It’s wonderful to be back—if only for a brief while—in the flowering springtime of northern California. It’s always hard for me to resist spending some time photographing flowers, and today was no exception!

Tulips and a Clematis Vine © Harold Davis

This is the magnolia branch I brought home and used for macro photography practice in an image I showed earlier.

The Whole Magnolia Branch © Harold Davis

Composition of the entire branch was a bit of a challenge, and I’m glad I got this done and archived, because I won’t see my production machine for about a month—and by then my attention undoubtedly will be taken up by other subjects.

Wandering the paths and stairways of the Berkeley hills, I came upon a gardener shaping a venerable flowering magnolia tree. A largish branch lay on the ground. I asked if I could take it, and carried it home.

Magnolia Blossom © Harold Davis

Generally, these flowers are hard to capture at the macro level outdoors because they tend to be high up, and are in motion in the slightest breeze. But indoors was a different story! I also enjoyed capturing the entire pattern of the branch on a black velvet background. The broader image will help provide a context, and I plan to process a sequence later today if I have time after packing before I leave for Vietnam.

Cherry Branches for a wet and windy weekend! Phyllis brought these back from a neighborhood tree, and I photographed them using high-key HDR on a light box, then combined the images in Photoshop, and added a background. I hope you enjoy my image!

Cherry Branches © Harold Davis

For some other cherry blossom images click on these stories: Cherry Blossoms; Cherry Blossom Special; and Cherry Blossoms on Skin. Searching my blog for “cherry” yields quite a few additional entries! Clearly a wet, early spring in Berkeley is a great time to photograph cherry blossoms, as I have done across a number of years.

Flowers in all their finery are often symbolic of the best our world has to offer. That is to say, flowers can serve to represent the entire natural world that surrounds us and that we are part of.  In a more metaphorical way, flowers can represent the blessings of peace, of harmony in fellowship, and even romantic love. 

Fancy Tulip © Harold Davis

It’s easy then to forget that flowers can be also symbolic of war, and the forces of evil and chaos that so often threatens what we build. Looking closely at this fancy tulip, I can see both viewpoints, and a world tottering at the tipping point. Flower, please forgive me if I’ve read too much meaning (and too much chaos) into a fragile and ephemeral blossom!

It’s a little early for Valentine’s Day, but I though this yellow daffy on a bed of mauve roses says it in a kind of understated way!

Daffodil on a Bed of Roses © Harold Davis