Rose Photograph Blue Ribbon Winners from ARS 2014 Fall National Convention
Roses are the focus of American Rose Society conventions: rose specimens, rose arrangements, and increasingly, rose photographs. The 2014 Fall National Convention featured a competition of rose photography. The results of the competition have recently been posted on the website of the ARS.
I had known that my photograph of ‘Dream Weaver’ had won Queen (equivalent of Best of Show) and that my Creative Interpretation image of ‘Gemini’ had won King (equivalent of Runner Up to Best in Show). Until I received the ribbons in the mail last week, I did not know that ‘Child’s Play’ had been awarded best in section for Fully Open Roses, nor that my image of hips of ‘YoYo’ had been awarded best in section for Rose Potpourri. I will show those images in a later post.
I was surprised and pleased with how many of my images had been awarded Blue Ribbons. The images in this post are the Blue Ribbon winners.
‘Gemini’ Hybrid tea, exhibition form
Miniature Rose Glowing Amber Exhibition Form
‘Glowing Amber’ is an interesting little rose. It has distinctive reflex petals, with a red upper and yellow reverse. There are stories that the hybridizer complained that photographers never captured the brilliant colors of this little gem. I did not hear any complaints about the color in this image. 🙂
Miniature Rose ‘Child’s Play’ Exhibition formSpray of Miniature Rose, ‘Foolish Pleasure’Fully Open, Stamens Showing Hybrid tea, ‘Gemini’Old Garden Rose 1918 Hybrid bracteata, ‘Mermaid’
This image of ‘Mermaid,’ one of my favorite roses, appeared on the cover of the 2014 Rose Annual:
‘Mermaid’ on Front Cover of 2014 Rose AnnualRose ‘Dr. Huey’ in Rose Potpourri. Photo taken on the First Annual Dr. Huey Tour of the Corrales Rose Society
Dr. Huey is often used as the root stock onto which to graft other roses grown for their blooms. It can get very, very large!
My image of ‘Gemini’ entered in Creative Interpretation was awarded King of the show, but I had two additional Blue Ribbons in that class.
Hybrid tea, ‘Leonidas,’ in Black and White.Hybrid tea, ‘Veterans’ Honor’
With Albuquerque under a Winter Storm Watch from this evening through tomorrow evening, and with this morning dawning dark and gray, this seemed like a good time to enjoy the beautiful roses and colors of summer. Please enjoy!
This little cosmos seems to still be dancing in the New Year, 2015!
Wishing everyone a very happy 2015, filled with health and happiness (and, a little later in the year, more flowers of all varieties). And beautiful sunsets and sunrises; magnificent vistas; marvelous historic structures; cute animals; wonderful people; and all the things that make us celebrate life!
ANMPAS – Annual New Mexico Photographic Art Show, 2014
ANMPAS 2014, the Annual New Mexico Photographic Art Show, will be open to the public this year beginning December 7 and running through December 29. Hours are 10-5 daily. The show will be closed on Tuesdays, as well as December 24 and 25. The opening reception will be on December 6.
This juried photography show, organized by LeRoy Perea, has become a yearly photographic event widely anticipated in the art community for the month of December. It is held in the Fine Arts Building at EXPO NM. There is no charge for admission to the show itself. EXPO NM does charge for parking, however. There is parking directly across the street from the Fine Arts Building, making it quite convenient, even on cold winter days.
All photographs in the show are matted and framed in accordance with this show’s specifications, and all are available for purchase.
My entry in ANMPAS 2014 is “Fibonacci Sequence – Sunflower.”
Fibonacci Sequence – Sunflower
For a quick view of the Fibonacci Sequence and its occurrence in nature, check this link or this link.
Future posts will have more about this fascinating sequence of numbers and its occurrence in nature.
Floral photography has become one of my major photographic interests in the years I have been doing digital photography. Over the next several weeks, I will be introducing images from a new floral series. Before introducing the new floral series, and before the opening of the 2014 Annual New Mexico Photographic Arts Show (ANMPAS) next weekend, I would like to show (once again for some of you, but new to some readers here) some awarded floral images from the past.
