Peony Season!

It's finally peony season! They have always been a favorite flower of mine but I only discovered that I could buy them at Trader Joe's last year. They are available from the end of May until the end of June and I bought a bunch (sometimes two!) every week last year and plan to do the same this year.  When they are fully opened, they measure six inches across! This color just makes me so happy!

Tulip in Black & White

In Tracey Clark's Picture Black and White class at Big Picture Classes our prompt for the day was "contrast".  This photo was my submission for the prompt. It is a white tulip that I shot while visiting Barbara Carroll's beautiful garden down  in Tucson. Not much editing was needed as almost everything in this shot was either close to black or pure white. I was happy with the way the texture in the petals is emphasized in black and white too.

The frosting on the cake was that this shot was chosen by Tracey to be featured at Shutter Sisters.  It is always such a thrill to get a little "Tracey love"!

Magnolias!

Just returned from four days in Virginia attending our son's law school graduation at the University of Virginia.  Had a wonderful time and got to see some blooms that we don't see here.  I was particularly enamored with the amazing magnolias!  They were everywhere and some of the blooms were the size of dinner plates!  So nice to get to shoot flowers again -- ours are pretty much gone for the spring and the heat is here to stay!

Picture Black & White

I started Tracey Clark's Picture Black & White last week and I have to say, as much as I love color, I am really enjoying this class.  It really teaches you how to see lights and darks and focus on shapes, lines, and patterns.  The class is two months long with a prompt every other day so I hope to be much better at this by the end.  Learning is good!