cactus

Sunday Post: Nature

~ whisperingsbyjkl ~ 4 Comments

I found out about this challenge from Dawn’s Post and decided to join in on the fun this week.  I was visiting the Phoenix area in November and decided to check out the Desert Botanical Garden.  Lucky for me, there was a Chihuly in the Garden exhibit, which was spectacular.  I ended up going there in the late afternoon, so I was able to see the exhibit in sunlight, sunset, twilight and darkness.  I had to tinker around with my camera settings a bit.  The following images are my favorite shots because it has interesting juxtaposition (man-made objects in a natural landscape).  I hope you enjoy it!  To join the challenge yourself, visit the Sunday Post.

Cactus in Disguise
Cactus in Disguise
Dancing Seductress
Dancing Seductress
Elegant Enchantress
Elegant Enchantress
Glass Cactus
Glass Cactus
Paddling in the Lake
Paddling in the Lake
Fireball in the Desert
Fireball in the Desert

 

Cee’s Black & White Challenge: Flowers

Metallic Flora
~ whisperingsbyjkl ~ 3 Comments

I love taking photos of flowers because they are beautiful elements in nature with interesting shapes, colors and contrast.  Most flowers look best in color, so it takes a special flower to dazzle in black and white.  For this challenge, I decided to look for the flowers with minimal color, but lots of contrast and repetition.  Since I didn’t have time to take new photos, all of these are previous photos that I have taken in color, but converted to black and white in Photoshop using the Channel Mixer tool.  I hope you enjoy them.

Photos taken at the New York Botanical Garden

This image is my favorite because it resembles a steel sculpture.  The original leaves were green with purple streaks.

Metallic Flora
Metallic Flora
Colorful Leaves
Colorful Leaves
A Little Like Plastic
A Little Like Plastic

Photos taken in Phoenix, Arizona @ the Desert Botanical Garden

Cactus Swirls
Cactus Swirls
Cactus Blossom
Cactus Blossom