San Ysidro and Dr. Huey

painted lady butterfly

San Ysidro and Dr.Huey: another spectacular day in the Land of Enchantment. This weekend is the Festival of San Ysidro, patron saint of agriculture and farming. San Ysidro is also the patron saint for Corrales, an independent village that sits on the west bank of the Rio Grande. Nearly every year the Festival and the Corrales Rose Society’s Dr. Huey Tour fall on the same weekend. This year was the Sixth Annual CRS Dr. Huey Tour.

The day was spectacular. The sky was crystal clear and the temperature was perfect. Here at my house, most of the roses have finished first bloom, but ‘Mermaid’ is just beginning. In Corrales, Dr. Huey was not only at its peak, but also most of the other roses. While this is not the typical order of things, it made for a beautiful day.

I have a lot of photos to show (and many more for a later time), so I’m not going to “talk” much. As they say, hopefully “a picture is worth a thousand words.”

Painted Lady Butterflies
painted lady butterfly
Painted Lady Butterfly
Painted Lady Butterfly
Painted Lady Butterfly
Painted Lady Butterfly
Painted Lady Butterfly
Iris
iris
White Iris
Roses in the Price Garden

Although I have been in the Price Garden many times in many seasons over many years, I have never seen it more beautiful than today.

Price Rose Garden
Price Rose Garden
Price Rose Garden
Price Rose Garden
Price Rose Garden
Price Rose Garden
Price Rose Garden
Price Rose Garden
Price Rose Garden
Price Rose Garden
Price Rose Garden
Price Rose Garden
Price Rose Garden
Price Rose Garden
Price Rose Garden
Price Rose Garden
Dr. Huey
Dr Huey
Dr. Huey in the Price Rose Garden

The giant Dr. Huey growing ‘somewhere’ in Corrales is in great shape in 2019. A lot of underbrush had been cleared out, and we could clearly see at least three Dr. Hueys: the tall one, and at least two shorter ones, one on either side. We were happy to see these so healthy this year. They are ‘survivors’ in a harsh climate, survivors that retain their beauty.

Dr. Huey
Dr. Huey
Dr. Huey
Dr. Huey
Spunk
Spunk
Spunk
Tim and One of the Chile Guitars
guitar
Tim and the Chile Guitar
First Day to Open the Deck

While I have many more pictures to show, like Beaker the parrot taking a birdbath in his water, more Spunk and a few of the other kitties, and such, I wanted to end this evening with the way we finished the day and have so many other times: eating wonderful food with friends, laughing, just enjoying the day and company. Thanks Tim and Laurie for the hospitality on a day spent celebrating San Ysidro’s gifts and Dr. Huey!

Dinner on Deck
Enjoying the Opening of the Deck and the End of Day

Miniature Rose ‘Pinstripe’

miniature rose Pinstripe

The miniature rose, ‘Pinstripe,’ was one of my first acquisitions when I began growing roses in earnest. Ralph Moore (1907-2009) was its hybridizer. Over his long and active life he introduced many different roses. However, miniature roses are among his best known.

A little earlier I posted an image of another of Moore’s striped miniatures, ‘Climbing Earthquake.” That one is yellow and red, whereas ‘Pinstripe’ is red and white.

2019 is looking like a good year for roses in the Albuquerque area. The striped miniatures by Ralph Moore always give me a smile. I hope you enjoy them also. 🙂

New Mexico Roses: A Change Is Gonna Come

New Mexico roses

New Mexico Roses: A Change Is Gonna Come

New Mexico Roses: a change is definitely coming to the High Southwest Desert this weekend. The first cold front of the season is arriving in New Mexico, with unseasonably low temperatures and snow in some areas. This is a little early. The cold will not last long. But if the temperatures drop low enough, most of the roses will be close to the end for 2018. In this time of change, I offer a look back at some of the roses growing in New Mexico gardens, some mine and some of friends. All of these were photographed out of doors, as growing, in natural light. I groomed some of those in my garden. I did not groom roses growing elsewhere. You would not find those entered in a rose show. “It’s not what you look at, it’s what you see.” I saw beauty in all of these.

