Spider Lilies

Every year about this time, these beautiful red flowers start popping up in yards around our neighborhood.

Around mailboxes. In the middle. On the edges. Always in the grass! One flower here. A patch of two or three there.

I have been itching to stop and beg someone to let me take pictures of these flowers in their yard. Of course they aren't growing in ours! Even from the road, you can see the intricate beauty of these flowers though.

Today we were riding by a school near our neighborhood. There they were, across from the school, in a field that used to be a pecan grove! I couldn't believe it. So I took Addie and Paul home and headed back out to this field. It was around 5pm and picture perfect lighting!

50mm 1.4, ISO 100, f/1.6, 1/650


50mm 1.4, ISO 100, f/1.8, 1/500


50mm 1.4, ISO 100, f/1.8, 1/400


50mm 1.4, ISO 100, f/1.8, 1/650


50mm 1.4, ISO 100, f/1.8, 1/400


50mm 1.4, ISO 200, f/2.0, 1/800


50mm 1.4, ISO 100, f/1.6, 1/400

Stellar Performance!

We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty. ~Maya Angelou

I was snapping away at some beautiful purple flowers, when I looked up and saw this! I just knew it would up and fly away like in all the other attempts I've made to capture a butterfly image! The lighting was much harsher, but I quickly adjusted my settings and got at least 25 shots of this beauty in the little over a minute and a half it sat there. What a stellar performance by this stunning creature!

50mm 1.4, ISO 100, f/2.2, 1/1600

50mm 1.4, ISO 100, f/2.2, 1/1600

50mm 1.4, ISO 100, f/2.2, 1/1000

50mm 1.4, ISO 100, f/2.2, 1/800

50mm 1.4, ISO 100, f/2.2, 1/1000

Sleep, Clean, or Play?

Last Saturday, Paul and his friend Chad took the girls (Addie and Cady) to the zoo. That meant one of three things for me: sleep, clean, or play. I opted to play. I haven't done much photographing since the beach, and this was the perfect opportunity!

I headed to Southern Homes and Gardens. To say this place is beautiful is an understatement. The only thing that would make it better is if it wasn't immediately off a major highway. I can overlook that.

Thinking back, I didn't get half the pictures I'd liked to have taken. I seem to be in the habit of taking pictures in my mind and forgetting to follow through with the camera! Maybe that's because I often times can't take the pictures I see because I have a toddler. Maybe it's because I'm a tad ADD. Maybe it's because I'm too much of a perfectionist. No matter the reason, I'll have to work on it!

Here are a few from my morning and a few from our front yard the night before:

50mm 1.4 lens, ISO 100, f/2.2, 1/500

50mm 1.4 lens, ISO 100, f/2.2, 1/200

I saw this...and thought it was beautiful.

50mm 1.4 lens, ISO 100, f/2.8, 1/200

And then I saw this: one of the largest spiders I've ever seen. It sat completely still as it consumed its prey. It seemed pretty...ok, pretty amazing but not pretty...so I took the chance to snap a few pictures of it.

50mm 1.4 lens, ISO 100, f/2.8, 1/400

Have I mentioned that I hate spiders about as much as I hate roaches? No? Well I do! But I also can't resist a great shot...whether I capture it well or not!

50mm 1.4 lens, ISO 100, f/2.8, 1/200

I took these the night before in our front yard, where my sweet husband kept tabs on our toddler! After accidentally capturing an image with beautiful bokeh, I've been working hard on the concept.

50mm 1.4 lens, ISO 100, f/3.5, 1/250

50mm 1.4 lens, ISO 100, f/2.8, 1/200

I love the color in this one...

50mm 1.4 lens, ISO 100, f/3.5, 1/200

Beach Beauties Part 1: the Flowers

50mm 1.4, ISO 100, f/4.0, 1/1000
post processed with Rebecca Lily's Retro Fun

50mm 1.4, ISO 100, f/4.0, 1/1000
post processed with Rebecca Lily's Retro Fun

50mm 1.4, ISO 100, f/2.0, 1/2500
post processed with Rebecca Lily's Warm Antiqued

50mm 1.4, ISO 100, f/2.0, 1/2500
post processed with Rebecca Lily's Warm Antiqued

50mm 1.4, ISO 100, f/2.0, 1/1600

50mm 1.4, ISO 100, f/2.0, 1/2000

50mm 1.4, ISO 100, f/2.2, 1/3200

50mm 1.4, ISO 100, f/2.2, 1/1250
post processed with Rebecca Lily's Touch of Vintage

50mm 1.4, ISO 100, f/2.0, 1/1000

50mm 1.4, ISO 100, f/2.0, 1/1000

50mm 1.4, ISO 100, f/2.0, 1/1000

Titus, Alabama Sunflowers

Ever heard of:

Probably not. Had I not known that Lake Jordan had two sides, I wouldn't either. There's the Titus side and the Slapout side. Yes, I said Slapout. There is actually a town in Alabama called Slapout! What were they thinking?!?!?

