How to Tackle the Wind

Poppies in the Wind

To wrap up my “Painterly Picture Week”, I hate to be redundant, but I love poppies, and apparently I have a lot of company since I see them all over Sequim.

Easy to grow, hearty and full of color, they don’t disappoint, even in the wind. And since we’ve had more than our share of wind lately, that’s the time grab your phone and/or your camera and get outside to record the show. A slow shutter speed helps with the painterly effect by blending all those colors as if you’d taken a brush to canvas, but without the time involved and without dealing with wet paint.

I hope that at least one of my posts this week has inspired you to get a little creative yourself and to indulge your senses in the opportunity to capture the beauty that surrounds us, even in the wind!

Now in Bloom

Wild Rose with Bud

For years, I’ve believed this flower to be a wild rose…however, since I question my perceived knowledge of plants and flowers, I decide to consult the experts at the Woodcock Demonstration Garden plant clinic instead.

On their site, they offer a form that allowed me to upload a photo (above) and to ask my question. While I await an answer, I took the opportunity to spend more time on the site and find what else they offer.

To my surprise, they have an extensive offering on everything from growing and caring for plants, to finding farmers’ markets, as well as specific foods in our area. Their link to the Eat Local First website caught my eye first and from there I could enter a specific food, along with my zip code, and find where it’s farmed and/or sold locally.

For example, I entered “halibut” and the 98382 area code and although I envisioned seeing locations in Sekiu, or Pt. Townsend, I was surprised to find that High Tide Seafoods in Pt. Angeles sells it, and it’s a mere 18 miles away (a relief considering the price of gas). Their phone number (360) 452-8488) was listed, and a website as well.

So although the jury is still out on the actual name of these flowers, I have no excuse but to access the Demonstration Gardens’ site the next time I’m in a quandary on the name or origin of a particular plant or flower. And while some may recommend I simply Google it, I did, and found similar flowers, but no…not this one! 

Dancing Poppies

Skagit Valley Tulips Dance in the Wind

Since I often travel, I don’t plant many flowers that require watering and/or special care while I’m gone, since I know that when I return my money and time will have been wasted on parched flowers. And not planting them also gives me another reason to travel back to Skagit Valley, with more money to do it with.

While in the fields, I often find myself dodging other visitors, as well as photographers, and I do my best to capture the essence of the flowers that “speak” to me, but often I find I want to do more with my keepers after I get home, and this is where creativity is key in a successful end result.

With this piece, I chose to combine three of my images. The colorful abstract background you see is actually light reflected on gasoline floating in a puddle of water (I’ll spare you the details…); the tulips, originally with someone’s foot behind them, are the second layer; and the leaves the third.

Using Adobe Photoshop, I sandwiched the images together and used their software to sharpen and bring out the details to achieve the look you see here. Successful? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder!

Woman of Color

A Colorful Kingston Public Market Shopper

For those of you who have visited the Kingston Public Market, before or after embarking on a journey to Edmonds or beyond, I hope you enjoyed it “almost” as much as our Saturday Market here in Sequim.

I was introduced to the market when my husband and I owned a boat which we would take into Kingston for yacht club get togethers, or simply while vacationing, and it was something we always looked forward to visiting. The market is conveniently located next to the ferry terminal, and the moorage docks.

Like Sequim’s market, it hosts local artisans, woodturners, local growers, food vendors, multi-genre musicians, etc, but in Kingston, you can pull up some grass and picnic on the lawn if you choose, all while munching and/or listening to music.

And, if you’re a people watcher like me, you may find yourself wanting to snap a few pics of the shoppers, the band, or whomever, or whatever, happens to strike your eye, as this young woman did mine.

I found her colorful attire and style to be an immediate draw for my camera lens and fortunately, she was happy to oblige when I requested a photo. All the while I was envisioning a future art poster or painting to capture not only her features, but her vibe; the same colorful and creative vibe I got from the market.

The White Peacock

White Splendor

Yesterday’s post reminded me of a composite image I created a few years ago of this peacock that I photographed here in Sequim, outside the entrance to the Game Farm, where it loves to roam.

Although devoid of the colorful plumage of their brethren, white peacocks are not albinos as you may think; they’re leucistic Indian peafowl. (Leucism is a genetic mutation that prevents melanin from being deposited in feathers, resulting in a white or pale coloration. While albino peafowl exist, they are much rarer and have a complete lack of melanin, causing red or pink eyes).

And…there’s no digital manipulation in this image, other than I completely removed all the color and sandwiched one semi-transparent image over another. In so doing, I created the effect I was hoping for to emphasize the lacy appearance of the feathers.

I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I do, and I hope you’ll visit the farm to see this beauty as well as the others.

Pretty as a Peacock

Bejeweled

While I photographed this peacock in Victoria, BC, we also have a number of them here in Sequim, but the challenge is to find them and have access to them.

Beacon Hill Park in Victoria is the perfect spot since visitors can get close to and interact with them. And although I do not feed or recommend feeding them or any wildlife, photographing them is a joy.

This one reminded me so much of a beautiful blue embroidered peacock scarf I’ve owned for years (and never worn) that I decided to create the same effect here, by manipulating pixels.

And if you’re so inclined to photograph them as well, the Game Farm has them; not only the colorful ones, but a fabulous white peacock that loves to display his tail feathers at this time of year. And…he’s often seen outside the entrance!

“Fawndly” Speaking

The Unexpected Visitor

This time of year, we’re often confronted with baby deer in our neighborhood, and unlike some homosapsens, I find them irresistible, versus irritating.

This particular one was born about a week prior to my photo, then decided to lay on our driveway, under my husband’s pickup truck. Mama was no where near but a very observant neighbor kindly pointed her out before we drove off without knowing.

We left her undisturbed and a few days later, she appeared under a bush in our front yard where I could get a shot without scarring her. Mama wasn’t far off this time so without hesitation, I grabbed my camera and longest lens and fired away.

That little face stared back at me many times over the next year until I decided to give her the painterly touches you see above. And as always, I hope you enjoy the end result and that you’ll continue to tune in!