From My Garden

New Mexico roses
David Clemons’ Miniflora Foolish Pleasure. One of David’s Earlier Creations, It Does Extremely Well in the High Desert.
New Mexico roses
Gemini Macro. Note the Unfolding Spiral
New Mexico roses
Route 66, a Shrub Rose. The White Eye and Colorful Stamens Are Striking.
New Mexico roses
Spray of the Shrub Rose, Route 66
New Mexico roses
Othello, a David Austin Shrub Rose
New Mexico roses
Another Incognito Image That Does Not Fit Rose Show Guidelines, But Which I Use for Cards
New Mexico roses
Incognito. I Could Not Enter This in a Rose Show Because of the Bud Form and “Detracting” Rain Drops. The Word Most Often Used by Non-Rosarians Is “Sensual”
New Mexico roses
Mermaid Macro
New Mexico roses
Mermaid, Hanging Down a Wall
New Mexico roses
Sombreuil
New Mexico roses
Photographed in the Garden, but Edited Later. I Also Use This for Cards.
New Mexico roses
Chihuly. Photographed in the Garden, but Edited Later to Highlight the Relevance of the Name

From the Garden of Friends

New Mexico roses
I Loved the Stamens on this Single Rose
New Mexico roses
R foetida bicolor: “Don’t play what’s there, play what’s not there” ~ Miles Davis
New Mexico roses
A David Austin rose in friends’ garden

Change is on its way. I hope you have enjoyed a stroll through some New Mexico gardens with their roses. I have certainly enjoyed sharing them with you.

Monday Morning

Monday Morning

Monday Morning

Monday morning is not quite as big a deal to me now that I am retired. Flexibility in schedule is the key to that. However, I do have scheduled activities, but I tend to take Sundays “off.” So, in some ways, Monday still rolls around in a slightly different way from other days. I made this for those of you who may feel Monday a little differently also:

Monday Morning
Rough Monday Morning

I photographed the very wet bee on cosmos in the morning after three nights of rain several weeks ago. I’m not sure it could fly until it dried out a bit. It was a rough morning for that little guy. But, all’s well that ends well…

Monday Morning Reminder for Rose Friends

The deadline for entry in the ARS Digital Photography Contest is November 5, now less than three weeks away.

ARS Digital Contest
2017 ARS Digital Contest

Details and rules are at rose.org > member resources > contests.

——————————–

So, here it is, Monday again. Wishing all of you a good one…

Autumn Roses

miniature rose

Autumn Roses

Autumn roses seem especially sweet. Maybe that is because they will soon disappear until Spring. This past spring I had too many distractions and demands to take good care of the roses then. But, the monsoon season was good to my yard. That inspired me to get out and work to get a few things in better shape. I was happily surprised with the roses available to photograph this weekend. Also, I’m playing with a new program, so I feel a bit like a kid with a new set of finger paints. Thank you for indulging me.

autumn roses
Irresistible
autumn roses
Distant Drums
autumn roses
Foolish Pleasure

We are supposed to get more rain in the middle of the week. I put a few pansies out this weekend, and rain would be good for them as well as for the long-standing roses.

ARS Rose Notes

For my rose friends who read here, the final ARS Guidelines for Judging Rose Photography includes a National Challenge Class that will first be offered at the ARS Spring 2018 Convention. This is a heads-up, because photographing bloom cycles requires some planning. I do think this is a worthy national challenge class.

roses
Nat’l Challenge Class

Monday Morning Thoughts, a Long Digression

I’ve been watching Ken Burns’ The Viet Nam War. Throughout, I have thought about people I’ve known, and where they are in life and in their heads today (for those still alive). Last night was a little different. The episode covered the Tet Offensive to the assassination of Robert Kennedy. That is, Spring 1968, when Martin Luther King was also assassinated. I remember watching Lyndon Johnson’s speech, and many other things that had slipped into the deep recesses of my mind.

