There were columbine flowers in every color of the spectrum at Longwood,but 15 mph winds caused problems in the higher plants,so this group low to the ground was a perfect choice to avoid blur and they were a pleasant composition to boot.

A tower like structure can  be seen beyond the tulip garden at Longwood.

This is a good example of seeing beyond the basics and trying for something a little more visually appealing. The bottom image is what I saw driving by and the colorful tree made me stop and inquire if I could walk in the yard for a photo. I thought the blue bells contrasted perfectly with the pink tree,and I knew getting in low and close to the blue bells would make them a nice strong foreground element and you can clearly see what camera angles can do to improve a shot.I think the photo is nicely balanced and is a new favorite of mine from this spring, and special thanks to the family that left me onto the yard in the first place.

Handheld at a slow shutter speed and quickly panned created this blur of floral color. Basically just goofing around.

I never write down what the names of flowers are,but I liked the subtle pastel look of these among the bell-shaped flowers.

I will be sharing some shots in the coming days from spring at Longwood Gardens. I have not shot flowers for a couple years,so it was a nice change to see the beautiful displays at Longwood.

These purple flowers are supposedly some species of invasive and yes we have them at our house as well, but this field looked lovely with loads of them in bloom. you have to get just the right angle to see their color at its best and a polarizer helped with the capture. I am sure they will soon get tilled under in preparation for the first crop planting.

I have taken shots of Amish clothes hanging out on wash day before but the way these were hung like a color wheel really caught me eye. Not sure if there is a logical reason to hang them like this but I thought it looked great.

This young Amish boy gets the royal treatment as his two sisters pull him down the back roads around Intercourse,Pa. He turned to look back at me for a short period which was perfect and I even got a shot of his mother smiling at me in another shot.

This is a shot taken at the local Historical society with the currently blooming tulips. The layout makes it tough to get the old clock in this shot but I gave it a go anyway.

I went for a bike ride yesterday and I came down this street and the sun was shining on the front of these homes. I liked the light so I rode home and got my gear and headed out here. I set up my tripod on the sidewalk across the street and composed the shot and then went and sat in my truck to use my tablet to operate the camera while the light changed. Now here is where the story takes a crazy turn. I decided in the end I wanted to shoot till it was dark in the hopes of getting some lights on in some of the homes, and because of that I ended up being here for an hour and a half. Just as it was getting dark,three police cars come pulling in where I was parked and I thought you got to be kidding. Turns out some woman who lives nearby thought there was something fishy about a camera set up and a person sitting in a truck. The officer came up to me and could not have been nicer and said hey someone called and we can see your legit but we have to check anyway. Thankfully he was very understanding and to be honest after 30 years of being a photographer I have had occasion where people try to tell me what they think I can and cannot shoot and I usually stand my ground when these situations present themselves and this officer was as respectful as any I have ever encountered and I thanked him for that. People are so paranoid these days,even the most basic things get misconstrued and it ended up another classic story for my archives.

It has been a while since I actually felt like shooting something but last night I decided to head out to do a rainy reflection shot. Between constant battles of depression and stress that both suck the creativity out of me, Lately I have been in a real funk and it felt good to get out and shoot something for my own pleasure. I have shot this place before and wanted to do something that included the barn and the illuminated cupolas and the wet road seemed the perfect opportunity to do that. I was hoping for a gorgeous sunset to light up the sky but the stormy clouds work too.