more post of wildflower photos up before the end of my trip. You can see my photos as I post them on Facebook on my BeautifulFlowerPictures.com Facebook Page.

Until then – I hope you enjoy the wildflower photos I’ve been posting

Tennessee Wildflowers I

I’m having a fantastic time photographing wildflowers here in Tennessee. I’ve been posting some of my photos  an album on my Facebook Fan Page for my flower photography and wanted to share some of them with people who read my blog.

I took this set of wildflower photos at Reflection Riding Arboretum in Chattanooga – which is an absolutely amazing place to see spring wildflowers. This was my first visit – it definitely won’t be my last. I’m already trying to figure out how to get back there for another visit on this trip.

Blue Eyed Mary – Collinsia verna Nutt.

(c) 2010 Patty Hankins

Shooting Stars – Dodecatheon meadia

(c) 2010 Patty Hankins

An orange and yellow azalea bush – don’t know the variety but it is certainly spectacular!

(c) 2010 Patty Hankis

Spring Beauty – Claytonia caroliniana

(c) 2010 Patty Hankins

Blue Phlox – Phlox divaricata

(c) 2010 Patty Hankins

Wild Columbine – Aquilegia canadensis

(c) 2010 Patty Hankins

I’ve had a few wonderful days photographing the spring wildflowers. Next up is the Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage where I’ll be selling my photographs at the Exhibit Hall in the Mills Conference Center. Followed by several more days of wildflower photography before I head home.

I’ll continue posting photos to the album on Facebook and will try to get another blog post or two up while I’m on the road. If you’re on Facebook and would like to see my photos as I post them, I’d like to invite you to become a  fan of my flower photography on Facebook.

Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage – Gatlinburg, TN – April 20 – 24, 2010

I will be at the at the Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage at the Mills Conference Center in Gatlinburg, Tennessee this week. I’ll be participating in the exhibit hall at the Conference center.  You can see my most recent flower photographs on my BeautifulFlowerPictures.com website.

I’m offering a special offer this week – available only at the Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage.  For each $50 of photography you purchase from me, take $10 off your total purchase. So you can take $ 10 off a purchase of $ 50 or more, $20 off a purchase of $ 100 or more, etc. This offer cannot be combined with any other special offers.

Show hours are Tuesday April 20 5 PM – 9 PM, Wednesday – Friday April 21 – 23 8 AM – 9 PM and Saturday April 24 8 AM – Noon.

Visit the Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage website for full information about this wonderful event.

The Mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina

Smoky Mountain Sunrise (c) 2008 Patty Hankins

Recently, my friend Dan Williams wrote about Special Places to visit and photograph on his blog. I totally agree with him that there are some magical places that bring you a sense of joy and peace that you find no where else. For me, many of those places are in the mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina. In the past few years, I’ve made several trips to the Smoky Mountains and along the Blue Ridge Parkway. On each trip, I find myself relaxing and feeling more at peace than I do anywhere else. The Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the Cherokee National Forest and the Blue Ridge Parkway are some my absolute favorite places to photograph. I’ve photographed amazing sunrises from Clingman’s Dome, wonderful streams and waterfalls – and all sorts of wildflowers.

Smoky Mountain Stream (c) 2008 Patty Hankins

In 2008, I attended my first Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage – and realized just how much I love photographing wildflowers. This year, I’ll have a booth in exhibit hall with my flower photography. The spring wildflowers in the Smoky Mountains are amazing. I don’t have the words to be able to describe just how beautiful it is seeing a hillside of purple and yellow wildflowers.

Yellow Trillium and Purple Phacelia (c) 2009 Patty Hankins

I’m heading back to Tennessee for a couple of weeks of photographing in a few days. I’m hoping to photograph at some familiar locations in the Great Smoky Mountains, in the Cherokee National Forest, and along the Blue Ridge Parkway – as well as discovering some new trails to hike and flowers to photograph. I’m not sure how much I’ll be posting to my blog while I”m gone. I expect to return to my regular blogging schedule when I return home in early May.

Columbine and Purple Phacelia (c) 2009 Patty Hankins

The photos in this blog post are some of my favorite photos from my trips to the mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina. I hope you’ve enjoyed them and that they give you a taste of how wonderful this part of the country is. I’m looking forward to sharing more photos of the area with you when I get back from my trip.

Spring Wildflowers Along the C&O Canal

One morning last week I spent a few wonderful hours hiking along the C&O Canal in search of wildflowers. I started out from Carderock on the Billy Goat Trail and quickly found some wildflowers to photograph.