I was a student at the University of Chicago in the Spring of 1968. The University is on the south side of Chicago. I had come from a university that might consider tearing down a library if necessary to expand football. The University of Chicago had torn down the football field and was in the process of building a new library. I lived in a 12th floor apartment, that looked south. I could see Rockefeller Chapel, the Museum of Science and Industry, and a tiny glimpse of Lake Michigan. The university had its own bus for students, a bus that continually circled through Hyde Park to shuttle students to and from classes and back home. Most days I had the same bus driver.

Chicago When Martin Luther King Was Assassinated

Martin Luther King was assassinated on a Thursday. Friday morning was calm on the south side of Chicago. By the end of classes Friday afternoon, the tension was palpable. I caught the bus to go home. I was the last person off. The driver, who had gotten to know me over the year, said, “I’m going to drop you off at the door to your building today (instead of about 1/2 block away). Don’t go out tonight. Stay in your apartment.”

That weekend, first of all, and for days, I could look out and see the south side of Chicago burning. As a result, the heavily armed Military, not just police and National Guard, were patrolling the streets. Most of all, I remember looking out and seeing the Army camped on the grounds of the Museum of Science and Industry. Military tents completely covered those grounds. Maybe that is what I have remembered most of all.

I watched the helicopters hover over the meeting between the Blackstone Rangers and police, as they tried to work out a truce.

I have not thought about these things in a long time. What stood out to me from last night’s episode was the Marine, who had fought in Viet Nam, who was ordered to go to one of the cities with civil unrest. He refused an order to go, which essentially ended his military career. He said in essence, “I thought we would be sent for regular police work, protecting buildings, that kind of thing. Then they started issuing the same equipment we had had in Viet Nam: flak jackets, the same bullets, all the same things. I said I was not going.”

That was 49 years ago. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

I half-apologize for the digression.

ARS Rose Photography Update

ars rose photography

ARS Rose Photography Update

ARS Rose Photography Update: the American Rose Society’s Board of Directors has approved the final version of the First Edition of Guidelines and Rules for Judging Rose Photography. Editors are completing the final editorial review. The text will appear shortly on the website of the American Rose Society. Members will be able to access it by going to “Resources”and scrolling down. In the meantime, members may see and download six PowerPoint programs explaining use of the Guidelines. The PowerPoints appear alphabetically rather than by topic, so be sure to scroll through.

ars rose photography
2017 ARS Photography Guidelines and PowerPoints Explaining Use Are Now Available

Because some readers may not be ARS members but still interested in the PowerPoints, I’m posting links here. Click on the links to view.

The current six are:

Creative Interpretation

Floral Arrangements

Shrubs, Old Garden Roses, etc.

Rose Sprays

Fully Open, Stamens Showing

How to Mount and Mat an 8×10 Photo for ARS Shows

While those are the current six, watch for additional ones in the future. In addition to these, planned are One Bloom, Macro Photography, The Enhanced Sections, What’s New in the 2017 Guidelines, and People, Not Cameras, Create Images.

You may view the current ones, as well as new ones as they appear, at a PowerPoint Library at Southwest Desert Gardening.

One does not have to be a member of any rose society to enter roses, arrangements, or photographs in ARS sanctioned rose shows. Anyone can enter!

Monsoon Rain and Roses

monsoon rains

Monsoon Rain and Roses

Monsoon rain and roses have been outstanding this year!

Monsoon Rain

In July, I showed the first real rain at my house of the 2017 monsoon season. It was unusual, dropping 2.5 inches of rain in 40 minutes. Overall, I’ve gotten almost 7 inches of rain this monsoon season. The transformational power of rain in the desert is remarkable.

July 17, 2017:

monsoon rain
Monsoon Rain and Pond

August 21, 2017:

monsoon rain
Back Yard, A Month Later

Roses

The roses have responded in like manner.

