Giants in the forest

**Wicked Dark** · 07-11-2011, 12:54 PM

Finally the giant rhododendron is blooming. I'd previously checked it 4 times before finding it today in all its glory. The bumble bees were buzzing around like mad and the early morning light breaking through the canopy was perfect. Makes getting up early to bring my husband to the airport worth it.

This first one I processed in color because that sweet, morning light picked up the subtle color of the flowers so perfectly. Otherwise I had B&W in mind for most of them.

Lucky for me the wind was almost non-existent, but I wish my tripod went higher because a lot of drama looked to be way overhead.

Am still processing, but these are two that don't suck.

**Hillbillygirl** · 07-11-2011, 12:58 PM

Love these two shots WD, and looking forward to seeing more.

**Wicked Dark** · 07-11-2011, 02:11 PM

Thanks girl.
As much as I'd been intending to process most of these in B&W, the tender blush in this one made me change my mind. The morning light just knocked me out.

**Lizardqing** · 07-11-2011, 04:54 PM

Nice shots. Interesting to see the difference in the ones we have here, such as ours don't have the cool looking pattern on the top petal. Wish they did though, that makes them even more interesting!

**Mad Aussie** · 07-11-2011, 06:25 PM

Great capture!

Seriously though ... I really like the 2nd shot. There's something about the detail retained in the whites that appeals to me.

**Matt K.** · 07-11-2011, 07:32 PM

Love the B&W shot. Especially since it is showing detail in the white; if i had taken these images, the whites would have been blown out for sure. Great job, and really nice processing.

**Wicked Dark** · 07-11-2011, 08:05 PM

thanks guys.

The light was truly scrumptious this morning and so I think that helped a lot. Plus I've been going back, and back, and back, and back to this grove with ideas.

**Iguanasan** · 07-11-2011, 09:04 PM

I love colour and so I'm not generally a fan of black and white images, especially flowers, but there is something special about that second shot. I love it!