This month (November 2014) you have seen a range of my rose photographs from this year. The rose photographs tend to be done differently from the way I do other floral images. For our rose shows, the images need to combine the important aspects used to judge a rose presented in some artistic way. Sometimes combining two such different approaches is about as easy as mixing oil and water. It is what it is. I enjoy the challenge and the opportunity to show roses in their best light as viewed by ARS Accredited Judges.
In this post, you will see floral images done somewhat differently from most of the rose images.
The image “Lily” was also shown at the 2012 Corrales Fine Arts Show, a juried exhibition.
Of note, this floral photography image was created with a point-and-shoot digital camera, albeit with some good manual controls and RAW capabilities, the Canon G9, in 2009. My mother grew the lily. I was trying to photograph it one evening in rapidly fading light, and the background was quite cluttered. My mom ran into the house and got a background she used in her floral arrangements, and held it so I could create an uncluttered image. One of my few images with an assistant. 🙂 The point of this paragraph is that it is not the camera, but what you do with it.
Back to Blue is a series of floral images I created late summer and early fall of 2013, and called “The Blues.” Done in shades of blue, the reference was as much to emotion and mood as to color.
Two images from that series of floral photography have been recognized.
Starting Over – Bud of Sacred Datura
“The Blues: Starting Over” was selected by Juror Stephen Perloff as Third Place Winner in the New York Center for Photographic Art “Primary Colors” competition.
This image was exhibited in New York City from May 6 – 17, 2014. I was pleased to have this image shown in New York City. Many thanks to the New York Center for Photographic Art and to Stephen Perloff!
Another image from the series, “The Blues,” Ephemeral, was chosen as a Nominee in the 7th Annual Photography Masters Cup:
Ephemeral – Fully open datura flower
This is a fully open datura flower. These open at sunset, and began to fade at the first light of morning. The plants themselves are quite hardy, but the flowers truly are fleeting – and very beautiful.
These were my two favorite images from the series, and having them recognized in two very different venues brings me a great deal of pleasure. I am happy for the opportunity to share them again, although my current work seems to be dominated by bright colors and bold designs.
In the 2013 Px3 competition, my series “Flowers of Early Spring” was awarded Second Place in the People’s Choice Awards in Nature-Seasons.
Flowers of Early Spring – IrisFlowers of Early Spring – RedbudFlowers of Early SpringFlowers of Early Spring – Apple BlossomsFlowers of Early Spring – Pansy
Floral photography – always a challenge, and often quite rewarding.
‘Cinnamon Delight,’ a miniature rose with unusual russet color
This miniature rose was hybridized by Ernest D Williams and introduced in 1993. Its official color is Russet. More information about this rose can be found at Help Me Find.
Russet roses generally contain genes of mauve and yellow roses, and as the blooms age, they will often fade to one of these. This rose is not grown by too many people at present (I cannot explain why), but I had a request from another person who does grow this rose to post images I made this year, to compare color in different climates. This post is in response to that request.
I would also like to take this opportunity, with such an appropriately named rose, to wish my readers a very Happy Thanksgiving with family and friends! With lots of cinnamon…,and chocolate! 🙂 And, for those who are traveling, safe travels.
Horticulture Image 1Horticulture Image 2
It is a fun rose to play with editing. The following images have been what we call “creatively edited,” and should not be taken to be representative of the color of the bloom growing on the bush. The form, however, has not been altered in this series.
Cover Images for the 2014 American Rose Society’s American Rose Annual
Cover images for the Rose Annual are an honor for anyone asked to provide them. This annual publication of the American Rose Society is based around a theme chosen by the guest editor, who invites a variety of people to contribute. This year’s guest Editor was Elena Williams, and she oversaw the production of a beautiful and very useful American Rose Annual. I was very honored by her invitation to provide photographs for the front and back covers of the 2014 American Rose Annual, with a theme of “Roses Across the USA – People, Places, Art, and Science.” Thank you, Elena!
