Donna at
Garden Walk Garden Talk has begun a new meme that posts every other Wednesday. Known as "Word for Wednesday", Donna posts a word that needs to be expressed in some way in photographs of things in our garden. Today's word is
Illumination. I first read about this challenge in the late afternoon - like dawn, one of my favorite times of the day to take photographs. When the sun is low in the sky, the angles of light are much easier to play with. So immediately after reading about it, I set out with my camera to capture the physical manifestation of illumination.
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| Afternoon sunlight filtered through Japanese anemones |
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| Sunlight and shadows on a Sunny Knock-Out blossom. |
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| Oenothera, Evening Primrose, in the late afternoon sun. |
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| I only saw the striping on the petals of the this Double (Red) Knock-Out when I was cropping the pictures for this post. The sunlight passing through the petals was captured by the camera lens but did not register in my mind when I was photographing it. |
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| Iceberg, petals illuminated and shadowed by the afternoon sun. |
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| The late afternoon sun reflected through the arched window in my husband's office perfectly superimposed over the arch in the glass door to the back work room. In the spring, this reflection is perfectly positioned over the painting on the wall, which portrays the arched portico outside of the library at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC. |
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| From the book of Proverbs: 31, Woman of Valor, Eshet Chayil in Hebrew, is traditionally recited on Friday evenings during Shabbat to honor the wife and mother in a Jewish household. |
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| In nature, one sees the physical manifestation, the embodiment of God. |
Donna, thank you for this wonderful challenge, for inspiring us to see beauty and light in the garden. If you want to participate, you can find all of the information about it
here on her blog.
You caught some very pretty photos Cathy. Love the blooms.
ReplyDeleteCher Sunray Gardens
Dear Cathy, These are beautiful images, punctuated with thoughtfully placed definitions of the word. You perfectly captured the spirit of this challenging meme. Can't wait to see what Donna did with it ... going there now. P. x
ReplyDeleteThis is definitely very well thought out post. You covered all aspects of illumination interestingly and beautifully. That arch is a pleasant surprise. The candle shot is beautiful too.
ReplyDeleteYou first and last photos are breathtaking. The anemones make a great subject and look beautiful in the filtered light. The scene and sky are magnificent and well captured. We get that so rarely here, so it is a treat every time I see these beautiful skies. Thank you so much for joining in.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful photos. I'll have to check out this new meme. Have a great day.
ReplyDeleteLove the Iceberg photo, but the photo of the sun streaming through your home is amazing. You captured the light perfectly.
ReplyDeleteCathy a beautiful take on Illumination. I just adore the images especially those anemones. Your post went beyond pictures to a spiritual illumination...wonderful!!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Cher and Pam, for visiting and commenting.
ReplyDeleteOne, I had to struggle with that candle shot LOL. I kept getting a reflection in the glass of the frame, and shadows from the windows. But I do like how it came out!
Donna, I was surprised at how vividly the colors of the sky came through. I didn't touch up that picture at all, didn't even crop it. As for the anemones, I had spent perhaps a half hour trying to capture the correct angle and after I took about 50 pictures, I turned as I was heading back to the house to shoot one more picture of a larger cluster of flowers and that was, as they say, the money shot. I saved about 4 shots and deleted the rest. I enjoyed the challenge and glad you thought it up!
Holley, I was so fortunate that the sun was moving in the right direction! When I first went to check on the shadow, it was much lower on the wall. I just had to wait about 40 minutes for the shadow to move into the perfect position. I will definitely have to photo it in spring when it moves across the sky and casts the same shadow right on the painting.
Donna, thanks for visiting and commenting.
Beautiful Cathy! I love watching the play of light that you captured. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful Cathy. What wonderful illustrations of the word illumination.The capture of light and angles are so beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThanks Masha and Lona!
ReplyDeleteCathy, what a wonderful, thoughtful post. You have captured some remarkable images. The play of light in your husband's office is great. It must be an inspirational place to work!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful photos! My favorite one is the anemones :)
ReplyDeleteCathy, I thought this was a great post, capturing several different meanings of the word in some delightful images. I love the Japanese anemones, and the last photo of the sky.
ReplyDeleteReally nice photos! I love the first one of the anemones and the light in the office! Glad you took the challenge...I was a little intimidated but made an attempt.
ReplyDeleteAll of your photos are beautiful and illuminating! I specifically enjoyed the one with the Japanese anemones. The light dances off of those petals so beautifully!
ReplyDeleteLovely tribute to illumination from all angles.
ReplyDeleteDebsgarden, thanks for stopping by. Yes, it really is a great place. He is a psychiatrist and many of the patients and their families love to walk in the garden. They find it very calming and restorative.
ReplyDeleteChris (NHGarden), I love those anemones too. I must have taken 50 photos of them between yesterday and today LOL.
Landscapelover, thanks for visiting! Those anemones are popular, as is the sunset.
Karin (Southern Meadows), I will definitely stop by and see what you came up with. I'm sure it's wonderful.
Sage Butterfly, I think you're vote is the deciding one... I'm going to submit that picture to a contest hosted by Horticulture magazine!
Carolyn, thank you!
You're privileged to do the photos with already the word in mind for your purpose, and the photos turned out awesome. In my case, i just looked at the archives! But for me the first and the last are outstanding, and it is serendipitous that you also chose the first and last in mine! lol.
ReplyDeleteThe anemones are da bomb. Go for it on your contest.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Patrick. There seems to be a consensus on that!
ReplyDeleteThe evening primrose unfurling is so pretty, but I'm going to join the bandwagon on the anemones. I like the diffused light coming through the flowers and the highlights on the seed heads in the foreground.
ReplyDeleteOh my, you certainly have captured what was being looked for in illumination. I am rather new to photography and have already found that the pictures which I am happiest with are those taken in the early morning.Although I have to say, I like your shot of iceberg best of all. Your picture with the candles is very appealing and makes me think how so many of my friends in the USA are genuine about their religion. Seems like the majority of us in the UK are now heathens.
ReplyDeleteLoved your photos and your images of illumination. I received my own lesson in illumination the other night. The temperature had plummeted thanks to a cold front, so I grabbed the camera for a late night photo shoot. I was surprised by the results. The flash brought out such vivid colors -- I wish I had done this earlier in the season. There's always next year!
ReplyDeleteGirlSprout, I am going to take it to heart - that is the picture I'm entering in the GGW contest. ;)
ReplyDeleteAlistair, that picture of Iceberg is my favorite too, and what I find interesting is that I have a hard time loving that rosebush. It's lanky, gets mildew at the drop of a hat, and the blooms always droop. But still, I give it TLC and hang in there with it.
nittygrittydirtman, welcome to our blog -- this is your first visit here, I think. I'm assuming you had some frost, and that was what made your pictures so amazing? Thanks for stopping by!
You have managed to beautifully capture the many meanings of illumination. I especially like the shot of your husband's office with the window shape superimposed on the door.
ReplyDeleteJennifer, thanks for dropping by! The shadow is even more impressive when it is superimposed over the painting, which happens in spring. :)
ReplyDelete