Peony in Stillness

Abstract Peony

Peony © 2012 Bo Mackison

The need to listen carefully creates its own stillness. ~ Toni Packer

Quiet. Solitude. Stillness.

When I am out in my garden with my camera, I wait for stillness, for the wind to quiet enough so that my photograph, or at least the portion of the photograph that I want in focus, is in focus.

On a calm day, it is easy to take photographs outside. But on a breezy day, I decide if I want to add some extra work into the photography equation. From which direction is the wind blowing? Is it gusty? Can I block the wind with a building or a fence or the clear acrylic panels I built into a wind shield?

Some of the time, I choose to out wait the wind if it isn’t blowing steadily. And while standing or kneeling or even lying on the grass, motionless, that is when I begin to hear all of the sounds of minutiae. (Can I use the word minutiae in that way? . . . Well, I just did.)

First, I notice how incredibly loud the wind is, especially when I want it to die down so the swaying peony will stop its dance and hold still so I can take its portrait. But wind can be really loud. And of course all of the bushes and leafy branches are twirling about. Even the grasses I am resting upon are brushing against each other and sound like the swishing on a snare drum. Then I start to listen closely – do I hear the wind itself or only that which is tossed about by the wind’s movement?

And while I am listening so carefully, I notice all the other noises that I prefer to consciously block. The low hum of a neighbor’s lawn mower, a car engine revving as it passes on a side street, the loud thrumming of a descending airplane heading to a nearby airstrip.

Suddenly I am thankful for the winds’ blustery sounds, glad that its whooshes and whispers let me focus on the sounds in nature.

Eventually I get my photographs, one way or another, or change my plans. There is never a dearth of subjects for me and my camera.

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. She has discovered that when carrying a camera outdoors, she discovers much that hasn’t a lot to do with photography.

Ant, Conqueror of Peony

Ant Conquering the Peony World

Ant Conquering the Peony © 2012 Bo Mackison

There are more things to alarm us than to harm us, and we suffer more often in apprehension than in reality. ~ Seneca

No, this is not my usual kind of photograph. But I sure had a lot of fun getting the ant just so, so that it looked as if it was crawling over the edge of the giant peony world!

I used the infrared filter from Nik Color Effex Pro 4 to change this pink and green garden photo into a sci-fi garden shot.

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. Sometimes a girl (photog) just has to have fun! 🙂

Peony Petals in Eau Claire’s Biennial Showcase

Peony Petals © 2010 Bo Mackison

My abstract botanical photograph, Peony Petals, can currently be seen at the following exhibit:

2010 CONFLUENCE OF ART BIENNIAL
Juried Exhibit

August 16 – October 8

The second juried exhibition at the Eau Claire Regional Arts Center Gallery, the Biennial showcases artists from the Upper Midwest. The Biennial was created as a way to bring a wider range of contemporary artists and art to the Chippewa Valley.

THE OPENING RECEPTION AND AWARDS CEREMONY WILL BE HELD SATURDAY, AUGUST 21, FROM 6 TO 8 p.m. This event is free to the public.

The Eau Claire Regional Arts Center Gallery is located on the main floor of the State Theatre in the historic downtown of Eau Claire, Wisconsin. The art exhibits feature pieces from the finest local and regional artists. Artwork ranges from oil to watercolor, pastel to pen and ink, fiber to glass, tapestry to sculpture, and photography to mixed-media. Artwork is available for sale in the Art Gallery, with 30-40% of the sales benefiting the Eau Claire Regional Arts Center.

The Art Gallery is open Monday through Friday (closed Mondays through the summer) from 9 AM until 4:30 PM and during main stage performances at the State Theatre.

Ecstatic

White Peony with Pink Tear Drop Petal

Ecstacy © 2010 Bo Mackison

Our peony season in Madison has been over for a week, the victim of torrential downpours which soaked the flowers and sent them drooping onto the garden’s earth. So when we took a visit to Racine for a Frank Lloyd Wright Tour this weekend, I was happy to see peonies in full bloom. Lake effect. We were only a mile inland from Lake Michigan and spring was later in coming. The peonies were at their peak.

As we headed up a driveway to one of the homes on the tour, I noticed this peony plant. Each flower was pure white save for a tear-shaped streak of deep pink and a single petal with pink edging. I hadn’t planned on doing any macro photography – not on an architectural tour – but luckily my lenses were in the car. Sherpa was hurrying me more than usual, as the skies were graying and raindrops were splashing around us. But I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to capture this white peony with the unusual pink markings. So we went back to the car for the right equipment and I studied the peonies.

Fifty shots later, and we were back on the tour. But I’m glad I stopped to smell the roses…wait, wrong saying.

Glad I stopped to photograph the peony.

Fancy Peony

Peony at Allen Centennial Gardens in Madison Wisconsin

Peony in White © 2010 Bo Mackison

Frilly, fancy, dressed in her finery, this peony was waiting for me at the exit of the garden. I’d already been shooting over two hours, I’d logged in over 350 photos, half taken in my preferred photography pose. That pose, of course, is me lying on my back or side on the cold, stony ground. (It never seems to work as well – these flower macros – if the garden path is something other than cold and stone.) This evening’s path was mostly  chunky gravel–to add an extra touch of texture-y jabs to my ribs.

So I’d had enough-more than enough-and the sun was close to setting. I was ready to reward myself with a stop at a drive-in on the way home for a cold soda. I’d worked up a thirst. Must have been all that up and down activity – like seventh grade gym class, I swear. But then I had to postpone my departure, as I was stopped still by this huge bush of peonies, all in white splendor.

So out came all the camera equipment I had just packed so securely and carefully.The peony reminded me, a bit, of a bedraggled sheet (should I be calling a peony a bedraggled sheet?) but it does. All swept aside, as if someone had opened their eyes at the first bit of morning light, seen the sun calling out a new day, and literally leapt out of bed.

Well, I spent another twenty minutes taking a few peony photos, and then I left and went to the drive-thru and splurged on my Diet Coke. I’m trying to cut down on that stuff – the more I think about what it must be I’m drinking the more I swear I have to give the stuff up. And I do a fairly good job of avoiding soda at home, especially since I can make sun-green-tea all summer long. But there are times when I must have that Coke product and this evening was one of those evenings.

I have a close up of the center of this peony. I think the center looks as if Dale Chihuly himself had designed all the curlicues and colors. So much detail. Wow! That’s for next time.