Orange

The color ORANGE is warm, cozy, active, stimulating, cheerful and energetic.  It is a great color for living rooms and kitchens and home offices.

My ORANGE artwork:  Click HERE.

Other ORANGE artwork:  Click HERE.

Irises

To check out my iris photos on pixels.com, click HERE.

To check out other iris photos, click HERE.  

Lilies

To check out all Lilies artwork and photos on Pixels.com, click HERE.  

Roses

To see my roses photos on Pixels.com, click HERE.

To see other roses photos/artwork on Pixels.com, click HERE.

To check out all photographs on Pixels.com, click HERE.

Camellias

Before azaleas and magnolias make their grand entrance, camellias starts blooming in the south. They bloom in January and to me are like a promise of beautiful things to come. To see all of my camellia artwork, check out my Pixels.com Gallery: Camellias 

camellias art for sale

Black and White

Light, patterns and details make an interesting black and white photo.  To me, it's like removing layers of makeup and revealing the true beauty underneath.  

My BLACK AND WHITE Photos

BLACK AND WHITE Photos on Fine Art America

Follow me of Pinterest:  BLACK AND WHITE

Orchids

Orchids are one of my favorite flowers.  They are SO impressive with their vibrant colors and unique patterns.  They are also very challenging to photograph!  Sometimes, you just don't have a lot of choice when it comes to lighting.  It depends on what time of day you are shooting and the position of the orchid.  (So far, I have resisted the urge to reposition the flower for a more favorable light.)  My best shots, so far, are backlit orchids with lots of nice bokeh in the background.  Here's an example:

f/4.0, ISO 160

The best place to take pictures of orchids is at a botanical garden.  Local fairs are also great, as they display many different kinds of orchids and it is fun to see which ones are judged blue-ribbon worthy.  Some cities have orchid societies that put on excellent orchid shows and plant sales.  Typically, I ask a lot of questions and have learned a lot about caring for orchids this way.  To use good photography etiquette, it is always best to ask for permission to take photos first.  I explain that I plan to sell my photos and ask if that is okay.  Usually, I get a resounding "sure".  Recently, my husband and I took a trip to Marie Selby Botanical Gardens in Sarasota, Florida.  The greenhouse was simply stunning, with giddy photographers (me included) walking around with huge smiles on their faces.

I learned from a short video upon entering the gardens, that orchids are epiphytes.  Apparently, Selby gardens has the largest collection in the country.  Epiphytes are plants that grow on another plant without harming it.  They receive their nutrients from the air and rain.  Some other examples of epiphytes are ferns, mosses, lichens and bromeliads.  Below is a picture of a bromeliad and Spanish Moss fountain that you will find at Selby.  I love this idea and hope to replicate it some day.  This would look great in front of my house!

Click HERE to see my Orchids Gallery on Fine Art America.

Click HERE to see other orchid artwork on Fine Art America.  

I hope to go back to Selby Gardens soon, to take more photos and to visit their wonderful gift shop.  It is almost as beautiful as the gardens themselves!  

For information on art classes, photography classes, botany classes, etc, check out Selby.org.  

To learn more about orchids, check out the American Orchid Society.  

If anyone has the name of a good orchid identifier book, I would really appreciate the information.  

Thank you!

Carol