Monday, April 27, 2009

Blossoms Of Autumn

Do These Petals Remind You Of Waves On A Beach?

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON



This is probably the last serious flush of roses in the garden at Casa Authorblog. After a mild start to our spring and summer, they were heat-blasted through January and February, when the scorching conditions and lack of rain took a severe toll.

But now that we’re in the second half of autumn, the roses have made their last stand. I shot these images last weekend, late in the afternoon on one of those days when the slanting sun can produce light that sometimes encroaches on the very subtlety that you are trying to capture with a camera.


Yes, there were fresh blooms unfurling on this beautiful Chicago Peace rose bush. Yes, there were high, proud buds. Yes, there was a profusion of spent blooms that were less than 24 hours away from withering. But I decided that I would use the light to emphasise the intricate pastel shades spanned by a single bloom that was well past its use-by date.

I particularly like the first and last shots in this sequence, because they capture the delicate waves and subtle nuances of colour. At its best, this rose is brilliant in vivid orange and pink tones, with a distinct buttery quality to some of the blooms.


Not only does it have a wonderful perfume, the size of the blooms is also so striking that two stems are often enough to dominate a huge crystal vase. I thought the playing card would be a great visual aid to show you just how large the blooms are.

Yes, I deliberately chose the King of Spades card because I was the person who actually dug up the turf to put in what was then a tiny bare-rooted plant with a few minor sprouts.


Visit Luiz Santilli Jr for the home of Today's Flowers.

57 comments:

lime said...

that first one is a stunner

3 Bay B Chicks said...

The petals are indeed reminescent of waves...but they could also take on the appearnance of sand dunes. So many different images spring to my mind.

Or perhaps I am simply staring at your beautiful photos for far too long.

I especially liked the playing card details. Well done!

-Francesca

Anonymous said...

What beauty!

Maggie May said...

If you stare long enough..... the petals seem to move in wave like formation. Or am I imagining it?
Brilliant roses.
Was worth all the spadework, I think.

Carolyn R. Parsons said...

Human words fail to describe
the delicate fragrant rose
her beauty can only be written of
in mother nature's prose

Beautiful

Breeze

Unknown said...

Those roses are beautiful !!!

I love that first one...yes, it does look like waves..

Well done !!

Maddy said...

It's a shame really. When we were in England my mother would cosset her roses and lift her Geraniums in the winter [and dahlia tubers]. Now we're out here roses and geraniums grow like weeds.....delightfully yet generally unappreciated.'Cheers

TexasRed said...

Beautiful pictures. I always think roses with the two-tone petals look candy-colored. Here in West Texas, ours are just taking off for spring/summer

Sniffles and Smiles said...

Absolutely beautiful! And both the blooms and your humor are not unappreciated!!!

Jinksy said...

The overlapping petals reminded me of pine cones, but the colours quashed that image almost as soon as it appeared in my head. They are sensational.

Unknown said...

Ruffles of pink satin on a woman's dress.

Breathtaking.

M said...

So beautiful I can smell them!

Rosaria Williams said...

Love them. I too have Chicaco Peace but mine do not look anything like those you photographed. Somebody is nurturing and loving the work of gardening!

Kim said...

So pretty. And so weird to read that your summer is over. We're looking forward to ours beginning and there have been many false starts.

Reasons said...

These are totally gorgeous pictures, I can almost smell them!

ArtistUnplugged said...

How beautiful! I do love the first and last one. Roses are my favorite.

Bradley Hsi said...

Your roses are so beautiful, the petals are so well lighted.

What About The Girl? said...

Reminds me of meringue. I could eat those flowers.

Rune Eide said...

Once again you have shown that the use of the light is one of the most important issues in photography. Than you for giving me some tips.

Kathleen said...

Wave, yes, at at sunset or sunrise, my favorite times of the day.

♥ Boomer ♥ said...

Yes, waves -- but also, fancy, fancy pink icing atop a cake! Very lovely!!!

Lluvia said...

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Janie said...

They're beautiful and so well defined in your photos that I can imagine catching their scent.

Susan English Mason said...

Naw - those are ballerina tutus.

Jay said...

Those roses are beautiful! I don't think Chicago Peace is available in the UK but it's very similar to our own Peace rose, I think.

I love the first photo!

ANNA-LYS said...

