March Marches Into Rainbow Creek With Spring!
Let the Class Begin!
Welcome to our Discovery Station at Kates Cabin Bird Sanctuary on Rainbow Creek, deep in the Heart of Texas. Here is little Casper to Welcome You today. Our photostudy today is on the Tulip Magnolia Tree. The flowers appear before the leaves on dark bare stalks that looked dead last week. Alas, they are very Alive!
First a small fuzzy tip appears.
It gets fatter everyday!
It is waiting until the weather conditions are right before it opens.
Soon the fat fuzzy tip pops open to reveal a deep purple tone.
Soon the fuzzy casing gives way to the expanding bloom.
This is how they look right above my head, popping open to the Sun.
The bloom unfolds to at least 5 times the size of the fuzzy tip.
This tree loves to grow in the shade of larger trees, an understory tree.
They are small 20 to 30 feet. I have seen some much larger ones in the wild north of here.
Light Pink is the color seen mostly around Houston in the old growth gardens. I love this magenta.
Slowly it gently opens,
As if it were dancing in the sun!
Silly Rabbit, Trees do not dance as they have roots that hold them in the ground.
But their limbs can blow on the breeze,
As the mystery inside is revealed.
Let me pull this down so you can see inside.
This is what the bee is looking for.
The bees have to walk around the center to pollinate the flower to make seeds for next season. A plants main purpose in life is to flower and make seeds.
Here is a bee's eye view!
As I do not write out too many photography tips for you, I prefer to show you by example how to take many shots of your subject. As I donate photos to a Discover Life Site, I have learned they want to see all stages of growth. As from fuzzy tip to beautiful full flower bloom.
I have found that by shooting many shots from different angles and then reviewing them on computer, you begin to train yourself and your mind's eye on what looks good to you. (I am referring to the use of the point and shoot digital cameras, the lightweight portable tools) The set up is different with the larger cameras which usually are on tripod.
Class, I encourage you all to photodocument the world around you and share it with us. There are so many cameras available worldwide now. And so many World Class Instructors like my friend, Doug Box.
He travels the globe to teach people how to get better photos with the camera. And people of the world come to his Texas Studios just to learn his way. (Doug Box will be having classes at Kates Cabin also, this spring and summer.) He has shown me the Value of a Photograph. They are quite simply one of your memories recorded in time in a format you can see with your eyes. And other people forever can see your memories also. As a song, by sound alone can trigger emotional response so to can the sight of a photograph.
It is possible to capture beauty in the camera and to feel it each time you happen across it again.
It is possible to share this feeling about the beauty of Life on Earth with Everyone in the World.
Get your camera out and go shoot. This concludes our photostudy for today.
Goodnight King and Goodnight Kate!
..................this is brendasue signing off from Rainbow Creek
And Goodnight Everyone, Everywhere!
Goodnight Kay Lonnie.
katescabin@gmail.com
dougbox@aol.com
Brendasue Watson of Kates Cabin
P O Box 743
Hempstead, Texas 77445
