flowers – Page 2 – Ritva Sillanmäki Photography

lens-artists-challenge: 311-what’s in a garden

I’ve always enjoyed a walk in a garden, camera on hand. What’s in a garden ? a state of mind? I have noticed when I visit a garden I tend to focus on details instead of the whole view of the garden.

Flowers always make people better, happier, and more helpful; they are sunshine, food and medicine for the soul. ~Luther Burbank

Now, the photos can speak for themselves – no words needed.

And in my garden I find this to be true: A good garden may have some weeds. ~Thomas Fuller

Vancouver island garden -The Butchart Gardens

Chinese friendship garden in Sydney

Rose gardens in Vancouver and Portland ,Seattle

Thank you, Ann-Christine, for hosting this challenge have a look at her wonderful site and join us. Remember to link back to her original post and to tag Lens-Artists so we can find you.

Last week Patti left us cross-eyed in a fantastic challenge of Zigzags. I loved how many ways we could look at this theme.

Next week is Sofia’s to host so I invite you to drop by her blog on Saturday 17^th August and see what she is up to. Until then, keep on smiling.

If you want to know more about the Lens-Artists Challenge, please click here.

Posted for Ann-Christine’s Lens-Artists Challenge

Flower of the day

Flowers, Photography

Posted for Cee’s Flower of the Day

Goldilocks is a common name for a whole group of buttercups. They often begin to flower already at the end of April and their flowering time peaks at the turn of May and June. The plant’s inflorescence is clearly more modest than meadow buttercup, which flowers a couple of weeks later.

Click on the photos to enlarge it

Beauty of Spreading Bellflower

Flowers, Photography

I have taken some summer flower photos, but for some reason I have not posted them. I have been less on the computer, maybe that is one of the reason. This is For Cee’s Flower of the Day.

All photo can be enlarged with a click.

Spreading bellflower grows as a biennial in Finland, Spreading bellflower in Finland is usually easy to differentiate from its relatives by its more reddish and more narrowly based leaves. White-flowered plants can also be found, although they are clearly rarer than the purple ones. In southern and central Europe the species is not so clearly defined because several slightly different forms exist, as happens in Finland with harebell.

Flower of the day – Red roses

Flowers, Nature

For Cee´s Flower of the Day. I was having fun snapping shots of my Red roses.

All photos can be enlarged with a click 🙂

Lilies of the valley

Flowers, Nature, Photography

Lilies of the valley are so beautiful and delicate, and yes also poisonous

Square 31.5.24

Flowers, Nature, Photography

We have reached the end of Becky’s Squares photo challenge, I was distracted by starting a full time job in the middle of it and stopped posting even if I had good intentions to follow the month through. Thanks for this challenge Becky.

Lens-Artists Challenge #301 – Floral

Flowers, lens-artists, Photography

Lens-Artists #301 – Floral hosted by Sofia wrote: I sincerely believe it to be difficult to have photo of a flower that is not beautiful. But for this challenge, I’d like us to think of how we either capture them or how we process the image afterwards.

First I would like to say all my photos for this post are from past week. Somehow it feels like this year we skipped spring all together, we got summer temperatures now and all the flowers are in bloom at the same time. Most of them I’ve taken with my mobile, because last week I felt the camera’s to the summer house in the belief that there would be nothing to photograph, I was wrong. Everything seemed to bloom overnight. and to the how I capture them – mostly close-ups.

I have now real angle this week, my mind is all overloaded with new things and NUMBERs – my least favorite thing .

First here is a look at one tulip. I took a these few days apart, from different directions and I did some editing with lightroom app on my mobile.

The apple tree blossoms beautifully just few days ago and now the really warm weather , not at all normal at this time of the year has wilted them.

random flowers-

Last week Ann-Christine challenged us with the Delicate things, her recent travels to Japan gave us wonderful inspiration. I loved all your examples and how varied they were. This is what makes these challenges so interesting, we all think in different ways and that makes us grow as photographers.

Next week is John’s turn to lead, so please visit his unique site to see what he’s up to, I am sure looking forward to it.

If you want more information on the Lens-Artist Challenge, please click here.

FOTD – White carnation

Flowers

Cee’s Flower of the Day.

FOTD -Pink Carnations

Flowers

I can buy myself flowers as Miley Cyrus sang, and I have, I bought these pink and white carnations to brighten my kitchen. Carnations for the reason that they last long and well they also pretty. I edited few for Cee’s Flower of the Day.

Monochrome Madness – flowers

Black and White photos, Photography

The Monochrome Madness challenge from 2014 holds a place in my memory. It was a wonderfully coordinated endeavor, involving the talents of Leanne and Laura. I recall that the images were sent by email and Leanne coordinated the post. That is a lot of work to do. Reflecting on the past, I recall participating in that engaging challenge, and it feels like it happened just yesterday.

