Tag Archives: flowers

Early Spring Flower at the Imperial Palace, Tokyo Japan

Posted on May 25th, 2015 by

Gardens of the Imperial Palace

I had not visited the grounds of the Imperial Palace on my previous trips to Tokyo. The Palace is not a site you can just visit. There are a limited number of tickets and you have to plan in advance which is not exactly my strong suit. I tend to like to go with the flow on trips and when you have an appointment for a site at 10am, you HAVE to be somewhere despite what wonders you find along the way. The East Garden is completely open to the public, but given that I couldn’t see the palace, I never bothered. After my visit, I am sorry this was only my first visit to the gardens. The site is a huge green-space and though I was too early for the cherry blossoms, other flowers were blooming. This flower was perhaps a bee’s paradise!

Early Spring Flower at the Imperial Palace, Tokyo Japan
Early Spring Flower at the Imperial Palace, Tokyo Japan

Photo Technical Info

Indian Bridal Flower Garland in Singapore

Posted on March 26th, 2015 by

Indian Wedding Flowers

In all honestly I had no idea what these garlands were for when I walked past the vendor stall on Buffalo Road in Singapore’s Little India. I did, however, know they were ABSOLUTELY stunning. The smell was perhaps the sweetest part. That many flowers in such a small area was practically overwhelming. The other think I will always remember about this was the bees! The smell not only appealed to me, but also to our little pollinating flying friends. All over the flowers (you can see a few on the white blooms) were hundreds of bees! I didnt want to hang around too long, but I grabbed this photo of these bridal flower garlands before I got stung!

Indian Bridal Flower Garland in Singapore
Indian Bridal Flower Garland in Singapore

Photo Technical Info

Villa Balbianello Pointing Statue

Posted on March 2nd, 2015 by

Traveling for a Photo

I said last week I sometimes travel just for one photo. The great thing is you find so much more along the way, but often singular things capture my imagination and pull me to them with some great unseen force. I saw another rendition of this scene on a travel website when I knew I was going to Milan. I was looking for things in and around the great fashion capitol to do and Lago Como caught my fancy purely BECAUSE of this scene.

Pointing Statue

The statue looks over the most lovely vista at Villa Balbianello and gestures; to the surroundings and almost to the heavens. He seems to say, perhaps here, they are the same. Italy is a long way to travel to see the view of an old statue. I stood in this spot, sat in this spot for hours, the warm sun penetrating the biting cold April Lake Como wind. I thought of all places I have been and seen; I agreed with the statue.

Villa Balbianello Pointing Statue
Villa Balbianello Pointing Statue

Photo Technical Info

Wild Flowers on the Shores of Oahu

Posted on August 7th, 2014 by

Incredible Diversity

One of the things I absolutely love about Hawaii is its incredible diversity. It is a CRAZY melting pot of people from all over the world who seek paradise, but I am talking about the landscape. From rocky shores to sandy beaches (and every color imaginable), from forests to mountains, from tundra to big city speed, Hawaii seemingly has it ALL! On a hike to the western tip of Oahu and Ka’Ena Point where I found a cool/weird lighthouse beacon I noticed there wild flowers along the shore. They reminded me of the wild flowers that grow on the fields of Missouri, despite the roar of the Pacific Ocean in the background.

Wild Flowers on the Shores of Oahu
Wild Flowers on the Shores of Oahu

Photo Technical Info

Ferry Plaza Farmers Market Flowers

Posted on January 23rd, 2014 by

Farmer’s Market

I love a good farmer’s market. When visiting a new place, I often seek them out as you can’t help but get the best food, local crafts and fresh fruits you don’t normally get to try! Plus the people watching is fantastic as you sip a cup of locally grown coffee and nibble of a small sweet treat.

Colorful Flowers

I love flowers, but I have to say I don’t think I have EVER see so many cut flowers in one place as were at the Farmer’s Market in San Francisco. Enjoy the color!

