366: Daily Archive Photo

I always thought mushrooms were interesting, but once I began taking pictures, my interested turned into a grand love affair. To find them can be a great challenge, and I am often surprised by something fantastic! This beautiful golden mushroom was large at about 2" across, and I was able to get a perfect angle too. :)

Visiting a garden for photography means more than taking pictures of flowers. There are plants, leaves, and interesting landscaping elements too. But the biggest reward might be capturing an insect in flight! I was taking a picture of the Coral Bell flowers when a bumble bee zoomed in for some nectar. I managed to get this shot, and even though the focus isn't razor-sharp, I felt it was such a great angle that I thought it was worth processing and sharing with all of you! :)

(+ a link and an image above in notes) Oh, how I love Goatsbeard flowers! I discovered these on my property the first spring I was here, lovely yellow blossoms growing tall and proud on their strong stems. I didn't know they came in purple until I identified them in a flower book. It would be my third year living here before I would find a purple on on my property, and what an exciting day that was! These flowers also create truly enormous seed balls like dandilions, and make outstanding photography subjects! :D From Wkipedia: Purple Goatsbeard (Tragopogon porrifolius) is a plant cultivated for its ornamental flower, edible root, and herbal properties. It also grows wild in many places and is one of the most widely known species of the salsify genus, Tragopogon. It is commonly known as purple or common salsify, oyster plant, vegetable oyster, Jerusalem star, goatsbeard or simply salsify (although these last two names are also applied to other species, as well).

(+4 images in notes) We have grown tomato many summers that we've lived here in southern Oregon, and discovered an especially wonderful type called a Green Zebra. You may be surprised to find out that tomatos range in flavors just like wine; in fact, I was surprised to find that tomato flowers also have different appearances as well!

My husband works as a product photographer at a company that sells zillions of kinds of beads. Just before my birthday a couple of years ago, he brought home an assortment of colorful beauties as a treat. I loved them, and enjoyed taking pictures of them to share. If you roll your mouse over the upper left corner, you can see the picture I chose for my Alphabet Project! :)

Have you ever seen a California Poppy flower as it's beginning to open? It's a rare sight to catch this with just about any kind of poppy, as they open rapidly when the time is right. I managed to find this cap still in place and got some nice pictures before it fell away and the flower opened. Do you know what this bud covering is called? It occurred to me that I didn't know, so I did a search for "California Poppy anatomy" and I got my answer! "Fused together into a dunce-cap shaped structure called a calyptra , the sepals fall off as the flower opens." This is the wonderful anatomy graphic I found, and here is the illustrator's page , which links to the book if you are interested.

Hoverflies are fabulous looking and they often don't care if you're close to them! They commonly hover long enough that you can get their picture, or else they boldly stay on flowers and allow you close access. This isn't always the case--plenty of them are so skittish you barely get a glimpse before they are zooming away. Besides making forgiving subjects, these flower flies are found in many sizes, colors and patterns (including bee mimic), which makes them a favorite!

We have a seasonal pond that dries up before all of the tadpoles can transform into froglets, so I step in by collecting the stragglers and putting them into a wading pool in our front yard. This artificial pond gives them the time they need to finish growing, and in return, I get to visit the cutie pies every day and take pictures! This was a picture I took back in 2012! :)

Have you ever eaten striped sunflower seeds? Well, THIS is what the flower looks like! I planted some of the sunflower seeds that we use in our bird seed mixture, which I think is great fun! :) When I grew my garden, I had a row of mixed sunflowers from black oil seeds, striped seeds, as well as Maximillian sunflowers! These ones were the tallest, with lovely, big blossoms!

