Sunday, May 19, 2013
Blueberries on the Hoof

Yesterday we went to Buelton to pick Blueberries at a great little spot, Santa Barbara Blueberries. They have a wide variety of bushes so you can find your favorite ones. It's just the beginning of their season and they are only open limited hours, so be sure to check out their Facebook page for updates.

Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Epi Blossom

One of my beautiful Epiphyllum blossoms blooming right now. These are some of my favorite plants. Imagine a Christmas cactus, with 3 foot long pads and blossoms literally 9" across.

Monday, April 1, 2013
Ladybug Daisy

Recently I found some aphids on the blossoms of one of my cacti. Rather than spray or use soap we went down to the hardware store and got a little box of lady bugs. Most of the nurseries or home and garden stores keep them in little refrigerators, kind of dormant just waiting for an assignment. Mine had two jobs... get the bugs, and look pretty for the camera while doing it.

Thursday, March 14, 2013
Strawberry Blossom

Closeup of a Strawberry Blossom at Terra Sol Nursery in Goleta, California.

Sunday, April 22, 2012
Threadleaf Japanese Maple

This beautiful little plant is a Japanese Threadleaf Maple tree or [Acer palmatum var. dissectum]. We found it while wandering the aisles of a great nursery in Carmel Valley. These trees apparently turn an amazing golden color in the autumn. Perhaps someday soon we'll have space for this beauty. Right now our tiny back yard is bulging at the seams from plants so we have tried to control ourselves when we visit the nurseries. Of course they are supposed to make great bonsai trees... hmmm. (That has to be the last thing a plant wants to hear when someone is thinking about buying it)

Monday, March 19, 2012
Santa Ynez Grapes on the Vine

Grapes in the Santa Ynez valley. Ok it feels like summer, Spring is just starting, so here is a picture from last Fall. Just because I really like it and I realized I never published it. This is in a nice little vineyard in the Santa Ynez Valley.There was a space through the vines that I was able to frame the beautiful valley in the background. The red flowers in the lower right are roses that are planted at the ends of the rows of grapes.

Sunday, April 10, 2011
Leaf in the Evening Sun

Spring is here! Although from day to day it's hard to tell. The plants seem to know.

Monday, December 27, 2010
Tendril in the Rain

The excessive ran we've had in California for the last week and a half has caused no end of problems. (Yeah, I know, if you're in the north east under three feet of snow, you probably can't feel much pity.) On the plus side the rain gives many interesting options for beautiful photos.

Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Garden Path

There are a bunch of these little pathways in Carmel. Some of them lead to little shops in the center of the city blocks. This one lead to a little garden shop that sells all sorts of plants and garden figurines. One of the cooler things on the path was the enormous vine that made an archway at the center of the path. You can see it at the top of the photo with the little red Christmas lights in it. It was truly a different world compared to the city street at the other end.

Friday, August 25, 2006
Wild Pepper

I would tell you what kind of pepper this is, but my wife grew it from a seed and the seed was in a packet of mixed seeds. Hope they taste as good as they look. Of course, this one is particularly wild lookin'.

Thursday, March 16, 2006
Variegated Mandevilla

There's more rainy weather comin'! I like the rain. :-D

This was taken last week during a rainstorm. This is another vine we got to attract butterflies along with our Passion Flower. Incidentally, the tendrils in that passion flower photo are actually wrapped around this Mandevilla plant. My botanist (my lovely wife) tells me that some plants bloom like crazy when they feel threatened. Makes sense, the kids can carry on the species. And that explains all the beautiful blossoms on this plant!

The other interesting thing is this plant had solid pink flowers last year. I like the stripes!

Wednesday, March 15, 2006
Backlit Lily

Well there have been quite a few Calla Lilies on the photo of the day lately. But thats because they are going wild around here!

This one is a little different than my usual razor sharp feel, but I like the painting feel of it especially the leaves in the background.

Tuesday, March 7, 2006
Drops of Passion

Well yesterday was a really gray rainy day. It was starting to bug me. Then I took my camera into the back yard. Rain can be a wonderful thing for a photographer!

Recently, our Passion Flower vines made an incredible come back. We originally got them to attract butterflies and they were almost wiped out by their own success! The resulting caterpillars LOVED them.

This is an extreme close-up of one of the tendrils the vine sends out to climb things. It seems to have an amazing grip!

Saturday, January 28, 2006
Katydid Nymph

He looks a little like a Grasshopper. Actually, with the Jade plant he looks like something out of Dr. Seuss. But, he is a closer relative of a cricket. Apparently there are about 4000 species so I was not able to identify the exact name of this one.

When I first saw him I was surprised at the small wings but, thanks to the Internet, I learned that is an indication this is a nymph (the mid stage of an insect's life.) As they get older their wings get as long or longer than their bodies.

Saturday, August 13, 2005
Orderly Succulent

Another in the "Mathematical Precision of Nature" series. :-)

Thursday, August 4, 2005
Succulent Blossoms

This looks like something from a cartoon. Something that would be waiting to snack on anything that walked by. The only thing that makes it look less... ummm... man eating is the fact that the blossoms are less than a quarter of an inch.

Tuesday, August 2, 2005
Succulent Garden

There is a great little store in a shopping center called The BarnYard in Carmel. Every time we go I bring a few new plants home with me. Last time I got a beautiful new Epiphyllum (Orchid Cactus) to keep my other ones company.

This photo is a close-up of a little display they had in the shopping center.

Monday, June 6, 2005
Succulent on a Brick Wall

I have gotten in the habit of scanning most of my images. Rather than picking out my favorites. This is an image I found in a roll from a recent trip to Carmel that I had overlooked at first.

I was talking to another Photographer that is also in the Santa Barbara Arts and Crafts Show. He said he had made the "Switch" to digital. Now he goes out and takes hundreds of pictures at a time. Then, when he gets home he deletes all that he does not want.

Now, I realize that everyone has their own way of doing things, that is just the way it is. But, I think I would miss out on a lot of cool images if I edited them so quickly and ruthlessly. I go to the other extreme, I keep way too much.

And, one other thing... Why is it always a "SWITCH"? While I can imagine getting a high quality digital camera I can not imagine totally giving up my AE-1 and Fuji Velvia.

Monday, May 30, 2005
Green Eggs and Ham?

Yeah, this really looks like something from a Dr. Seuss book. But it is an interesting little succulent with reddish black leaves and, in the summer, yellow flowers.

Tuesday, May 10, 2005
Reclining Agave and Poppies

It's easy to get an interesting photograph when you find good contrast in your subjects. And I'm not just talking about the lighting. The delicate flowers with the backdrop of the imposing-looking Agave makes for a nice composition. And yet, there are similarities between the graceful curves of this particular Agave and the soft curves of the flowers that make this composition work particularly well.

• Agave americana

Wednesday, April 13, 2005
Fuzzy Brain

I just got a watertight housing for my camera. And this looks like something I would photograph while diving, but this was actually in the aisles of Home Depot. It is a fuzzy little plant called a Cockscomb. There is also a more upright and pointy version of the Celosia, but this kind of brain-like one (Celosia cristata) is my favorite.

• www.flowers.org.uk
  UK Flowers and Plants Association

Wednesday, March 23, 2005
Abstract Lily

Well this was one of the few days I missed posting. So I'm trying to go back and put something nice in these little holes. This photo was taken at the same time as this image.