The hybrid tea ‘Gemini’ has put out many sprays, which will appear at a later time. The one-to-a-stem blooms have had the perfect form for which this particular rose is known. This image is from the other night, after a brief monsoon shower. The new ARS guidelines that will be coming out later this month strongly suggest avoiding images with water droplets on the petals. I agree with avoiding such images if the light is wrong and the droplets light up as blank, a real distraction. But raindrops on roses after a gentle life-giving rain in the desert? I will photograph and show such images, happily. ‘Gemini’ is one of my favorite hybrid tea roses to grow in Albuquerque. “Raindrops on roses…” The stucco of my house, against which most of my hybrid teas grow, is the background.

monsoon rain and roses
Raindrops on Roses – ‘Gemini’

Another of my favorite hybrid tea roses in the desert is ‘Veterans’ Honor.’ It has also responded to the monsoon rains. While I frequently get sprays on ‘Gemini,’ most ‘Veterans’ Honor’ blooms for me are one-to-a-stem. However, it produced a spray this year. This is not any kind of classic spray form by any stretch of the imagination. Nevertheless, I kind of like the almost ‘golden spiral’ effect of this spray, the always-gorgeous color, and healthy foliage seen here.

monsoon rain and roses
Spray of Hybrid Tea Rose, ‘Veterans’ Honor’

Although Albuquerque will see some additional rain this year, the monsoon season is rapidly drawing to a close. From my perspective, as well as that of my yard and flowers, this has been a great – and much needed – monsoon year!

Rose Sprays

rose sprays

Rose Sprays

Rose sprays – the appearance of two or more blooms on a single stem – have been exceptionally abundant in my yard this year. After doing one draft of a PowerPoint presentation about photographing them, I decided I really needed to create two or three separate but related presentations. These would be for rosarians planning to enter their photographs in rose shows. But many of my photographs of roses do not meet the new ARS Guidelines (even though I helped write them, at least at the beginning), but would be quite acceptable in other venues. Sometimes I enjoy putting quotations with my images. That is what I felt like doing today. 🙂

This is a spray of the shrub rose, ‘Distant Drums.’ Those of you who know this rose know that these blooms are long past their prime, and lack many of the defining characteristics of the variety. But, the light was so glorious, illuminating them at early dawn.

And, I thought of this quote from Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Love in the Time of Cholera:

“Age has no reality except in the physical world. The essence of a human being is resistant to the passage of time. Our inner lives are eternal, which is to say that our spirits remain as youthful and vigorous as when we were in full bloom. Think of love as a state of grace, not the means to anything, but the alpha and omega. An end in itself.”

rose sprays
Faded ‘Distant Drums’ Rose Spray

Several years ago I developed a habit of photographing a rose from “the back” as well as from “the front.” Those of you who aren’t into roses know that is really a meaningless distinction. In roses, “the front” most usually refers to what you would see in a rose catalog. That is because the American Rose Society was founded by rose hybridizers to encourage the sale of roses. Photographers, in contrast, look for interesting angles.

This image is of two different views of a spray of the hybrid tea rose, ‘Gemini’ with three florets. Visually, I prefer the one that would not be seen in a rose catalog.

rose sprays
Two Views of the Same Spray of the Rose ‘Gemini’
rose sprays
‘Gemini’ Spray with Coreopsis

I have enjoyed photographing the abundant rose sprays this year! 🙂 You can expect to see more over time. 😉

Rose Photography

Rose Photography – Judges Class Winner in the 2015 American Rose Society Digital Photography Competition

Rose photography – what led me to study and learn digital photography in 2008. I was an ARS Accredited Horticulture and Arrangement Judge when I wrote about adding photography to our rose shows for the ARS 2010 ARS Rose Annual.

My interests in photography have certainly led me, and will continue to lead me, to explore many more aspects of my world and life through photography.

