Rose Notes

Rose Garden Bench

Gardens always mean something else, man absolutely uses one thing to say another.  ~Robert Harbison

Same thing goes for photographs. This shot above has a big blur in the middle and at the lower left, but I've always liked its casual opulence and thought maybe I could fix it somehow. As I tried burning and textures to no avail, the original looked better and better. I decided to leave it alone. This is a tiny corner in the wondrous rose world of Pamela Temple. 

Here's the same bench with a closer crop and no foto flaws. The rose is 'Madame Gabriel Luizet', a Hybrid Perpetual– Bourbon.

I think of love and lovers and a zilllion stories that could be written with this setting in mind. Do have any ideas about who might sit here?

Douglas Fir (plant seekers)

Traveled thirty-thee miles, drenched and bleached with rain and sleet, chilled with a piercing north wind; and then to finish the day experienced the cooling, comfortless consolation of lying down wet without supper or fire. On such occasions I am very liable to become fretful. ~David Douglas

Yet he managed to take down the above words in his journal!  Mister Douglas is the intrepid Scot, botanist, and explorer who, in the early 1800's, discovered this conifer in the Pacific Northwest. Recently, I read about him and other brave plant seekers in Flower Hunters by Mary and John Gribbin. I'm especially fascinated about how, once we had the means (ships), men and women went to the ends of the earth in search of new plant species, risking their lives on a daily basis. Of them all, Douglas' stamina and enthusiasm for the natural world captured my heart. The book is a great read.

The photo above was shot in the wondrous, yes, Pacific Northwest rose garden of Anne Belovich. Please click here for a tour.

Thank you, commenters, for welcoming me back so warmly.

Blog On !

I couldn't get my computer to work so . . .

I went outside and captured the sun in a raindrop.

After that, the elementary school across the street snuggled into a bubble on the tip of a rose leaf.

Emerging growth buds on the roses wanted celebration photos.

Bokeh discs supplied the decorations.

'Kathleen's' rose hips said, "We're still here and want to party too!"

The drops on the phormium leaf dazzled, magnified, and then slipped away.

I thought all these images were lost. But no, Matthew hooked up the firewire and all was saved for the new girl on the block.

To M.A.C. Berkeley, with thanks!

A Demise in the Office

Hi Everyone (dear ones),

What no picture?

No.

My computer died after all.

My last post became its final gasp.

My pictures are safe – phew - but they are not {here} on Artist Husband's laptop.

A new honey is on the way.

Waiting isn't fun.

I wanted to let you know I'll be back soon.

Cheers!

Carolyn

Priorities

Civilization has been a permanent dialogue between human beings and water. ~Paolo Lugari

Evidence of a new growth bud is bliss to a rose lover; an exquisite blur is the same to a photographer; plenty of water is rapture to those who don't have enough; a computer screen is heaven to a photo blogger.

Recently my computer screen went blacker than the darkest point in this photograph– I couldn't get it to wake up. A computer technician tickled it from sleep, but when he left it fell into a coma for two days. This afternoon, he dusted the logic board and the computer came back to life. And here I am again.

A little dust (no, a lot of dust) kept me from something I've grown to love– blogging, communicating, sharing . . . I missed you. But I also had to think about my dependence (addiction) with this fantastic medium. Balance, priorities, schedules received some much needed thought, as well as a little action. 

I still want to do it all, and will find a way. How about you?

Vintage Shell Button Gifts

Don't these buttons look modern? The button display card they were attached to read, "Vintage 1800s & early 1900s." !

When I received my first button card, from a family collection, I used two of them on the linen blazer, shown here. I made it to wear on a New York selling trip– it was during my fashion designer days, and the trip coincided with my daughter, Oneita's, graduation from FIT. Here we are playing photo-in-the-mirror on a Manhattan sidewalk. At right, is a shot of the rose  Sweet Surrender as it appears in my book, R is for Rose.

While in Oregon recently, my Dad gave me another button card. He has a whole wall of them in his guest room. My sister and I have oggled them for years. She goes for smaller buttons (thankfully). Most of these buttons have a 1.5-inch diameter. In the top left corner, on the card, it reads, "These were worn on coats called dusters during the horse and buggy days." I think you can read the writing above. The big holes were meant to be used with ribbon.

GIFTS BUTTONED UP

My daughter, Oneita's, ornaments must have inspired my buttoned gifts. It's so much fun, even envelopes get the treatment.

SOMETHING FOR YOU

Here's a button gift for one of you, dear readers. Can you guess what's inside? Right– another button!

Leave a comment, and a winner will be picked before my next and final button post.

