IN THE FIELD: Stop, Look, See
I know I have mentioned this in the past, but garden centers, farmers markets and other local outdoor venues can provide a wealth of photographic opportunities. This time of year in the area where I live, garden centers are my personal favorite.
Whether I am shooting indoors in a greenhouse or outdoors in the nursery, I like to wander around a bit before I get out the camera. By really looking at the displays, I see things I may have missed had I not taken the extra time to snoop around.
This is what I would like to illustrate here. The first photo is a close up of the spring flower blossoms from an Echeveria plant. The second shot is an overall view of the whole plant as I first saw it in the greenhouse. Clearly, the first photo is more dramatic. Had I not scouted the location first, I may have passed by this beautiful plant due to the uninteresting setting and distracting background.
Spending a little more time in your surroundings before picking up the camera is worth the effort.
Photo of the flowers
f5.0
ISO 200
1/500
35mm lens
Photo of the overall plant
f3.2
ISO 200
1/1600
35mm lens
David Heilman 
Lovely close-up, David. I sure enjoyed my visit to the greenhouse recently.
Thanks Jane, aren’t those places just the best!!!
absolutely! It snowed again today-blah 😦
This is so funny, I was just thinking about you. You had suggested to me one time earlier about taking my camera to the garden center. I’m planning on going in the next couple of days and was just remembering your comment to take my camera.
Great minds think alike! I’m sure you will enjoy yourself there with so much to see!
Nice!!!! Glad you posted something was about to send the hounds out to find you 🙂
Thanks Teri, It’s good to be back although less frequent than I would like. I’m working on posting more often!
Yippee!!!
Beautiful images David.
Thanks Marcus, I have never seen one of these plants bloom before and I couldn’t resist getting a shot or two!
WOW! This is so beautiful dear David, amazing colours… Thank you, love, nia
Thank you NIa, I think the flowers are quite pretty and unusual too!
Absolutely beautiful. The small flowers are works of art in themselves. Glad to see you back in your element, in the garden centre! 🙂
I found them them really interesting also Jo. I don’t know how long these plants bloom so I made sure I took several photos. Ahhh the garden center…flowers, plants, shrubs, pottery, whimsical garden art, it’s good to be back!!!
What pretty colours and interesting form those flowers have. Love the first image – so lovely and sharp!
Thanks Meanderer, these blooms certainly stood out among the veggie plants, assorted hanging baskets, and houseplants in the greenhouse. Echeveria are native to northern Central America north to Mexico. Or more generally speaking, the dry arid areas of the region.
Lovely shots, David! Love the close up shot, it shows the beautiful color and shapes of the tiny flowers.
Thanks Gracie, they sure are pretty. Ya know..I forgot to ask the folks there how long they bloom…darn, I guess I have to go back…
David–Your macro shows the incredible beauty and intricacy of a bloom I might easily have overlooked in a garden center (the point of this post).
Thanks John, there were five of these plants in the greenhouse. None of which were in an attractive setting. They really need to move them to a more visually appealing position so folks can appreciate them.
Good advice, lovely shot. Would have loved a macro of those symmetrical leaves!
Glad to be of help Tina and thanks for stopping by. Ya know…macro of the leaves would be a good thing…guess where I’m going this weekend…
Incredibly beautifu David! Such a soft shot!
Thanks Kristina, I cannot tell a lie. The backdrop is actually the thick plastic of the greenhouse roof. Since it is translucent, it helped diffuse the background which was parked cars and a building. It is a most unusual flower isn’t it?