For many years we’ve been taking our summer vacation at my wife’s family cottage west of Ottawa. It’s one of those places that is absolutely magical for me and I feel completely at home there. The cottage is situated alongside a shallow river and the area is home to a massive variety of birds, animals, and insects, and the gardens at the cottage are full of beautiful flowers. It’s a little bit of paradise and I’ve created some of my favorite images while there over the years.
This year was another very productive trip for me. The weather seemed to work out perfectly and I had a great collection of subjects to work with. Here is a gallery of some of my current favorites.
I planted quite a few sunflowers in my flowerbed this year and have been waiting for just the right time to photograph them. It started snowing here this week so I decided that the time had definitely come. I love how sunflowers brighten up the entire yard and how they bring a smile to the face of anyone who sees them. Somehow they just make everyone feel better!
Canada Thistle is an invasive weed that spreads rapidly in open grassland and farm fields. It is considered to be a serious pest and it must be managed carefully to prevent major infestations. It is also very beautiful when it flowers, especially in the glowing morning light. I found these beauties on the side of a grain field and they were just asking to have their portrait made. The morning light was amazing and the sparkling dew on the stalks of the thistle and the surrounding grasses made this a powerful sight to see.
After a long day of rain at the cottage the weather finally broke in the late afternoon. We all rushed outside to get some fresh air and to take advantage of the break from the soggy drizzle that was becoming all too common. I went straight to the flowerbed to make use of the high overcast clouds that provided some beautiful soft light for making closeup and macro images.
Although these Daylilies are growing in the flowerbed, they weren’t planted there. This species was introduced to North America from Asia in the 19th century and now grows wild all over Eastern North America. It is considered to be an invasive species and it is very hard to control or remove once introduced to an area.
Regardless whether they are wild or cultivated, they are extremely beautiful and I could spend hours or even days making images of them!
Although I don’t do it a lot, I really enjoy macro and close-up photography. Most of my subjects are flowers that I buy from the store, so it’s really nice when I have the real thing, live, right outside my door. Something about spring flowers in the garden just makes me feel good and I could spend hours out there making images. Of course if I spend too long then I start to feel guilty about how long the grass is, or how dirty the fence is, or that the garbage needs to go out, or…