The first set of flowers I photographed was Early Saxifrage (saxifraga virginiensis) – a relative of some of the saxifrages I’ve photographed in Tennessee.

(c) 2010 Patty Hankins

After leaving Billy Goat Trail, I headed up the towpath for the C&O Canal toward Marsden Tract. Along the towpath I spotted an amazingly shaped purple flower. When I got home, I was able to identify it as Purple Dead Nettle (Lamium purpureum) – an invasive species.

(c) 2010 Patty Hankins

Once I reached the Marsden Tract I found lots of wonderful wildflowers to photograph. Among the flowers I photographed was Cut Leaved Toothwort ( cardamine concatenata). I  loved the way the morning dew was still on the leaves of the Toothwort.

(c) 2010 Patty Hankins

I found several patches of Dutchmen’s Breeches (dicentra cucullaria). The area I was photographing in at Marsden Tract had more Dutchmen’s Breeches than any other area I’ve seen. It was wonderful seeing it all growing wild in the woods.

(c) 2010 Patty Hankins

And then I spotted a patch of blue – yes there were several groups of Virginia Bluebells (mertensia virginica) growing down near the river. They were in full bloom and absolutely spectacular.

(c) 2010 Patty Hankins

This was my first visit to this part of the C&O Canal National Historical Park - but it certainly won’t be my last. I’m already planning another visit to see what other wildflowers I can find in bloom.

Links – April 9, 2010

Red Canada Lily (c) 2009 Patty Hankins

Lots of links this week – hope you find some of them interesting

Photography & Art Links

PhotoAttorney has Photograph of Sculpture is Not a Fair Use

Guy Tal has I Don’t Want to be Ansel Adams

Dan Williams has Special Places

Photocritic has Paid-for Photo Competitions

Alain Briot has launched a new blog Reflections

Daniel Sroka has Making What You Love vs What Sells

Fair Trade Photographer has Microstock: Why Would A Reputable Company Do This To Themselves?

The Copyright Zone has Will I be A Victim of Infringement?

Drawger has I Need A Web Posse – to fully understand the context of this post – be sure to read both the posts and comments on Big Mother Gets Her Shot at Cutting Health Costs and How to Protect Your Copyrighted Images on the Web.

Flower & Gardening Links

The Natural Capital has LOOK FOR: Bluebells, Clumps of Heaven to Ring in Spring

Christian Science Monitor has Need Privacy: Grow Some with a Living Fence

BBC News has Flowers Bloom Earlier as UK Warms

National Park and Wildlife Refuge Links

National Parks Traveler has

• Though Revered as America’s Iconic Long-Distance Trail, The Appalachian Trail Could Use Some Help
• Great Progress Means Loop Road at Cades Cove in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park Will Reopen Early
• Next Time You’re in Washington, Stop by the Old Stone House
• Free Entrance to All NPS Sites during National Parks Week April 17 – 25
• NPS Finalizes “Benefit Sharing Agreement” that could Benefit Parks
• NPCA: Tell the Obama Administration That Clear Air and Clear Views Across National Parks Are Vital

National Park Service has information about National Parks Weeks April 17 – 25

Wildlife Links

Naples News has Rare Photo Shows Mother Florida Panther and two Kittens

Cherry Blossoms – Pretty in Pink

In addition to the wonderful Yoshino Cherry Blossoms that I posted photos of the other day, I’ve had the chance to photograph some beautiful cherry blossoms in shades of pink. This year, the Yoshino Blossoms were very white (some years they are more pink) so any pink blossoms really stand out against all the white.

The first set of pink cherry blossoms I photographed were on an Okame Flowering Cherry Tree at the National Arboreatum. This is a very early flowering type of cherry – the tree was in full bloom about a week before the Yoshinos were blooming at the Tidal Basin.

(c) 2010 Patty Hankins

I love the contrast of the deep magenta centers of the flowers against the lovely pink petals.

(c) 2010 Patty Hankins

The next cherry tree I photographed was a First Lady Flowering Cherry Tree at McCrillis Gardens in Bethesda. I just adore the wonderful color of the blossoms on this tree.

(c) 2010 Patty Hankins

And finally, what may be the prettiest cherry blossoms I’ve photographed this year – some beautiful pale pink and white blossoms. I photographed these blossoms on one of the trees at the Tidal Basin. So far I haven’t been able to identify what variety of tree this is. Does anyone recognize which blossoms these are?

(c) 2010 Patty Hankins

(c) 2010 Patty Hankins

I hope you’ve enjoyed my 2010 Cherry Blossom photos. For those of us living in the DC area, cherry blossoms really signal the beginning of spring.