I would like to thank the members of special committee who selected this image, “Rose ‘Gold Medal’ with Butterfly,” as the winner of the Judges Class of the 2015 American Rose Society Digital Photography Contest.

ARS 2015 Photo Contest Winner rose photography
Rose ‘Gold Medal’ and Hair Streak Butterfly
Winner, Judges Class, 2015 ARS Digital Photography Contest

This image has special meaning to me. The ‘Gold Medal’ was grown by my mother, and it is one of her favorite roses. It was photographed near sunset in her garden. The hair streak butterfly is a macro shot taken in the garden of my friends Tim and Laurie on a glorious afternoon in Corrales. I have so many pleasant memories of both gardens, and I wanted to unite them in one image. On a personal level, that is what was behind the creation of this image.

On a rose photography level, I wanted to create an image that used a lot of photo editing and photo enhancements but ended with an image of a beautiful rose and a feeling of a presence in a beautiful garden. One of my pet peeves is the use of Photoshop filters to create with one click of a mouse an image that smashes a rose beyond all recognition. The uninitiated seem to find those impressive, but they do not know that it is one click of a mouse. Did I ever make images like that? Yes, I did indeed. But I would like to see us encourage images that are a bit more creative and that show the beauty of the rose. Do I expect them to be as complex in creation as this image that appears so simple was? No, of course not. But I recently saw a gorgeous image of a rose on fallen leaves of autumn, creatively arranged, magnificent in color, that was passed over for a one-click abstract. I’d like to see our judges – and photographers – begin to rethink the approach to “rose art” to go beyond the one-click Photoshop filters.

Once again, I thank the people who selected this as the winner in the Judges Class, 2015. It is an honor.

I leave you with a brief slideshow of some of my rose images from the past.

Toss Those PSWD Guidelines for Judging Rose Photography

This entry is part 2 of 3 in the series Showing Photographs at Rose Shows

Rose Photography Has New Guidelines, The ARS Guidelines for Judging Rose Photography

When the Board of the American Rose Society (ARS) approved the new Guidelines for Judging Rose Photography in Syracuse in September 2015, the PSWD Guidelines became obsolete. When I wrote the PSWD Guidelines, with considerable input from Sally Long, the goal was to ultimately have standardized, national guidelines. The new guidelines, written by the ARS Photography Committee, chaired by Curtis Aumiller, have been officially approved and replace everything that came before. This will not be an issue for Districts that have never had guidelines for photography, but it could be confusing for anyone who continues to use the now-outdated PSWD Guidelines. They are as outdated as rotary phones and party lines in this era of cell phones.

Some people are confused by the fact the ARS guidelines were approved as “temporary” and think that means “optional.” The Committee requested temporary approval so that the guidelines could be used and feedback obtained about changes people would like to see. A show committee never has to use ARS rules unless ARS awards are going to be given. This includes even the little ribbons for 1st-4th places. Show committees are used to this when writing schedules for Horticulture and Arrangements. Now the new Guidelines for Photography need to be followed in the same manner if ARS awards are to be given. ARS members may download the Guidelines here.

If your District has now appointed a District Chairman for Photography, feel free to address your photography schedule questions to that person, as well as to the ARS Photography Chairman, Curtis Aumiller (caumiller[at]yahoo.com). The current PSWD Chairman of Photography is Sally Long. If your District does not have a Photography Chairman, Curtis Aumiller and the ARS Photography Committee are ready to assist you with your schedule and other questions.

A transition from one set of guidelines to the new ARS guidelines will not be a problem for people who have never had guidelines. The PSWD Guidelines are ubiquitous in that district, and are found elsewhere when people have seen what was done here. It is for people who have used the old guidelines and know them well that I am doing a series, of which this is the first post, that explains what is the same, what is different, what is new.

The Score Card in the ARS Guidelines is unchanged. 🙂

Subsequent posts will address some new additions and some very important changes that judges and exhibitors alike need to know. Stay tuned.

Show Buttons
Hide Buttons
%d bloggers like this: