Avery Island, Louisiana's Jungle Gardens Blooming Spring

PGMPGM Registered Users Posts: 2,007 Major grins
edited April 2, 2011 in Landscapes
I am relatively new to landscape photography, and would greatly appreciate any suggestions for improvement in these photos. :dunno
Many thanks, Pam

1. Azalea bush framed by spanish moss draped oak branches

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2. Late afternoon sun lighting up a row of azaleas

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3. Mujlti colored azaleas among southern live oaks

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4. Misty morning view of azalea bush framed by old southern live oaks

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5. Azaleas at the base of a southern live oak tree

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Comments

  • czhike88czhike88 Registered Users Posts: 13 Big grins
    edited March 27, 2011
    Nice work. I like 3 and 5 best.
    Chuck
    http://czhike88.smugmug.com/
  • PGMPGM Registered Users Posts: 2,007 Major grins
    edited March 27, 2011
    czhike88 wrote: »
    Nice work. I like 3 and 5 best.

    Thank you, Chuck! Best, Pam
  • kdogkdog Administrators Posts: 11,681 moderator
    edited March 27, 2011
    Wow, these are great Pam, and nicely composed and great light. What a terrific place to shoot. I like 'em all a lot, but #4 is especially surreal.
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  • PGMPGM Registered Users Posts: 2,007 Major grins
    edited March 27, 2011
    kdog wrote: »
    Wow, these are great Pam, and nicely composed and great light. What a terrific place to shoot. I like 'em all a lot, but #4 is especially surreal.

    Thank you, Joel. My husband, Edmund, spotted that #4 view. I appreciate your comments as I am trying to learn more about landscapes, and yours are the best! Best, Pam
  • schmooschmoo Registered Users Posts: 8,468 Major grins
    edited March 29, 2011
    Pam, these are lovely. I really, really would love to visit Louisiana and do nothing but shoot for a few days. You have some really amazing foliage and weather!
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  • PGMPGM Registered Users Posts: 2,007 Major grins
    edited March 29, 2011
    schmoo wrote: »
    Pam, these are lovely. I really, really would love to visit Louisiana and do nothing but shoot for a few days. You have some really amazing foliage and weather!

    Thank you so much, Schmoo! You should definitely come, and the best time would be between March 15th and March 30th--when the light greens of early spring are appearing, and the azaleas peak. There are some beautiful camellias beginning in November trailing off in March. Bird City, the egret rookery in Jungle Gardens, is a great place to practice birds in flight in March, really through June. The young egrets appear in April. If you plan a trip, please PM me and I can tell you more details and where to stay and eat (a very big thing in Louisiana), etc.!
  • Studio Simplicity JennyStudio Simplicity Jenny Registered Users Posts: 14 Big grins
    edited March 29, 2011
    These are all nice shots!! I really love #4. I'm planning on visiting New Orleans for two weeks in April. Any good spots to shoot? How's the azaleas between April 5-19th? Keep up the good work, Pam! :)
    Jenny
    Studio Simplicity
    www.studiosimplicity.com
    jenny@studiosimplicity.com
  • PGMPGM Registered Users Posts: 2,007 Major grins
    edited March 29, 2011
    Studio Simplicity Jenny wrote: »
    These are all nice shots!! I really love #4. I'm planning on visiting New Orleans for two weeks in April. Any good spots to shoot? How's the azaleas between April 5-19th? Keep up the good work, Pam! :)

    Thank you, Jenny! Avery Island, where I am, is about a 2 hour drive west of New Orleans, and unfortunately, our azaleas are fading fast--it is amazing how fast it happens, too, in just 2 or 3 days, its seems. I know just the cousin to ask about the best places to shoot in NOLA, and I'll get that info tomorrow! Best, Pam
  • GrfxMediaGrfxMedia Registered Users Posts: 33 Big grins
    edited March 29, 2011
    Nice group of shots, I'm favoring #4 but would of maybe cropped a little tighter to really make the tree's frame the shot without seeing the bleed on either side.

    Regards,
    Peter Witham
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  • Doug SolisDoug Solis Registered Users Posts: 1,190 Major grins
    edited March 29, 2011
    Really nice series Pam, I love this area though I have never been there. You have really done a nice job framing your shots with branches and flowers. I think image 3 and 4 are a little flat and could use more contrast, maybe levels adj. I would also boost the color intensity on all images so they are similar to your image 6. I think image 4 is my favorite but that Mexican Palm just does not work, if your open to changing the editorial content I would get rid of it...bring up the intensity/color of the azaleas in the background and also the green leaves of the trees in the background, this will add more depth to the image. Nice work just as they are girl!
  • Studio Simplicity JennyStudio Simplicity Jenny Registered Users Posts: 14 Big grins
    edited March 30, 2011
    Thanks, Pam. I did look up Avery Island and I really don't mind driving 2 hours to get a couple of shots there. I just love the old oak trees with dead moss hanging from it. Also will try to shoot some of those above ground cemetery that New Orleans are so famous for. Let me know if your cousin have any additional suggestions. Thanks!!
    Jenny
    Studio Simplicity
    www.studiosimplicity.com
    jenny@studiosimplicity.com
  • PGMPGM Registered Users Posts: 2,007 Major grins
    edited March 30, 2011
    Studio Simplicity Jenny wrote: »
    Thanks, Pam. I did look up Avery Island and I really don't mind driving 2 hours to get a couple of shots there. I just love the old oak trees with dead moss hanging from it. Also will try to shoot some of those above ground cemetery that New Orleans are so famous for. Let me know if your cousin have any additional suggestions. Thanks!!