One of my all-time favorite roses is the Old Garden Rose, the Hybrid bracteata ‘Mermaid’ with a date of introduction of 1918. I planted it in honor of my father, who was born in 1918. I have gotten Best of Show with it twice, and multiple Victorian Award Certificates. It is an eight-hour wonder, but when it is on, it is truly spectacular. When Elena asked me about the covers, I hoped I could provide an image of ‘Mermaid’ that would be acceptable for the front cover. This image of ‘Mermaid’ did become the front cover image:
‘Mermaid’ Old Garden Rose Hybrid bracteata 1918
I did not have a strong feeling about the back cover image until I began processing the images from my trip to San Diego for the 2014 Spring National. Sally Long had invited me to give some presentations in Rose Photography, and after the show she showed me all around the San Diego area. Marvelous hostess…
Given the theme of “Roses across the USA,” the red, white and blue of this American landscape, complete with American flag, seemed to beg to be the back cover image. Elena agreed, and this image became the one published:
Roses in a Red, White, and Blue American Landscape
Thanks again to Elena Williams and the staff of the American Rose Society for an outstanding publication.
Photographs of Roses from the 2014 American Rose Society Fall National Convention and Show
Roses are, of course, the focal point of any rose show, whether at the local, district, or national level. In the beginning, rose shows consisted only of horticultural displays. Later, rose arrangements were added to many shows. In the past several years, rose photography has become an important part of many rose shows. It adds another dimension to the enjoyment of roses.
The American Rose Society has had a long-standing annual photography competition for its magazine, American Rose. In recent years, photography competitions have been held in conjunction with ARS National Conventions and Shows, but not directly tied to ARS. For the 2014 Fall National Convention and Show, ARS Photography Chairman Curtis Aumiller organized a print competition, with submitted entries to be displayed in Klima Hall at ARS Headquarters in Shreveport through the holidays.
In the Spring of 2014, at the ARS Spring National in San Diego, Curtis had suggested that top winners in Photography be given the titles of the top winners in Horticulture. In roses, the top award, the equivalent of “Best in Show,” is Queen. Second place is awarded King, and third place is awarded Princess. These awards are on top of Best in Class awards.
I was very happy to have a photograph of the Climbing Floribunda ‘Dream Weaver’ awarded Queen and another of ‘Gemini’ awarded King at the 2014 ARS Fall National.
Dream Weaver Queen of Show, 2014 ARS Fall National Photographer grown
Gemini Gemini, from The Postcard Series King of Show Best of Rose Art
I donated my matted and mounted entries to the American Rose Society to be sold in the Gift Shop at ARS Headquarters in Shreveport after the show is over.
Crab spiders have been abundant this year. They are quite tiny, but also quite amazing. This year, in my yard, I have been particularly impressed with the variety of colors I have seen. On the rose ‘Foolish Pleasure,’ I saw a pinkish one. On the leaf of datura, I saw one that was white. Elsewhere I have posted an image of a yellow crab spider on the yellow stamens of a cosmos bloom. These spiders are known to change color depending on what flower they are on. That certainly has seemed to be the case in my yard.
Today I saw a crab spider on a sunflower, and was, once again, impressed with the way this little spider seemed to match the flower.
Sunflower with crab spider
Notice how well the little crab spider blends with the sunflower:
“Back to Blue” refers to a series of floral images I created late last summer and early fall, and called “The Blues.” Done in shades of blue, the reference was as much to emotion and mood as to color.
Two images from that series have recently been recognized.
This image will be exhibited in New York City from May 6 – 17, with the Opening Reception of May 8. I am pleased to have this image shown in this venue! Many thanks to the New York Center for Photographic Art and to Stephen Perloff!
Another image from the series, “The Blues,” Ephemeral, was chosen as a Nominee in the 7th Annual Photography Masters Cup:
Ephemeral – Fully open datura flower
This is a fully open datura flower. These open at sunset, and began to fade at the first light of morning. The plants themselves are quite hardy, but the flowers truly are fleeting – and very beautiful.
These were my two favorite images from the series, and having them recognized in two very different venues brings me a great deal of pleasure. I am happy for the opportunity to share them again, although my current work seems to be dominated by bright colors and bold designs.
