Janet Brien's photos

Did you know that there are communities that have such beautiful gardens that they organize actual tours to visit them? Steve and I went on such a tour in the lovely town of Ashland, Oregon, and my, oh my, did we have a wonderful day! This picture was taken at the end of a long day of photography and I loved the richness of this colorful Marigold!

(+1 in a note above) Bearded Irises are ridiculously beautiful! They are ALSO not the easiest subject to photograph, so I was very excited when I got the opportunity to practice my skills a few years ago. Steve and I got to visit a friend's property, where she and her husband planted literally 100's upon 100's of bearded and other iris species over many acres. I was not prepared for the variety and colors that I found there that day! I learned so much about the distance to stand from an iris, the background for good contrast, and how far subjects in the background should be to create the bokeh I was after. I left that day, so happy and totally in love with these incredible flowers! :)

Today is the end of the 2016 Medford Cruise. It's a shame that Steve and I missed this year's events, but we were tied up the weekend before and then we left for our motorcycle vacation on Thursday, and won't be home until tomorrow. There will be other shows though, so we're not too disappointed. And the fact of the matter is I have dozens upon dozens of pictures still to process from when we went in 2013! VIVA LA MEDFORD CRUISE!!! :D

Back in 2013, I bought a few Zinnias for our front porch, and I had a lot of fun taking pictures of them as they bloomed. I enjoyed playing with fun macro images, and this one shows the fine fuzz along the edge of every petal! Super cool, don't you think? :)

I was born and raised in San Francisco which has a very consistent range of temperatures that don't get extremely hot or very cold. That's one of the things I love so much about living in southern Oregon. We get a bit of snow and several months of frost! It's very interesting to see how frost forms on different surfaces, but the most dramatic tends to be frost on anything metal. I think that may be because metal retains cold so solidly and offers the right kind of surface for fantastic formations like these!

How about this for a crazy-looking poppy?! I got a mixture of exotic poppies for one section of my raised bed garden and this was one of the two that bloomed! One was white with frilled petals, but this one was extra cool with frilly edges, beautiful pink petals and purple inner spots! Sadly, neither of them reseeded, so I'll have to try planting some more seeds at some point.

There's just something about this mushroom that I love! It's just such a perfect shape, and I love how short it is compared to the width of its umbrella-like cap. And it's covered with a slick sheen to catch the light here and there. It's not fancy, but it's perfect, and every time I see this picture, it makes me smile! :)

Springtime at the top of the Upper and Lower Tablerocks is very special. These grassy plataeus are bone-dry between June-October, but when the rains finally come, it is slowly transformed into a breathtaking wonderland. Beginning in February and lasting into June, flowers explode into bloom and unique vernal pools turn much of the Table Rock's surface into a marshy wetland. At the edges of the pools, and within them as well, tender plants grow and tiny flowers open in miniature living bouquets. It was here that I knelt carefully on the soggy ground to capture this lovely little scene. It looked like the sort of place a fairy might run and play, dancing among the moss and grass!

When I put in my raised bed garden a couple of years ago, I planted mostly seeds, but I also planted a bunch of gladiolus and anemone bulbs too. I loved the way the anemones looked as the buds prepared to open. They have such a lovely sheen to them, surrounded by a rich green ruffle! :)

Just because a flower has fallen to the ground, doesn't mean it isn't still beautiful. I have always enjoyed seeing these blossoms as the lay face-first on the ground because it's an interesting view and the tube sticking up is so neat to look at!

(+4 images in notes to see larger versions) The joy of a macro lens is the ability to bring into focus the ridiculously tiny things that all of us usually don't--or can't--see. This collage shows a wonderful example. I found tiny orange specks on the underside of some branches and immediately got excited because the edges were white. However, when I looked through my macro lens, I whooped in delight to see that the edges were so fuzzy! There were thousands of these tiny little fungi! (By the way, I'm not 100% certain these aren't lichen...if you know one way or the other, please let me know so I can identify them properly.) :) I was actually forced to create a collage to show these because they are so very, very small. About the size of the head of a pin! At first I was unhappy that I couldn't get a larger image, but after I created the collage, I was delighted because I can show lots of them. Aren't they wonderful? To me they look like tasty little orange tarts with some sort of special spun meringue edging. YUMMY! :D

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

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!!

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.

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!

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!! :)

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. :)

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)