Ferry Plaza Farmers Market Flowers
Ferry Plaza Farmers Market Flowers by W. Brian Duncan

Lost Winter Rose

Posted on December 19th, 2013 by

Losing Details

I have said it before, but I have a tendency to forget details. I come home with a lot of shots of big buildings, but I often reminisce about things that stand out to me during a trip, only to realize I didn’t photograph them at all. Perhaps I am too caught up in the moment or the spectacle. Going forward I will be actively trying to remember to photograph things, even when these are people who do not want to be photographed. They should be remembered if only by me.

Frozen Beauty

I found this rose in the middle of winter by Cathédrale Saint-Pierre. It was lost in the snow, a forgotten mishap…something that broke, or wasn’t supposed to be, but it was there for me to see. I still recall finding it, one of those little unexpected joys to brighten your day. A beautiful frozen rose in the dead of winter in Switzerland. Perfection!

Lost Winter Rose
Lost Winter Rose by W. Brian Duncan

Budding Tree in Japan

Posted on December 2nd, 2013 by

Convergence

I was walking through Shinjuku Garden one cloudy fall day when I found ALL of the photographers in the park. Keep in mind this is a very big and absolutely beautiful park, but everyone with a camera was around this tree. There were literally people runny to hurry up and get to it before me…though I really was never sure why. When I got home, the bokeh reminded me of a Claude Monet painting so, though this photo doesn’t have enough blue to be a water lily, it was most definitely inspired by them.

Budding Tree in Japan
Budding Tree in Japan by W. Brian Duncan

Hawaiian Sunflower

Posted on August 8th, 2013 by

Sunshine

A simple photo for today, but sometimes the most potent beauty can be discovered in simplicity. This simple sunflower was in a bucket at the O’ahu Saturday Farmers’ Market at Kapiolani Community College. There wasn’t any fanfare. It’s just a simple flower, but, there is also an exquisite beauty in its form. Just look at it. No. Really look at it. How can a thing be more perfect. A sunflower in the Hawaiian sun.

HDR Photography
Hawaiian Sunflower by W. Brian Duncan

Floralis Generica

Posted on June 17th, 2013 by

Big Robots

This was a treat for me. One of the main reasons I went to Buenos Aires was to see the sculpture Floralis Genérica. That sounds a bit odd and it wasn’t the ONLY reason I went. When you see the photos of where I stayed you will see some of the other reasons. It was, well, a mansion! That is a subject for another post. I saw a photo of Floralis Genérica and knew I wanted to see it in person as soon as someone explained it moved with the sun. Yes, it is a massive robot, that opens and closes like a real flower. It follows the sun during the day a and opens and closes its petals. AMAZING!

End of an Era

Last Thrusday Pamela and I had to say goodbye to our beloved cat Kennedy. He was a character. Among other things Mr. Kennedy T. Cat was CCO (Chief Cat Officer) in our businesses, a position that will be nearly impossible to replace. Pamela and I have been doing ok with now only sporadic bouts of sadness. We have both really appreciated everyone’s thoughts and prayers. I think Pamela told Kennedy’s last story better than I ever could. Kennedy would have wanted to either eat or poop on the flower below…perhaps both.

HDR Photography
Floralis Generica by W. Brian Duncan

Roses on the Streets of Paris

Posted on August 16th, 2012 by

Les Fleurs

Walking down Rue Cler in Pairs, there are quite a number of shops that have wonderful little surprises sitting on the sidewalk for you to explore. This is one such vendor that had a bucket of roses in a multitude of colors. The funny thing is a really wanted to do this one in black and white despite all the wonderful color. I usually saturate the bee-Jesus out of my photographs, but for some reason I felt like exploring the texture and tones in this photo. I always feel like a need to do more black and white, I just get caught up in my love of color.

Technials

This is a three shot (-2, 0, +2) HDR, combined in Photomatix enhanced in Lightroom. I then exported to Photoshop and use Nik (color efx pro, and silver efx) I then saved and did all the finish work in Lightroom.

HDR Photography
Roses on the Streets of Paris by W. Brian Duncan