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Bedazzled

Last evening I went out to Noerenberg Gardens for a sunset photo shoot. Upon entering the gardens I spotted a hummingbird moth. That was it for me! I was Bedazzled I don’t know how long I watched it and photographed it. But I do know that my evening would have been complete even if I didn’t make a single photograph. Simply watching it flutter from flower to flower and drink their nectar gave me enough joy to fill me up to the brim. The first time I saw one of these moths I was confused. What was it? A hummingbird? Read more…

By Marilyn, ago

A Call to Gratitude

Every day when I go out with my camera I hear A Call to Gratitude I look around and see the beautiful sky, blue water of the lakes, and green of the trees, I feel the soft breeze on my skin and the warmth of the sun. How can I help but be grateful? We are showered every day with the gifts of the Earth, gifts we have neither earned nor paid for: air to breathe, nurturing rain, black soil, berries and honeybees, the tree that became this page, a bag of rice, and the exuberance of a field of Read more…

By Marilyn, ago

Married to the Mystery

This morning I began playing with some of the “failed” photographs from my recent trip to the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. What can I see in my so-called failed images that sparks my imagination? Can I discover something I haven’t seen before? What is hiding in the depths of these images? I become Married to the Mystery I begin with a photograph of a purple coneflower in which I cut off the top of the flower. And it immediately captures my imagination. Look at the curving stem of grass behind it. And the sharper pointed blade of something in the foreground. Read more…

By Marilyn, ago

Dazzling Dahlias

The dahlia test garden at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum is one of my favorite late August photo destinations. The varied flowers’ delightful and whimsical blossoms fill me with joy. Dazzling Dahlias There’s something about dahlias’ many layers of petals that appeals to me. Some of the flowers have petals that are tousled and free and others have petals that line up in offset rows each one perfectly replicating its neighboring petals. Dahlias Work of wonder work of light. Bend to heaven dispel the night.    Paul Schneiter It makes me curious about how the plant breeders create the different varieties Read more…

By Marilyn, ago

Creative Choices We Make in Photography

Yesterday I visited the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum with my camera. This morning as I re-visited the photographs I made yesterday I was struck by an image that I had ignored yesterday. It reminded me about all of the Creative Choices We Make in Photography The same could be said for any creative endeavor. We make choices all of the time and we’re often not conscious of them. For example, I made the photograph at the top of this blog post at f/4.0. I chose to place the focus on the green spiky stem in front of the flower, leaving the Read more…

By Marilyn, ago