July Flowers and Gardens – July is known for being the hottest part of summer in some areas. Flowers are blooming, birds are nesting. Colors are bright and vibrant.
Here is to a wonderful month of July in your area, a time to enjoy the wonderful outdoors, along with quite a few mosquitos in our area. But the good news is, I have not found one wood tick yet this year on me or my dogs. That is so unusual, but I don’t mind that at all.
Wisteria, a beautiful flowering hanging plant, similar to the lilac group. I love seeing these plants, and down south they look like they grow everywhere.
I planted one where I live, but it might just be a little cold up here. It has not bloomed yet and I have had it a couple of years.
Sepia Toned – Sepia is a reddish-brown color, named after the rich brown pigment derived from the ink sac of the common cuttlefish Sepia.
I like to use the sepia finish on some of my flower or insect photos, so I had to look up what the word actually means and surprised myself finding the answer.
Fun Facts
What is a cuttlefish you might ask 🙂 – Cuttlefish ink was formerly an important dye, called sepia. That is where the name of this color comes from. I did not know that myself.
I like how the white on the tip of the wings of this butterfly did not change much when changing this photo to sepia tones.
Last of My Flower photos from my gardens. They are still blooming but we are in the process of heading south again. I want to say thank you to Beth for telling me about Zinnias. She said to let them stand all winter, they give great coverage for the birds, plus they can reseed themselves in the spring.
I did notice the birds would go under the flower plants in the heat of the summer. It was dark and cool in there. Like it was their own little forest.
Do Bees See Colors – Bees do not see color the same way humans do, so they are attracted to certain flower colors. Plants on the blue and yellow end of the color spectrum attract bees because those are the colors they can easily perceive.
I am not sure how they have found this information, but I do know the bumble bees are busy at work this fall landing on pretty much all of the colors in my flower garden. I have noticed they really like the pink cosmos flowers and the marigolds.
Male bees do not actively collect pollen, only the queen does. They transfer the pollen they collect to the sacs or baskets on their hind legs to make it easier to transport back to the hive.
A queen has found a suitable habitat for her colony once she is seen with pollen on her hind legs
Unlike honeybees, the bumblebee colony dies in late fall. The queen (who rules the colony) is the only member of a bumblebee colony to survive the winter! She hibernates during the winter months underground and starts a new colony in the spring.
Autumn is Rich With Gold colors. Welcome to October, my favorite season is here. Autumn colors, cool crisp air and golden hues surround us.
Flower photography is a fun way to see all these colors up close. This little orange flower grows about 1 foot off of the ground. Sometimes it is just easier to pick the flower to photograph it and make an interesting composition with it, then crawling down on the ground to get a close up shot.
The Cheerful Flower – Sunflowers grow large, tall, and cheerful flower heads that brighten and animate your yard—and though you most commonly see these aptly-named beauties in sunny yellow, the annuals can be red or orange, too. There are so many good reasons to grow them, beyond the fact that they make you happy: They’re easy to cultivate, attract beneficial pollinators like butterflies and native bees, and draw beautiful songbirds (many species love these blooms!)
Including deer, they love eating them when they are young plants. But I was able to keep them away from a couple of my sunflowers so I could see them bloom and provide seeds for the birds this year.
Short video below of my tallest sunflower, over 10 ft. this one. Like the sun looking right at you. Click here, Sunflower
Flower Garden – Well I planted lots of flowers two months ago and they are in full bloom. So many wonderful colors and I am happy to say the hummingbirds are still here. They appear to be having a blast going to all the flowers and chasing each other.
I have two flower gardens that way the hummingbirds have plenty of room to check out all the flowers.
Marigolds – marigolds symbolize purity, auspiciousness, and the divine. Their strong fragrance is believed to ward off negativity and evil spirits. Plus they are said to ward off mosquitos.
The vibrant colors of marigolds also represent the sun’s energy, signifying warmth, passion, and creativity.
I planted a lot of marigolds this year to test out the theory of keeping mosquitos away. But by the time they bloomed the mosquitos were already gone. So I can not testify that this theory is correct until next year. 🙂
This one is not a marigold, I just added it because of the color scheme and background.
Close Up Macro Lens added to my Nikon Lens. I was given some 67 mm macro magnifying lens, up to plus 4 magnification to try out. I really like them, I picked this daisy and put it in a cup so I could place the flower on a table to photograph it with this added lens.
What a difference it makes, I did not use a tri pod but I think it still came out pretty clear. I sprayed some water onto the daisy so I could focus on that.
But an added bonus to this lens is the beautiful depth of field. I had my camera slightly below the flower pointing up with the clouds in the background. It made for a nice soft white color behind the flower.
The last photo is without the extra lens on and you can see how the background isn’t quit as soft. I will be trying this lens out more in the future.
Make Flower Photos Bloom with the right camera settings. The wild flowers are in full bloom after the last couple of rains we have had. I do love photographing flowers. Creating a beautiful depth of field makes the photos more interesting, meaning a nice blurred background with the right camera settings.