Craftsmen’s Classic Art & Craft Show – Greensboro, NC – April 9 – 11

I will be at the at the Craftsmen’s Classic Art & Crafts Show at the Greensboro Colesium  in Greensboro, North Carolina.   You can see my most recent flower photographs on my BeautifulFlowerPictures.com website.

I’m offering a special offer this weekend – available only at the Craftsmen’s Classic in Greensboro.  For each $50 of photography you purchase from me, take $10 off your total purchase. So you can take $ 10 off a purchase of $ 50 or more, $20 off a purchase of $ 100 or more, etc. This offer cannot be combined with any other special offers.

Show hours are Friday April 9  10 am – 8 pm, Saturday April 10  10 am – 6 pm and Sunday April 11  11 am – 5 pm. I’ll be in booth 2202 this weekend.

Directions to the Greensboro Colesium,  discount admission coupons and additional information is available on the show website.

I hope to see you in Greensboro, NC  this weekend.

Yoshino Cherry Blossoms

It’s that time of year again in Washington DC – Cherry Blossoms are in full bloom. If you’ve never seen DC with all the cherry trees in bloom, you’ve missed the city at it’s absolute most beautiful. I spent a few hours at the Tidal Basin earlier this week. The Yoshino cherry blossoms were as beautiful as ever.

There is construction in front of the Jefferson Memorial this year – so I didn’t bother to take any photos with the monument in it. Instead, I just focused on the incredible delicate beauty of the blossoms. Here are some of my favorite photos of the Yoshino Cherry Blossoms.

(c) 2010 Patty Hankins

I really like this next photo of a set of white blossoms – with just one pink bud giving a hint of more beauty to come.

(c) 2010 Patty Hankins

One of the amazing features of the Yoshino Cherry Trees is how resilient they are. Some of the older trees have lost major branches over the years. What’s really neat is how even the older trees sprout new bunches of flowers, often right on the trunk where a branch used to be. There can be a wonderful contrast between the texture of the bark and old saw marks and the soft white of the blossoms.

(c) 2010 Patty Hankins

And finally a wider angle view of a branch full of blossoms.

(c) 2010 Patty Hankins

This year’s Yoshino Cherry Blossoms were absolutely spectacular. I can’t wait for next year so I can head into the city to see them again.

Links – April 2, 2010

Panama Pacific Water Lily (c) 2009 Patty Hankins

Lots of links this week since I didn’t get a links post done last week. Hope you find some useful information in some of these articles

Photography and Art Links

Christian Science Monitor has Photographers and Police: A First Amendment Clash

Luminous Landscape has a review of Viewfinder – an iPhone App for Photographers.

PhotoAttorney has Can Your Copyright Registration be Invalidated?

News from the Impossible Project about a new film for some Polaroid cameras

Guy Tal has Art with an “I”

NYTimes has For Photographers: The Image of a Shrinking Path

New Media Photographer has Who is Stealing Your Work?

Laurie’s Blog has an article on Polarizers

Flower and Gardening Links

Karen’s Gardening Tips has What is the Difference an Between Annual, Perennial or Biennial?‘

Washington Post has Some Cherry Trees Gave Their Lives for Jefferson Memorial

Transatlantic Plantman has New US Hardiness Map Launches Soon

US Wildflowers has information about Hepatica

The Natural Capital has What’s Blooming at Carderock

National Park and Wildlife Refuge Links

National Parks Traveler has

• House Republicans Say Interior Secretary’s Snake Ban Bad for Business
• Mount Minsi Closed at Delaware Water Gap for Nesting Raptors
• Nesting Time at Acadia National Park Means Some Trail Closures
• Botanists at Grand Canyon NP Trying to Bring Plant Back from the Brink

Wildlife Links

Christian Science Monitor has Conference Rejects Protection for Polar Bears and Death of Coral Reefs Could Devastate Nations

Mail Online has Now That’s What I Call  A Bear Hug

SFGate has Sea Lions to be Killed to Save Salmon

PhysOrg has Scientist Stumped as Bee Population Declines Further

NYTimes has Are Aquariums Getting Too Lifelike?

Environmental Issues Links

Invasive Notes has Invasive Plants and Butterflies: A Collision of Desires and Invasive Pythons and Party Politics

Sustainablog has Earth Out Of Sync: Rising Temperatures Throwing Off Seasonal Timing

Hometown Annapolis has Our Bay: Little Endangered Things Tell the Real Story