by hankinslawrenceimages | Jul 21, 2009 | Flowers, Liliaceae Family, Wildflowers
On our recent trip to the Blue Ridge Parkway, I photographed a fantastic wild lily. Bill and I were driving along Rt. 56 between the Blue Ridge Parkway and Montebello, Virginia when I spotted a splash of red along a hillside. We were on our way to Crabtree Falls, so planned to stop back at the flower on our way back to the Blue Ridge Parkway.
On our first pass by the area where I’d seen the flower on our return trip, we didn’t see anything. So we turned around, and finally spotted the flower. Since there was no where to park, Bill dropped me off and proceeded to spend the next 15 minutes driving up and back this section of Rt 56 while I photographed the flower.
Then came the challenge of figuring out what it was that I’d been photographing. I knew it was a wild lily – but I didn’t think it would be too hard to identify. It was a red lily than hung down from the stem. The petals curved partway back. And the underside was spotted.
It turned out – that there wasn’t anything similar in any of my wildflower books. After some searching, I thought there was a good chance that it was a red variety of a Canada Lily – Lilium Canadense. The problem was – most online descriptions of Lilium Canadense – say that there are multiple stems and flowers (up to 20) on each plant. A little more research – and help from several wonderful friends on Twitter – I decided it really was a lilium canadense.
So here are the photos of a red Canada Lily.
(c) 2009 Patty Hankins
(c) 2009 Patty Hankins
(c) 2009 Patty Hankins
(c) 2009 Patty Hankins
(c) 2009 Patty Hankins
by hankinslawrenceimages | Jul 19, 2009 | Flowers
Earlier this spring, I photographed two types of columbine (aquilegia) – McKana Group and Robin – at Longwood Gardens. While photographing, I was chatting with another photographer – who asked had I seen the columbine around the fountain? Apparently each year, the staff at Longwood Gardens plants columbine around the fountain at the center of the Flower Garden Walk.
When I made another visit to Longwood in early May, the fan columbine (McKana Group) was all around the center fountain. It was gorgeous.
(c) 2009 Patty Hankins
There were so many color combinations in the flowers that I never did manage to photograph them all. Here are some of my favorites.
(c) 2009 Patty Hankins
(c) 2009 Patty Hankins
(c) 2009 Patty Hankins
(c) 2009 Patty Hankins
(c) 2009 Patty Hankins
(c) 2009 Patty Hankins
by hankinslawrenceimages | Jul 17, 2009 | On the Web
Just a few links this week . . .
PopPhoto Flash has a Capturing Full Moon
Black Star Rising has Is A Verbal Agreement Sufficient for a Model Release
Lighting Essentials has 10 Pricing Challenges and Strategies for Photographers
by hankinslawrenceimages | Jul 15, 2009 | Flowers
On a visit to Longwood Gardens in May, I was able to photograph a couple of varieties of Oriental Poppies (papavar orientale).
The first oriental poppy I photographed had very intense red petals that seem to have fringing at the edges. The center of the blossoms and seeds were a very dark purple.
(c) 2009 Patty Hankins
(c) 2009 Patty Hankins
(c) 2009 Patty Hankins
The other type of Oriental Poppies I photographed were a lovely orange poppy named Midnight. I really like the variations in shades of orange in the petals.
(c) 2009 Patty Hankins
(c) 2009 Patty Hankins
(c) 2009 Patty Hankins
Poppies only seem to bloom for a short time in the DC area – but they certainly do put on a show while they are in bloom.
by hankinslawrenceimages | Jul 13, 2009 | Flowers
One morning in May, I heading to Richmond, Virgnia to do some photography at the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden. I’d visited Lewis Ginter a few times before, but really had a chance to explore the gardens when the flowers were blooming. The first flowers I photographed were the peonies.
Then I started exploring. In the West Island Garden, I discovered an amazing variety of pitcher plants. I’d seen a few pitcher plants growing indoors at some of the local botanical gardens – this was the first time I’d found them growing outdoors. Several of the varieties of pitcher plants were growing near each other (and their identification signs). I’ve done my best to get the plants correctly identified. If I have them identified incorrectly, please let me know.
The first set I photographed were some Yellow Trumpet Pitcher Plants (sarracenia flava). I really like the patterns and colors of the group of pitcher plant.s
(c) 2009 Patty Hankins
(c) 2009 Patty Hankins
I haven’t been able to identify this next type of pitcher plant. The flowers on this one are incredible.
(c) 2009 Patty Hankins
(c) 2009 Patty Hankins
The final trumpet plant I photographed was the White Trumpet Pitcher Plant (sarracenia leucophylla).
(c) 2009 Patty Hankins
(c) 2009 Patty Hankins