Flower photography is all about sharp details, bright colors, and finding the right depth of field. Here’s how to get it right:
ISO — Use a low ISO between 100 and 200 to maintain a sharp picture. If your ISO gets too high, it could make the picture grainy.
Shutter speed — Use a fast shutter speed of around 1/125 or higher to reduce blur from camera shake, if you’re either shooting with a handheld camera or outside on a windy day. If you’re using a tripod with a still subject, shutter speed isn’t an important consideration.
Aperture — The right aperture setting depends on your subject and preferences. For small subjects, a wide aperture between f/1.8 and f/7 will give you a shallow depth of field with lots of background blur. Narrow apertures of around f/11 or higher are best for large subjects like bouquets and big flowers, when you want the entire subject in focus.
Since aperture is the most important camera setting for flower photography, I always shoot in aperture priority. This way, I can quickly adjust the aperture to find the perfect depth of field without worrying about ISO or shutter speed.
August and Golden Colors, after a hot summer I always look forward to the golden hues of fall. Now technically autumn doesn’t start until September 22nd. But warm colors of gold, yellow and browns are pleasing to the eye and warms the heart.
Evening Rains, last nights storms brought 2 inches of rain that was very much needed in my area. As the rain stopped late into the evening, the sky turned to a beautiful pink and blue and my one flowering plant that survived the winter was in full bloom as the sun begin to set.
Spring Colors, another camper had this colorful flower basket hanging from a tree at their campsite, so I had to take a photo. A wonderful sign that spring is close.
Winter Color in the South, it has been getting colder even down here in the south. But on a sunny day you can still spot a butterfly or two with some yellow flowers strewn about.
After the Rain here in the south the flowers come back to life even on the beaches. I want to say thank you to all of you that stop by to view my photos and read some of my words. I am not the best at writing but I have often said I like to let my photos speak for me. In a way that lets your imagination flow, a way for you to see a part of creation that is not always visible to all of us.
You may have noticed I have been posting photos from the southern states along the Gulf Coast for a few weeks now. Well, actually it has been since September. On September 30th 2021, I turned 60 years old and wanted to spend that day on the gulf coast which we did.
But, what I have not mentioned until now is that my husband and I have thought about this trip for some time now. We have been traveling for 5 months now and plan on skipping winter all together. I have always believed that life, for me, has never been on my timeline but on the creator’s timeline.
So this is the year that we are chasing 70 degree weather and so far it has been working out, is has been staying in the 70’s or less. The best part is not shoveling snow for the first time in my entire life.
Some may wonder how can one travel in times like this. It has always been my contention that the gaining of Knowledge cannot be decoupled from life experience which gives us a foundation of Wisdom. Simply put Common sense or the lack thereof of Common Sense determines one’s course or path in life.
Cognitive reasoning becomes distorted when we are given a daily dose of half truths to swallow in hopes of some redeeming value. Far to often in the realms of societal constraints imposed upon us, the daily rules and regulations, thousands of rules that regulate our everyday walk. We spend our waking hours in minute details of life.
The face of man kind is changing rapidly due to these effects. Society in large part has lost its bearings its common sense.
Opinions turn one into a thief to steal from others to maintain a feel good attitude. A sense of superiority lording over others in a competitive spirit.
We can all have an opinion and facts have no basis in Reality because they don’t progress. Truth lies in the opinion of the speaker and what he thinks.
Progressions turn into distortions. We have lost respect for the construct of Creation and instead it becomes easier to explain life in what ever feels good at the time. Life becomes motionless at a standstill, you will decay, losing your bearings, your Nature in Creation.
If we leave our nature, the natural beauty that we are, we forget who we are and become someone else.
I see people creating life everyday around me. With their words and photos. Some will see the light some won’t that is just a fact of life. When your desire to live overrides what man told you on how to live. Your purpose in life might just be right in front of you. These are the thoughts that came to me by Creating my Vision.
Floral Art by Design, flowers are so amazing in their details when you look really close at them. They are all so different but are designed with such intricate details that serve a purpose that insures their propagation, by attracting pollinators.
I am not sure what this flower is, but I would guess its name might be similar to corn. Because up close it looks like miniature corn cobs in the center of this vibrant orange flower.
August Brings Clear Skies and some sunshine. With all the fires out west and to the north, I have not seen blue skies for most of July. My brother is very near to one of those fires in Montana. They are packed and ready to go if needed. The fire fighters come by and tell them if it is time to leave.
They do have a chance for rain soon, I pray that it reaches all the areas that are burning, hopefully they will see the sun soon as well.
This red bud reminds me of the strong hearts that we all have, especially during times of trouble. That we can get through anything, helping our neighbors when we can and having faith to keep us going on the straight path. My brother said they are ready to go if needed, he isn’t worried about the things left behind, those things are replaceable, they are just things.
I came across this yellow flower with petals in the shape of hearts. There seems to be a pattern I see, as I walk through the forest thinking about things.
Through the dark times, there will always be Light. New growth will appear, pristine and white. To remind us that life on this earth is temporary.
Make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is; that I may know how frail I am.