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!

Welcome to April!

La Connor Tulip Fields, Washington

With the onset of April, the event uppermost in my mind is the annual Skagit Valley Tulip Festival in La Conner, today through April 30th.

No fooling…as many of us know, it features some of the very best scenery the Pacific Northwest has to offer, and if you haven’t been, don’t wait any longer. The crowds can be difficult so you’d be wise to get there early enough, or late enough (think sunset shots) to capture great photos and great memories.

Be sure to check the website for the “bloom map”, times, prices and other pertinent information before you go. And don’t miss Tulip Town, 5 miles from La Conner, Roozengaarde Display Garden, 6 miles from La Conner, as well as the others listed.

And don’t forget to bring some color home with you to Sequim!