    Jenny, New Orleans had a punishing rainstorm last night, so odds are the azaleas will be gone, but both City Park and Audubon Park will have beautiful old oaks and and would be great places to shoot. Audubon Park also runs to the Mississippi River, and has a great view of ships coming up and down the river. My husband, Edmund, is a native New Orleanean, and he says there is a nice cemetary on Washington Ave. across from Commander's Palace restaurant, and another one at the Lake end of Canal Street. Also an interesting Jewish cemetary uptown on Joseph Street. The old cemeteries in certain parts of the city can be dangerous in terms of crime risk, so be sure to check with your hotel or a knowledgeable friend about everywhere you plan to visit and when. The top floor of the Royal Orleans Hotel on St. Peter Street has a platform with a beautiful view of the French Quarter. That should be enough to get you started!

    Jungle Gardens here on Avery Island doesn't open until 9:00 am, though you might make special arrangements to get in earlier for better photos if you call their office. You can get the best shots of Bird City, the egret rookery, in the morning, and 9:00 would be okay. The website is www.junglegardens.org. They sell tickets ($8 I think) until 5:30 pm, but you can stay in the gardens until dark. The TABASCO factory is fun to tour (and will clear your sinuses)! There is a Comfort Suites and several other nice reasonable hotels 5 miles from Avery Island at the intersection of LA Hwy 14 and Avery Island Road if you wanted to spend the night, and like everywhere else in Louisiana, plenty of good restaurants!

    PM me if you decide to visit Avery Island, and if we are here I'd love to meet you!

    Best, Pam
  • PGMPGM Registered Users Posts: 2,007 Major grins
    edited March 30, 2011
    GrfxMedia wrote: »
    Nice group of shots, I'm favoring #4 but would of maybe cropped a little tighter to really make the tree's frame the shot without seeing the bleed on either side.

    Regards,
    Peter Witham

    Peter, thank you for the suggestion--I see exactly what you mean! Best, Pam
  • PGMPGM Registered Users Posts: 2,007 Major grins
    edited March 30, 2011
    Doug Solis wrote: »
    Really nice series Pam, I love this area though I have never been there. You have really done a nice job framing your shots with branches and flowers. I think image 3 and 4 are a little flat and could use more contrast, maybe levels adj. I would also boost the color intensity on all images so they are similar to your image 6. I think image 4 is my favorite but that Mexican Palm just does not work, if your open to changing the editorial content I would get rid of it...bring up the intensity/color of the azaleas in the background and also the green leaves of the trees in the background, this will add more depth to the image. Nice work just as they are girl!

    Doug, thank you for taking time to make such detailed suggestions, which I greatly appreciate. I will try each and every one of them, and I can see what you mean.

    Best, Pam
  • EiaEia Registered Users Posts: 3,627 Major grins
    edited March 30, 2011
    Wow these are quite colorful and different! But I too especially like 4. The fog gives it a mystery feeling but yet the colors make it pop.
    ~AnnaMaria~ My little life in God's big universe
  • dlplumerdlplumer Registered Users Posts: 8,081 Major grins
    edited April 1, 2011
    #4 works for me, Pam thumb.gif
    Dan
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  • redleashredleash Registered Users Posts: 3,840 Major grins
    edited April 1, 2011
    Nice series! You've created some iconic views of the South in spring. I especially like #4 because it captures the moodiness of a foggy Louisiana morning. I like #3 a lot also--the azaleas make a bit of an S curve that takes me through the shot, and the hanging moss adds some mood to the shot. Very nicely done for early landscape efforts--let's see more!

    Lauren
    "But ask the animals, and they will teach you." (Job 12:7)

    Lauren Blackwell
    www.redleashphoto.com
  • PGMPGM Registered Users Posts: 2,007 Major grins
    edited April 1, 2011
    Eia wrote: »
    Wow these are quite colorful and different! But I too especially like 4. The fog gives it a mystery feeling but yet the colors make it pop.

    Thank you Eia! Best, Pam
  • PGMPGM Registered Users Posts: 2,007 Major grins
    edited April 1, 2011
    dlplumer wrote: »
    #4 works for me, Pam thumb.gif

    Dan, thank you! It's funny how shots work out. When my husband, Edmund and I took that #4 photo, it was so foggy we weren't sure it would even turn out, yet so many people have said it is their favorite. A lucky shot! Best, Pam
  • PGMPGM Registered Users Posts: 2,007 Major grins
    edited April 1, 2011
    redleash wrote: »
    Nice series! You've created some iconic views of the South in spring. I especially like #4 because it captures the moodiness of a foggy Louisiana morning. I like #3 a lot also--the azaleas make a bit of an S curve that takes me through the shot, and the hanging moss adds some mood to the shot. Very nicely done for early landscape efforts--let's see more!

    Lauren

    Thank you, Lauren. Thanks especially for pointing out the "S" curve in #3. I thought that photo had depth because of the azaleas in the foreground and background, but I see what you mean about the S. Best, Pam
  • redleashredleash Registered Users Posts: 3,840 Major grins
    edited April 2, 2011
    You're welcome, Pam. I really do like the shots. Hope to see more landscapes from you.
    "But ask the animals, and they will teach you." (Job 12:7)

    Lauren Blackwell
    www.redleashphoto.com
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