Desert Lily

wfeller

The Desert Lily:


These are one of the most beautiful flowers in the desert to me. I love the green stripe in the elegantly shaped petals. There's a glitter or sparkle that can be seen up close in the flowers. They look so tasty to me (although I've never eaten one). They remind me of Christmas candy. The long, narrow leaves at the base make the most wonderful sand-drawings when they are young and subject to the wind. It is too bad the leaves often become depleted as the plant rapidly grows taller and blossoms for pollenation. They are however, awkward to photograph, and stand free of other vegetation at the base.

This particular shot was taken with the last bit of direct light to the flowers before the sun dropped below the basalt, placing the entire plant in shadow. The slightly gusting breeze stopped for a moment, just long enough for me to catch the lily without movement.

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thapamd

Wow! What a beautiful composition with subtle but rich colors. A fantastic capture!

wfeller

thapamd wrote:

Wow! What a beautiful composition with subtle but rich colors. A fantastic capture!

Thank you. I have a couple minor issues I need to solve (I never seem to notice them until I post online somewhere), but overall, I;m pretty happy with it too.


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Dogdots

Beautiful photo Amazing how something so pretty can be found growing up from the sand.

swintonphoto

Wow - the gentle light on the flowers is stunning, Lovely composition - excellent!

wfeller

Dogdots wrote:

Beautiful photo Amazing how something so pretty can be found growing up from the sand.

Thanks. Everyday I'm out I'm amazed.

wfeller

swintonphoto wrote:

Wow - the gentle light on the flowers is stunning, Lovely composition - excellent!

Thanks. It was like being a kid in a candy store.

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kdog

Lovely shot, Walter. The lighting makes it look almost like you used a flash.

The desert sure has some interesting vegetation. I was on a hike one day, and came across a purple flowering bush. It looked so beautiful, I bent over to smell the blossoms, inhaled deeply, and got my sinuses full of the most revolting skunk smell you could imagine. :puke1

Cheers,
-joel

wfeller

kdog wrote:

Lovely shot, Walter. The lighting makes it look almost like you used a flash.

The desert sure has some interesting vegetation. I was on a hike one day, and came across a purple flowering bush. It looked so beautiful, I bent over to smell the blossoms, inhaled deeply, and got my sinuses full of the most revolting skunk smell you could imagine. :puke1

Cheers,
-joel

Thanks Joel.

That'll learn you I mentioned stopping to smell the -roses- one day to a knowledgeable friend. I was told that was fine, but don't be getting too close to the apricot mallow. Apparently the little fuzz are actually barbs and can wreak havoc on the eyeballs and nostrils as well as skin. I learned not to touch anything suspect, but move it around with a pencil, pen, or little brother.

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