PS- tell us about your buttons (don't worry, it's not a requirement).

Rainbow

The true harvest of my life is intangible - a little star dust caught, a portion of the rainbow I have clutched. ~Henry David Thoreau

I was dozing- enjoying the storms (even thunder and lightening), the darkness of our rooms, the deep grey of the rain drenched air, when suddenly the sun, and a rainbow caught me.

Inspired By a Box (roses & photography)

Near the end of the first rose bloom of 2009, I gathered these roses with plans to do a mixed bouquet showcasing orlaya. I became so mesmerized by the roses– their delicacy, diversity, sheer beauty that my plans changed, partly because a friend had just given me a simple white ceramic cube. It seemed such a perfect container for all that gorgeousness. After the shoot, I gathered the same blooms with orlaya, nigella, a few sweet peas, and one California poppy (can you find it?), and put them in this blown glass vase.

Photography Set-up- Seamless Horizon

Who knows when make-do photo set-ups might become professional? Professional or amateur, the still-life photographer is constantly making do- solving little (fun) challenges. The only exotic piece of equipment here is the 18 x 24" white plexiglass sheet. I have two of them and they were cut to order at a plastics shop. It's not easy to see in the photo that the 4-ft high piece of foamcore (which comes in 4 x 8' sheets) extends to the top of the backdrop. The stool keeps the foamcore from falling forward. The plexiglass makes a generous table surface where there is no table. The pushpins keep the paper in place, and the vase holds the paper's horizontal curve.

With these handy materials, you can make set-ups all over the house!

Isn't this the prettiest rose hip?

Playdate (fun photographing children)

Someone once told me that the faces of human beings are like flowers. And how many poems are there in which cheeks are compared to roses?

Recently we had the pleasure of Samuel's and Aurdrey's company. They are the children of Artist Husband's nephew, Robert, and his wife, Elaina. At this point in my life, drinking in the beauty of children is such a pleasure (those sweet petal cheeks), and with a camera there is much fun to be had. Our rooms became a garden.

Busy with New Toys

Artist Husband found this wooden train for Samuel– who knew trains were his favorite thing?

Audrey & the ABC's

Audrey (her middle name is Rose) wanted to play with blocks too. I remembered this toy I bought when I first started working on my rose alphabet– what a joy to see her earnest activity.

Toddler Triptych

Busy Audrey's just tall enough to reach the ornament hanging on the doorknob.

Photo Tips

Sara, farmama, asked me what kind of lenses I use on my camera. Since she has the pleasure of photographing children (her own four) all the time, I dedicate this post to her. Like Sara, my everyday lens is the standard 18-55mm zoom lens that comes with my Canons (20D & 30D), I also have a high-end zoom lens, which I rarely use (it's so heavy). My other everyday lens is a macro, which I used here. Why?

I know many of you think macro lenses are for lush close-ups – indeed they are – but they're also heaven to compose with at a distance. There's no zoom to distract– the photographer is forced to pay attention to the background. The many choices available as you move the camera in different positions is a heady artistic experience. Also, I was a good distance away from the children, which gave me more access without distracting them. Funny, now that I look at these, I realize not one of them is posed. Actually, I'm the one posing, as I get into position for the shot.

Blogdom's creative mamas, who photograph their children, endlessly delight me. I was happy to join them for an afternoon. Enjoy Sara's fabulous blog.

PS- If you have a camera that allows high resolution images, be sure and save high res. copies of your blog photos. You never know, someone might want to publish you on paper.

PPS- You might notice that I have two cameras. I bought a second when my first broke down on a shoot away from home. Yes, it's a thrill to have two– no lens changing– what a luxury! My 20D is pretty old (2004) and it's still wonderful. Buying a used second camera might be a good idea for some of you. 

Rose Diversity

We all should know that diversity makes for a rich tapestry, and we must understand that all the threads of the tapestry are equal in value no matter what their color. ~Maya Angelou

Diversity has always been one of my favorite words– it's application both to the family of man, and to the family of roses. In this picture, there is hardly a rose in it that resembles what many people think roses (the typical florist version) look like. 

It's Martin Luther King's birthday, so how about another quote?

If we cannot now end our differences, at least we can help make the world safe for diversity. ~John Fitzgerald Kennedy

The roses– Sally Holmes, William Baffin, Macrantha Daisy Hill, Sweet Chariot, Poulsen's Pearl, Kathleen, Rose de Rescht, Frau Dagmar Hastrup, Robin Hood, Little White Pet, Albertine (bottom photo), Rosa Californica, Phyllis Bide, Climbing Lady Hillingdon, Safrano, Mutabalis, Rosa Roxburghii.