Angle your shots

The angle of a shot can make all the difference. If you are trying to capture the personality of a flower, try it from one side or the other, from the top down--even if you have to get a chair to stand on, and even try it from the ground up.

I know it's hard to tell, but in the above picture I was trying to capture the Blonde Ambition ornamental grass with its little eyelash ruff held above the wiry green. But the busy background of the overly mature beebalm, crowding Cosmos foliage, the out-of-control pink gaura, and the too-bright sun defeated my purpose.

Instead, I found a downward looking angle and got this fun shot.

Here is a nice standard shot of the Bloodgood Japanese maple against the side of my house. Uninspiring and uninteresting.

The same tree but in closeup, backlit with the red leaves glowing translucent against the evening sun. A much more dramatic and interesting shot.

Take Many, Many Pictures

Below is a series of pictures I took of a swallowtail butterfly feeding among the scabiosa. I took picture after picture, most of which were deleted. These ones are the better photographs, although you can see problems in each of them. I finally found one that, when properly cropped, had the balance and composition I was looking for.

The picture above isn't bad, especially when the butterfly has wings wide open and an illuminating back light through the wings. The green foliage, blue scabiosa and white geranium is a nice backdrop to the yellow and black. But I don't like the angle of the butterfly on the flower, so I will keep taking pictures.

Here the angle is tilted enough that you can't see the full butterfly effect.

The balance is good, but the wings are not completely visible.

You can hardly even see the swallowtail colors. Often a side view of a butterfly is enough, but not in this case.

This is more like it. Good balance, colors pop, and the butterfly's wings are wide open and visible.

Here is the same picture, cropped for balance and composition. The focal point is the butterfly, even though it is not centered. The overall effect is of a candid garden shot that includes flowers, foliage, and swallowtail.

The Autumn Garden

 August Lily, the fragrant flower of the shade-loving hosta plant

 Profusion of perennials and annuals in the fall border - white alyssum, white and purple osteospermum,  purple and blue perennial aster, Flower Carpet Coral landscape rose, fuchsia-colored sedum, and orange zauschneria, beloved of hummingbirds

 The striking hummingbird mint Agastache Ava next to Agastache Golden Jubilee along the fence on our country road. Yes, the hummingbirds do love these plants.

 Bee on the blue caryopteris. Insects are fun to photograph and give interest to flower studies

Goldenrod "Peter Pan." I have several varieties of Solidago, and I find baby plants of this one all over my garden. Not suprising, since Goldenrod is still considered a weed by some people.

My wonderful mesh vegetable basket

"Morden Sunrise" single rose in shades of yellow, gold and peach

The Mid-Summer Garden

Echinacea against the garden bench

Fragrant Linden tree blossoms during July

Autumn anemone September Charm. These begin blooming in August clear through October.

Hemerocallis Flava, the fragrant lemon midsummer daylily. One of the workhorses of the garden.

Wandering pink evening primrose, another of those pretty, persistent plants that weaves its way and fills up spaces around other plants

Rudbeckia, the fabulous Black-Eyed Susan. These have grown well in semi-shade for me.

Indispensable white salvia, blue penstemon, and brilliant poppy mallow, the Rocky Mountain winecup, or callirhoe involucrata

Rose leaves after a visit from the leaf-cutter bees. These bees pollinate alfalfa. They live in "bee boards," wide-cut lumber drilled with hundreds of holes which serve as leaf cutter nests. The little circle leaf-cutouts serve as a cover to the narrow round nests.

Shasta daisies, among the most recognizable and easiest to grow. Give them plenty of room and plenty of sunshine.

White lilies in July. These grow under the peach tree.

Salvia and white Japanese peony. I tried this diagonal shot but I'm not sure I like it.

Single Flower Studies

It is best to start simple, which--in the case of photographing flowers--means single flower studies. Just take one bloom at a time and experiment with settings, lighting, and angles to set off your subject to its best advantage.

For example, find an interesting plant in your garden. This is a rose blossom from the Morden Sunrise shrub:

1. Take a picture in the morning, afternoon and evening to compare the quality of light and shadow. 
2. Try taking the picture from above, below, and alongside.
3. Your camera should have a macro setting--usually with an icon that resembles a little flower. This is made for closeup photography work and is best with single flower studies. 

The Spring Garden

Curly willow - beloved of flower arrangers. A floppy tree, it needs lots of water, but really is lovely in flower arrangements.

Rozanne, the best cranesbill geranium of all. It blooms and blooms and blooms this lovely neon blue color, and it winds around and fills up space around taller and more aggressive plants.

Blue baptisia against green and white grasses. These grasses can spread dramatically, but you can always cut out a chunk and put it in a pot with other plants.

Iris and old roses. It's hard to get a good shot of a group of perennial flowers, some of which may not be at their absolute best.

Seashell, the fragrant Japanese peony. The single peonies are stunning in vases.

Chinese tree peonies, among the loveliest of all plants. These are woody shrubs. Mine is five feet tall and eight feet wide, covered in early May with these crinkled crepe-paper beauties.

Double columbine. Hardly looks like a columbine at all.

Lily of the valley. You have to get close to smell the sweetness. These like deep shade, and once you get them growing and spreading, they crowd everything else out with their tough, ropy roots.

Saponaria, the wandering soapwort. This plant will simply not stay where I put it. It sulks and dies and tells me no, and then it wanders at will, spreading itself here and there in varying shades of pink, welcome wherever it shows up.

Viburnum Carlesii, the indispensable Korean Spice Viburnum, perfumes the whole yard with the powerful scent of carnations in April and May. Keep the windows open when this one is blooming.

Pulmonaria Raspberry Splash, among the very first bloomers in the spring. The rest of the summer and autumn season it decorates the ground with neat whorls of spotted green leaves.

Bridal Veil shrub flowering in a spring rain

Sweet smelling dianthus. Another powerful carnation scent. Everyone who sees this plant wants some of it, and there is always enough to spread around.

Iberis Candytuft, a sturdy, chalk-white, long-lasting spring ground cover

The old-fashioned favorite Bleeding Hearts. Another plant everyone wants, but these spread slowly. They like some sun but not too much. These make me sneeze if I bring the leaves inside

Apple blossoms. So many ways to photograph these.

Species clematis. There are so many more clematis varieties than just the big showy climbers.

Cheerful daffodils, backlit in the spring sunshine

Pulmonaria,  nodding white Windflower anemones, trailing Veronica, and foamflower Tiarella. All early spring flowers hugging the cold ground.

Thalia narcissus, one of my favorite spring bulb - a delicate-looking,orchid-like flower that multiplies every year into stunning clumps. Here against the fence, nodding among the periwinkle.

Dog violets and dead nettle Lamium battling for supremacy in the back yard. So far the violets are winning. I am going to have to pull them back, because I do love the dead nettle.