D is for Dahlias
@dswigle
Hello everyone and welcome to my Always a Flower post for today.
It's been cloudy and raining most of the day today and my ankle is telling me it's going to continue to rain at least until tomorrow.
Today I'm presenting the Dahlia images I took earlier in the week.
The largest beds in the garden at Sequoia Park are full of Dahlias, well over a hundred different individual plants with dozens of different varieties and colors.
Most of the images here were "long lensed" with my Sigma 150-600 mm at long range.
I'm really liking this method over using the 18-55 mm at close rage. I get much better isolation as the background and foreground have a pleasant blur or bokeh in them.
The Dahlias are just now beginning to open up on a few of the many bushes here in the garden this year.
Can't wait to image the beds in full bloom.
These images are a small sampling of blooms on the few plants that have opened up already.
I got lucky today and I'm the only one here at the moment and I have the garden all to myself.
There are many different varieties and colors of these classic flowers and more hybrids coming out every year.
Lots of variations in pedal structure and density in the different varieties as well. Some only have a dozen or so broad pedals like the one above, wile others have hundreds of narrow tubular/cone like pedals as the image below.
Although only a few of the blooms are open at this time there are flower buds swelling all over each plant. There will be hundred of blooms open over the next couple of weeks and it should be a spectacular riot of color =)
This one really pops in the sun, I took this image wile a cloud was defusing the sunshine to get some detail. The full sun shots came out a neon hot pink and yellow ball with little detail.
I imaged this yellow one a little different than the others. I was in bird mode with a high shutter speed, low ISO, and the aperture is wide open.
I gave them a darker broodier background with a shallower focus depth.
Lots of flower buds getting ready to pop.
This red one here was one of my favorites and really want to see this in full bloom, this is the only one open right now.
I really liked this shot and is my pick of the litter out of todays images.
Took this at 600mm setting at minimum focus distance. ( approx.. 12 feet)
A lone Giant Poppy rises up and blooms among a sea of Dahlias.
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Some wonderful shots of the flowers. One year I had about ten dinner plate dahlias, they were almost 12 inches across, white and red. I had them for about 4 days, until a neighborhood kid came by and whacked them while the mother watched him do it. I had a fence put up very quickly because he also went and destroyed most of my tiger lilies.
Oooh my mother grew out some of those a couple years back....
No children about to @#$% things up though. lol Very impressive bloom size.
Beautiful photos @chromiumone!! I had Dahlia's the last few years but none this year so seeing your photos is extra nice! It looks like quite a variety of the beautiful flower in that garden. I love that last photo of the Dahlia as well but really I love all of them! 😊💖
Thanks @deerjay !!
I didn't do a garden this year, I was doing flowers at a friends place but she moved into a new apt. and no big 2nd floor deck for me to populate lol.
I've been stalking this garden since last year O.o
This shot is from the Fuchsia post the other day and you can see half of one of the three Dahlia beds and the very corner of another(Fuchsias are along the back wall) only a very few of them have opened up yet but 100's of buds getting ready to though.
You're very welcome! That is really pretty and I can just imagine how much more pretty it will be once they open! 💖
Wow!! I'm in Dahlia Heaven! I don't think I have ever seen so many different varieties in one place, including my huge nursery!
Whoever was the architect in these gardens was brilliant in his plan. I love the different colors, shape a and especially the way you captured them. I frequently get up close and personal, but, you took them in a way that shows off their personalities.
Stellar post!
#alwaysaflower thanks you!
Thanks' @dswigle, only a few of the blooms here have opened up yet so it's gonna get better =)
A retired couple that lives close by used to do the gardens here but not sure if they continue to do so.
Dahlias are a great choice for this area as they will bloom from now till mid Fall or so.
Also I do grab close ups but I've been trying to position the subjects so they have somewhere to go so to speak and generally trying to step up my game =p
It is a great way to go, positioning the subjects! I really like the compositions! Dahlia's do well here too, that is why I love them. They will bloom right up until the first frost. So, they stay beautiful forever!
Thanks again! You are the best!
Oh yeah you get creamy with 600mm along with a backache lol! Oh how we suffer for our art!!!
The petals on the Dahlias remind me of sea anemones!
The red one especially looks like one.
Yes suffers I did lol. It starts out just fine cuz crap it's only 5 lbs.
O.o Then an hour goes by and that decision to leave the tripod at home doesn't sound like such a good idea anymore.
I have a vintage 130mm lens I'm itching to try as soon as I can get the right adapter, had to send two back already.
Oh yeah I was free-handing my long glass up towards the trees and it doesnt take long before my arms start to shake!
Look forward to seeing the 130mm.
D is also for delightful and delicious -- both of which describe your unforgettable dahlia photographs!
You have a knack for capturing the beauty and essence of flowers!🌸🌹🌸
Thank you @ninahaskin appreciate the encouragement =p
I had the post title narrowed to two D is for Dahlias or Dahlias are a Bee's Best Friend lol
Thanks for stopping in, always good to hear from you. =)
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Wow as I always say Dhalias are the most photogenic flowers. Love the collection you have there. Hmm I found it strange that you like to take these images with a 150-600 mm lens. I don't have one, maybe I will try taking a few shots with my 400mm to see how that works.
Hope you are doing ok.
Oh yes I'm OK =)
Thanks for asking though. I'm in the process of moving out of my rig, it took too much water the last couple years and now the electrical is going tits up. So moving stuff into storage wile I look for another rig or apt.
I'm thinking of loading up the minivan and getting the @#$% out of Commiefornia, maybe be a nomad for a wile driving around the country looking for the last bastions of freedom left in the fading Republic of the U.S.
There is a huge nomad community on YouTube. I am sure you could find some good ideas and kindred spirits there!
There was a show way back in the day called On the Road With Charles Kuralt. He would drive through the backroads and meet the most interesting people. If I hit the lottery, I would do something like that and make YouTube videos.