I digress.

Well besides being one side of the lake, Titus now holds new meaning for me!

Our family photographer, DiAnna, called me a few days ago clearly excited about something! She had found a gorgeous sunflower field in Titus! She was taking her daughter and granddaughters out there for some pictures and wanted to know if I wanted to join her. She knows I've been working on shooting in manual and understanding exposure. So what better a place to learn about highlights and shadows than a sunflower field! She even let me use one of her Canon 5Ds with her wide angle lens. If you're a Canon user, you know the 5D is a coveted camera! I told her later that when I looked through that camera, I was hooked! What a remarkable difference a full frame, high end camera makes!

Even with an amazing camera, it was extremely challenging to make it do what I wanted it to do with the bright sun, quickly covered by clouds that lingered and then disappeared. Then the sun started to set. I was constantly having to change my settings. Needless to say, I took some B.A.D. pictures!!!

But I did find a few that I liked :)

One of my favorite things to do is drive country roads. The sunroof open, the windows down, and the wind blowing across my face. Miles of farmland and pastures. Cows, corn, and trees. Listening to my own music, which is a rare occasion nowadays! Time to just think and be.

I stepped out of the car and saw this...times ten. It was breathtaking!

I could hardly contain myself. So I immediately knelt down in the middle of all those sunflowers and shot like there was no tomorrow end to my memory card!

This is one of DiAnna's granddaugthers. Make sure to check out her blog for some really amazing pictures!

Although a tad unusual, this was one of my last shots; and I think it has turned out to be one of my favorites. That beautiful bud getting ready to bloom backed by two huge full sunflowers. It amazes me that all of these flowers started out just like this! Isn't our God amazing?!?!?

Shooting flowers usually comes more naturally to me. However, with the intense highlights and shadows and constantly changing light, these were tough to shoot. I really enjoyed hanging out with a pro, watching her in action, and learning in the field. Thank you DiAnna for letting me tag along!

I love...

...flowers. I love looking at flowers. I love planting flowers. I love driving in my driveway to a garden full of flowers.

And clearly, I love taking pictures of flowers, especially when they are in our yard!

Flowers symbolize so much to me: new growth, springtime, new life, God's creativity and sometimes humor, but always His amazing ability to take something from practically nothing and make it amazingly beautiful! Hmmmm...sounds like what He does with His children. He's so full of grace and love that He lavishes so unconditionally on us! I'm so thankful that we can freely praise His name!


Check out the ladybug perched on the petal. It almost looked pink instead of the usual red. And to imagine that a few days early this flower looked much like the one to the right.


These vines have been growing outside our kitchen window for weeks, becoming larger and greener by the day. Suddenly, these beautiful flowers appeared. At the end of each day, they shrivel up and whither away. And yet each morning, there seems to be more than the day before!


I really love hydrangeas. After looking at them so many times, I've decide that I think they are flowers with curly hair. A kindred spirit maybe?


And just like curly headed hydrangeas, these lantana are beautiful each year. At the end of fall, they turn into dead looking sticks. In fact, my husband dug up a handful of them and I made him replant them (or I did), assuring him that they were very much alive. They've once again taken over our flower beds! Love their color and their curly headed blooms!

The Nature Part of Our Trip

This weekend we went to Augusta to visit Paul's parents. Paul's dad/my father-in-law/Addie's Grandpa has done amazing things with his yard. It's so free and natural feeling, with paths leading somewhere

and others leading nowhere,

peaceful places to relax,

vibrant colors to be discovered,

and one of the largest variety of plant life I've ever seen! With my love of hydrangeas and the color purple, this lacecap hydrangea pretty much rolled it all into one and made me smile!

It had just rained, and the water made the flowers just glow.

More pictures from our weekend to come!