To me, mushrooms are forest fairies. When I find them, each comes with its own wonderful story. Take this trio, for example.... I was wandering around our lower forest on Halloween 2014, when I thought I heard the tell-tale tinkle of laughter. Trained to instantly freeze at the sound, I slowly peered around the tree in my path. Another tinkle and a pair of whispers gave me a direction to look, and...there they were! A family of mushroom fairies, out for a autumn stroll. I resisted the urge to giggle at the antics of the child, who was taller than his mother, but very lanky indeed. Bouncing from pebble to stick to lump of moss, this baby moved about on an invisible cushion of air. "Shhhhhh," said the smaller of the adults in a high-pitched squeak. That would be the mother, I mused to myself, and my eyes flicked to the tallest, who looked about warily but with confidence. "Little One, you must keep quiet...you never know what might hear you." Undeterred, Little One's gay laughter tinkled up to my ears and he continued playing among the forest's undergrowth. Suddenly, a Stellar's Jay flew past and landed on a tree nearby, cawing noisily and puffing its feathers to show the world who was boss. In a flash, the three mushroom fairies moved to the protection of a stump and pulled together into a protective group. I saw my opportunity, raised my camera and took their picture while they looked on in stunned amazement. With a grin and a wave, I slipped away to leave them in peace. See what I mean? There are stories with every mushroom I find... :)

This was a picture that I had trouble with, so I began playing with toned and b/w filters. I really liked the texture and light vignetting, which I felt worked nicely with the darker shape in the background.

This is another picture I took at one of the Medford Cruise week's "Show 'n' Shine" exhibitions. So many awesome cars, at some point my eyes start spinning around in my head from so many amazing vehicles! This year's Medford Cruise is coming up and I can't wait! :D (who's that in the reflection?! :D)

This picture captures the magic of seeing poppies first thing in the morning when the sun first hits them. The light that shines through the petals is simplly breathtaking to see. On this morning, it had rained earlier, followed by the sun peeking over our hillside. What a sight. :)

A couple of years ago, Steve and I went on a garden tour down in Ashland, Oregon. What a day...so many gardens, so many flowers and lovely plants! By day's end my brain was mush, but what FUN! This was a picture I captured at one of the last gardens we visited...thanks to Fizgig and also my friend Karen Forsythe for the ID, these are called Jupiter's Beard or Red Valerian, aka Centranthus ruber. You guys are awesome!! :)

About a year ago, Steve and I went on a photo outing that didn't turn out as planned. Our local photo group suggested a high-elevation spot that turned out to be too early in the year and was freezing cold and windy. Disappointed, we returned to our area and found a lovely spot on the Rogue River to explore and take pictures. I found a honey bee who stayed still long enough for a nice shot!

One of the cool things about mushrooms is how unique they can be up close. Towering above them, mushrooms appear nearly identical to one another, but through a macro lens, the differences are distinct. I think this one looks like an umbrella, nestled against a trio of grass blades.

One of the plants that grows on our property looks similar to holly bushes, covered with thorny leaves. But in the springtime, clusters of pretty yellow flowers bloom, and are then replaced by clusters of small blue berries. What I thought was holly, was actually Oregon's state flower, Oregon-grape! This is information I posted on an another picture of thes flowers: Oregon-grape is the state flower and can be found growing from British Columbia to northern California. Although it's not actually related to grapes, it produces sour-tasting, purple berries, which look like tiny grapes. To add to the confusion, this plant isn't even related to holly, though the leaves look just like them. Instead, they are part of the barberry family...but barberry leaves don't look like holly leaves! So confusing!! (The name itself is hyphenated to reduce confusion with true grapes.) Oregon-grapes were commonly eaten by Native Americans, and can be made into wine and jelly, though a great deal of sugar is needed to counter the berry's tart flavor. The berries have been used as a purple dye, and the roots and stems make a yellow dye! Amazing! This plant even has medicinal uses! It was used by Native Americans to treat dyspepsia (upset stomach or indigestion), and is now used as an alternative to the over-harvested herb, Goldenseal, an anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial medicine, used in the treatment of infection. Furthermore, some extracts are used to treat skin diseases including eczema and psoriasis, though a side affect is a rash and a burning sensation, which makes me wonder why anyone would bother! :D Finally, there is evidence that Oregon-grapes reduce resistance to antibiotics!!

Medford Cruise week is upon us! For a whole week, Medford will be crawling with classics! This is a shallow dof shot of the front of a snazzy Corvette that I took a few years ago! In the words of Ferris Bueller: "They are so choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up." (LOL I checked to make sure I got the quote right, and I did! What a nerd I am!) :D