Beautiful Pictures of Nature

After having feasted on my previous Nature’s Beauty article, you’re most likely ready for more. It’s relatively easy to get fabulous photos of the natural world. The pictures almost take themselves. The art is in the framing you choose while taking the photos, and your use of light, shadow, color and texture. Although nature provides plenty of those, you have to be in the right place at the right time.

While it’s all well and good to take photos of your flowers from a normal distance..if you’re standing upright, you’re really just documenting your garden. I find it much more fun, getting in amongst the flowers..getting right up their nose, so to speak. With the macro setting on the camera, you’ll see things you wouldn’t see otherwise, no matter how good your vision is. I’ve also taken some of these pictures from angles that you wouldn’t likely get to see.

Wow…there’s so many good pictures this time around, I hated to leave anything out. Besides the many beautiful flowers, I’ve captured some wildlife..up close and otherwise. So here’s the best 18 I’ve got for you this time round. Enjoy.

^ Purple Bearded Iris The bearded iris is one of nature’s most magnificent creations, despite it being fairly common. I often wonder what insects see when they come upon this multi-colored extravaganza.

^ Red rosebud I couldn’t resist capturing this lovely deep red rose, just as the flower bud was opening up. I wanted some added texture, but I couldn’t wait for it to rain, so I lightly misted it with some water.

^ Lily of the valley The small, white bells of the lily of the valley hang upside-down from the main flower stem. For this shot, I had to get myself into a very awkward position. This is the best of many attempted shots..to ‘look up their noses’.

^ Cherry Blossoms What would spring be without cherry blossoms? Here’s a handful, captured at close range. They smell nice too.

^ Wild mushrooms Wild mushrooms have such an intricate texture. I’m not sure what type these are, but I like the way the sharp lines contrast with the ‘out-of-focus’ central part (it’s not the camera..it really looks like that).

^ Black Petunias I’m sure you’re more than familiar with petunias. However, there are some new varieties around. I spotted these black petunias at the local nursery. Yes..they really are that dark…darker actually, but I wanted you to see the details.

Flowers aren’t the only beautiful things one can find in the garden and elsewhere. If you have a keen eye, and you’re patient, there’s plenty of insects and birds that are very photogenic. With any luck you’ll get some very good shots.

Here’s a couple of different dragonflies I managed to capture. The 8-spotted skimmer dragonfly is particularly beautiful. The red admiral butterfly is not as frequent a visitor to my neck of the woods. However, this year was a bumper crop apparently, so there were lots of them about. I was also lucky enough this spring, to get a picture of a pair of Canada geese, with their young goslings in tow. This mid-spring treat is short-lived, as the goslings grow very quickly.

Patience also pays off, when you’re trying to photograph flying insects. I got as close as I could to the 6-spotted Tiger beetle. The shiny green body is absolutely stunning.

^ James McFarlane Lilac The most popular lilacs are the French lilacs (purple, and white as well). In the spring the dense blossoms billow atop the green foliage. Other lilacs, though less popular, are no less interesting. Here you see a closeup of a blossom from a James McFarlane Lilac, with its multitude of tiny pink, trumpet-like flowers.

^ Poppy There are a great many varieties of poppies. I don’t know the name of this one, though I like the way the stamen on this one resembles a starfish.

^ Forsythia I have a nice closeup of a forsythia flower in one of my previous beautiful flowers photo galleries. This one’s even closer, with some interesting stripe detail in the throat of the flower.

^ White Rhodedendron I wish I could grow rhodedendrons like these beautiful white ones I saw at the nursery. Never had much luck with them.

^ Red Columbine Most of the columbine flowers I’ve seen are purple. It was a treat to find these red ones. The flowers hang upside-down, so I pointed my camera up their noses once again. I’ll bet you’ve never seen this side of them before.

^ Yellow Calla Lily Calla lilies have such a beautiful shape. Such smooth and graceful curves. In this closeup, I particularly like the fine hair-like detail on the stamen.

^ Pink Bleeding Hearts These pink bleeding hearts are a real treat in the early spring. They also come in red, and white. As with many spring-flowering shrubs, the blossoms are very short-lived..two weeks, maybe.

Is this a time to be cloudy and sad,
When our mother Nature laughs around;
When even the deep blue heavens look glad,
And gladness breathes from the blossoming ground?

There are notes of joy from the hang-bird and wren,
And the gossip of swallows through all the sky;
The ground-squirrel gaily chirps by his den,
And the wilding bee hums merrily by.

The clouds are at play in the azure space,
And their shadows at play on the bright green vale,
And here they stretch to the frolic chase,
And there they roll on the easy gale.

There's a dance of leaves in that aspen bower,
There's a titter of winds in that beechen tree,
There's a smile on the fruit, and a smile on the flower,
And a laugh from the brook that runs to the sea.

And look at the broad-faced sun, how he smiles
On the dewy earth that smiles in his ray,
On the leaping waters and gay young isles;
Ay, look, and he'll smile thy gloom away.

_{by William Cullen Bryant}

Thanks so much for stopping by my garden, and enjoying nature’s beauty. There’s always so much to see, especially when you get up close. Nature never seems to disappoint. If you’ve enjoyed these nature photos, you’ll be sure to enjoy my other photo galleries. Go on…enjoy the beautiful flowers only nature can provide.

As always, these pictures are copyright (2012) by timorous and may not be copied or used without my consent. Please respect my wishes. Thank you.