Tuesday, January 24, 2017

Winter Flowers

I look forward every year to the winter blooming of the African Forest Lily in the Mediterranean Conservatory at Albuquerque's Botanic Garden.  I have photographed them before with several of my old cameras, usually with black and white film as I like the way it renders the forms and tones of the blossoms.  This year, I decided to document the flower's colors with my Pentax Spotmatic.



The character of the flower clusters changes as they mature, so I will try to get back to photograph them again in a week or two.


Some other stuff at the garden today:



5 comments:

Jim Grey said...

It's good to see them in color this year. But I think the shot of the post is my favorite. I enjoy it when you use b/w-style light/shadow techniques on color film.

astrobeck said...

Nice to see some color in the drab wintertime.
This color has rendered the blossoms quite well, well enough that I think a trip to the Gardens is in order soon.
That Spotmatic is a champ, you just can't go wrong with such a workhorse! In your hands it shines!

Mike said...

The tropical and desert climates of the two greenhouses will be a good refuge over the next week of cool weather.
You're right about the Pentax. I chose to use it on this occasion because of its reliable excellence. I've experienced several photo failures recently which are mostly judgment related, but it is useful to eliminate the equipment variable.

JR Smith said...

My appreciation for the simple yet very capable Spotmatic camera has grown by leaps and bounds over the past six months. I find myself reaching for this classic Pentax SLR over my other cameras quite often now. And those Takumar lenses...wow!

These images make me feel like Spring and sunshine are not far off. Thanks for sharing.

Mike said...

The 1/1000 speed on my old Pentax no longer works. I run black tape around the body as a precaution against leaks. I think occasionally about repairs or finding a back-up body. No problem at all, however, with the lenses as they are as sharp and smooth working as ever.