Considering the present, as we embrace a non-theme week, I’m inspired to delve into my archives and unearth some of my black and white images captured during that same period in 2014. Following in the footsteps of Leanne, I’m focusing my lens on the enchanting subject of flowers. It’s fun to ponder how I’ve evolved and honed my skills as a photographer and editor since then. While there’s always room for growth, I can’t help but feel that I have improved a little bit since then

As always all photos can be enlarged by a click.

Posted for Leanne’s Monochrome Madness

Flower of the day – Orchids ~10.04.2024

Flowers

Continuing to post orchids – as it seems I have a lots of images of them unpunished in my archives. And it is a beautiful flower.

For Cee’s Flower of the Day.

Orchid

Flowers, Photography

For Cee´s Flower of the Day.

Flower of the day

Flowers, Still life

I should say flowers of the day. Here are some still life photos of the flower bouquet I got myself for Easter. I took these and wanted to play with the idea of creating an art photography type of images.

That was the aim, did I succeed I’m not sure. I had fun editing the images, that I know. The rose captures my mood today, that’s for sure.

I read that , for photography to be Fine Art, it must be more than just a literal representation of something. The image must communicate that it was deliberately curated by an artist to convey an idea, not just snapped by a camera to immortalise a scene.

Cee’s FOTD

Hydrangea Edits

Flowers, Nature

The delicate beauty of hydrangea petals as they slowly deteriorate during the winter months is truly captivating. The intricate lace-like patterns that emerge from this natural process are a testament to the mesmerizing transformation that nature undergoes throughout the seasons. It’s truly remarkable how something as fleeting as the delicate decay of flower petals can create such a stunning visual display.

I love trying to bring it out details in my edits. If you are not familiar me as a photographer, I love the editing process. The framing of the subject and capturing the mood and details. Mostly, I do my best to stay true to the subject, just to enhance it a bit. Sometimes, well quite often I take artistic liberty when editing. I often convert the images to black and white as I find it it brings the essential part to focus. Or I play with the tone of the photos. Both styles shown in this post.

The last two images are true to what I saw. The last image is the original RAW shot, no edits. Above it is a a cropped and slightly edited version and on the top you see how I played with the image.

Posted for Cee’s Flower of the Day

yellow

Flowers

Debbie’s One Word Sunday Yellow is this weeks theme. I bought myself flowers and just by luck there was some yellow flowers in the bouquet. What is the chance of that?

What I want to bring you with yellow flowers is the brightness of the sun, the cheerfulness of a new day, and the promise of positivity. If you are seeking to be inspired by warmth, enthusiasm, and joy, yellow flowers is an impeccable choice. Yellow flowers have been cherished for centuries for their ability to convey a message of happiness and friendship.

Flower of the day – hydrangeas

Flowers

The persistence of snowfall can be quite the test of patience, especially when all one longs for is the arrival of warmer days and the blossoming of nature. It seems that winter’s grasp refuses to loosen, creating a landscape that feels perpetually locked in the icy embrace of the season.

For Cee’s Flower of the Day.

Flower of the day – tulip

Still life

The arrival of tulips in stores signifies the start of a vibrant and colorful season. With advertisements promoting their beauty and availability, it’s hard to resist the allure of these elegant flowers. Personally, I can never resist the enchanting appeal of tulips

Their diverse colors and graceful appearance make them a perfect subject , whether you prefer capturing their vivid hues or showcasing their elegance in a minimalist style. Over the years, I’ve collected a delightful array of tulip photos, each one trying to capture the unique charm and beauty of these flower’s. Now is the time to indulge in some color therapy and celebrate the arrival of spring to the store’s.

Here’s to a joyous and vibrant Friday, filled with the enchanting beauty of tulips!

Flower of the day

Flowers, Nature

Flower of the day – 08/01/2024

Flowers

For Cee’s Flower of the Day.

Flower of the day – 30/12/23

Flowers

Flower of the day

For Cee’s Flower of the Day.

Flower of the Day

Flowers

The header is the same flower,( I don’t know what it is, but it is pretty) but the lighting was different in the shots. Do you prefer warm or cool tones?

Posted for Cee’s Flower of the Day

Flower of the day – 17/11/2023

Flowers

I was looking for doors, but mainly found windows… and flowers. I found this one taken few years back. And, I thought to myself, this is rather good. It also worked well as monochrome. I’ll post it for next flower of the day.

For Cee´s Flower of the Day.

Flower of the day 17 11 23 – in Monochrome

Monochrome – Flowers

Black and White photos, Photography

Flowers in monochrome are a fascinating subject for photography, art, and design. They can create a dramatic contrast, a subtle elegance, or a mood of mystery. Monochromatic flowers can also inspire creative expressions.

Flowers in monochrome are not just black and white they have a spectrum of shades that reflect the light- they are not silent or dull. They capture the essence of shape and texture.