Category Archives: Abstracts

Attempts made to break outside of my engineering mentality

Hello Summer

“Redbud Leaf Abstract”
Heatherwood Summer

As I say goodbye to spring with an abstract, I will welcome in summer with an abstract as well. We have been very fortunate to have had mild weather with adequate moisture this spring, while many parts of the country are in a severe drought and/or are having extremely high temperatures. Heatherwood’s trees, shrubs, and perennials are doing very well. I hope that the moderate weather will continue through the summer, so the new plants will get a chance to become well established.

My thoughts are with others as they face the harsh conditions across the country.

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Goodbye Spring

“Yarrow Abstract”
Heatherwood Spring

Today is the last day of spring. It is time to say goodbye to most of the flowering trees and shrubs and to say hello to the flowering perennials. We still have several shrubs (viburnums and nine-bark) that are in their last stage of bloom plus several hydrangeas that will bloom later this summer. Our perennials are just starting to display their summer glory.

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Macro Stroll

“Japanese Maple Leaf on Phlox”
Heatherwood Winter

I enjoy the little things in the garden. A couple of days ago, I took a short stroll with my macro lens just looking for little things of contrast and interest. I looked down and noticed a single Japanese maple leaf from last year lying across the new growth of the a mound of phlox ground cover. The tips of the maple leaf accentuated the tips of the old and new growth of the phlox.

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Winter Transparency

“Birches and Fence”
Heatherwood Winter

Our garden birches hide our neighbors white fence during most of the year. From December through March, the white ranch-style fence peeks through the branches of the trees. I stand just enjoying the form of the white winter birches, then squint my eyes. A different abstract perspective appears. The background horizontal lines of the fence appear. The natural, slightly curving vertical lines of the birch trees contrast with the hard straight lines of the fence. I contemplate …

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Purple & Green

“Blue Rug Juniper and Woolly Thyme”
Heatherwood Japanese Garden

Many times I walk through our garden with my camera focusing on a simple objective. Contrasting colors and textures in our winter garden was my photographic theme during this day’s garden stroll. I consider our Heatherwood garden as one big experiment. This little vignette is the result of two seasons growth of a creeping juniper and a soft-textured thyme. It provides a tight contrasting ground cover in our Japanese influenced garden. More thyme has been ordered for this year’s planting project to provide additional interesting ground cover for the garden.

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Color Mixture

“Ajuga et al”
Heatherwood Winter

Every stroll through our Heatherwood garden presents little “treats” of joy. The above image is from a shady part of our Japanese garden.

Nature’s Cycle

New and old mix together,
From decay, emerges new,
Another season ahead.

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Winter Beauty – 4

“Foggy Sunrise”
Heatherwood Winter

Fog and early morning sunlight create a wonderful ethereal scene. Layers of fog and low lying clouds cover the valley below our home. The distant hills provide a dark hazy background silhouette in the middle. More low lying clouds obscure the Selah-Yakima gap and additional cloud layers cover the morning sky. Winter sunrises and sunsets are a special gift to start and end a day.

Many may think that the above image could be an abstract painting. It is not. The image is straight from my camera with only a very small amount of contrast added. Magic happens!

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In Search Of …

“Winter Grass”
Heatherwood Meadow

Recently I have let myself become a little trapped into a photographic rut. Most of my work has been focused on recording what I see. At times the result has been “pretty pictures” that have not portrayed my real feelings behind what I see. I am in a state of being in search of what it takes to create a compelling image that is unique and reflects my feelings behind it.

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