Love the first one, and yes both waves and our lounges. Everything in the natures pattern lookalike something else in our body or in other animals LOL

Have a rosegarden week ahead

VALKYRIEN said...

Your rose is simply a dream!

Tarolino said...

Can't say that they do. But what an enormous flower head on these roses. Absolutely grand. The colour is so delicate too. They must be a real visual treat in your garden.

Digital Flower Pictures said...

Great shots. The exposure control is perfect.

'Chicago Peace' is a sport of the 'Peace' rose. It is still on of my favorites.

Mary Elizabeth said...

Beautiful and quite smooth.
Mary Elizabeth @ Now and Then

Leigh Russell said...

I could swear I can smell the scent of these beautiful flowers. Our roses aren't out yet, but the rhododendrons and azaleas are at their best right now. We even had some sunshine today so we could enjoy them, here in the UK. If you fancy a virtual journey around the planet, please visit my blog some time. Fellow writers are always welcome - and anyone else, for that matter.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful. Roses could never remind me of the sea, they are too captivating.

CJ xx

Unknown said...

What a gorgeous collection! Spring has sprung here, and we're just starting to get our garden underway. I don't think you have to worry about any sort of competition, though : )

Hilary said...

David these are such gorgeous shots. More than waves on water, the petals remind me of the pattern that the waves leave on the shore. The colours are incredible as only that magic hour can produce.. that and the magic of your eye.

Unknown said...

That first photo (and rose) is a stunner. Waves, yes, but also of soft fabric, such as Pagan described as ruffles.

Luiz Santilli Jr said...

Hi David, my friend

I love roses and I love your post today!
Thanks for sharing!

Luiz

2sweetnsaxy said...

Now that you mention in, they rather look like waves. Rose waves. Wouldn't it be a cool shot to edit in a tiny surfer under the curl of one of those petals?
:-)

Barbara said...

I agree with you on your favorite shots. Great creativity to capture those petals. Smiles B

Anonymous said...

The roses are stunning. I recall some earlier this year, you posted, that were burned from the sun? lloks like recovery has arrived in nature once again.

Devin said...

David-thanks so very much for stopping by my little place! I will add your blog to my list-really appreciate your comment-best to you!!

Sarah Laurence said...

Gorgeous bloom, shot and simile.

Southern Lady said...

They are all exquisite, David, but my favorite is the last one. It is absolute perfection!

fuzzbert_1999@yahoo.com said...

You take care of the domestics and I'll take care of the wild things!

I really enjoy spring and hunting wildflowers. My Flickr is filling up this time of year.

SweetPeaSurry said...

Those blooms are exquisite! Thanks so much for sharing!

I need to get some plants soon and get them hanging up and planted in my balcony planters. I'm PLANTLESS and I feel like I'm unoxygenated!

blessings!

K. said...

wow, absolutely gorgeous!

sunnymama said...

Beautiful pictures! I love the colours in the first one and the beautiful petals in the last.

Anne said...

Do lovely; the light is perfect. I feel like I could jump in.

The Quintessential Magpie said...

Wow! Those are some gorgeous blooms on the roses! I like roses best when they are full blown, or at least I like them that way in an arrangement. They look like they belong in those wonderful Old Master paintings when they are like that.

Thanks for sharing...

Sheila

Eve said...

Those roses are amazing! I can hardly wait for summer now (and the roses that will come with it)!

Indrani said...

I have never seen such a huge rose!
It is beautiful.

Merisi said...

Such exquisite beauty,
masterly captured! :-)

Your post made me want to take part in this flower show, so I quickly went over to the "Today's Flowers" site and signed myself in (my post today was about flowers by coincidence). I can't find the comments there, though! I wanted to be polite and leave a comment, alas, I failed to find a way.

Would any of your readers be kind enough to help me, please?

TBM said...

Those are AMAZING roses!And they're YOURS!?!

I do believe I can smell them all the way here in England. It must have been joyous to watch these bloom. Thanks for sharing!!

Lew said...

Great shots! I am with you on the first and last, but the first is my favorite. It is exquisite!

Tulip said...

great captured of rose flowers.

Unknown said...

Breathtaking photos. How do you get colors to look true to life?

Jewels said...

The colour in these photos is stunning. My camara would never capture that hue. Lovely!

Misty DawnS said...

Oh my gosh David - that first photo absolutely took my breath away!