FAVE: Under the ocean in Fiji

Thanks to my friend, Jeff, for forwarding this link to me. Turn your sound up, sit back, and marvel! (Then tell me it doesn’t make you want to learn to scuba dive.)

Save the date and mark your calendars for Garden Muse: A Botanical Portfolio

My photography exhibit, titled “Garden Muse: A Botanical Portfolio,” will be at the Horticulture Center at Green Spring Gardens in Alexandria, Virginia. It runs February 28-April 29, 2012, so there’s plenty of time to come see it if you’re in the Virginia/D.C. area or are planning to visit this spring.

My reception is Sunday, April 15. So set aside your taxes (if you’re not already done with them at that point!) and come join me at the reception from 1-3 p.m. for some mingling, appetizers and refreshments.

All images will be for sale and 15% of proceeds will go to Green Spring Gardens. I will be preparing a complete gallery of images from the show in late spring. Framed images and matted-only images will be available for purchase after the show as well. Contact me at dyerdesign@aol.com for sizes and pricing.

The website below was done by my friend and fellow graphic designer, Sonya Mendeke. For more info, visit http://smendeke.com/.

For those of you who live too far to attend but would like a sneak preview
of just some of the images in the show, visit my “virtual exhibit” at 

http://www.gardenmuseshow.com/

FAVE: Bruce Munro’s “Field of Light” projects

I just discovered Bruce Munro‘s lighting art through French gardener Delphine’s blog here. While all of his work is amazing, his outdoor and garden installations are breathtaking! Learn more about Field of Light® here and see more photos of installations here.

Sue’s spectacular sunrise

On our last night on the long road from San Antonio to Virginia, we spent the night with our friends, Sue and Steve, in Huntsville, AL. We arrived at Sue’s house at almost midnight and set the alarm to get up by 6:30. I really didn’t want to get out of that comfortable bed, but when I caught a glimpse of this gorgeous pink and yellow sunrise from the guest room window, I was propelled out of bed to get this shot. Who needs sleep when there are scenes to record like this?

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Lake Lavon in Texas

I shot this image of a part of Lake Lavon as we were leaving my younger sister’s home in Wylie, TX on Tuesday morning, en route from San Antonio back to Virginia. Despite recent rains, the lake is still 12 feet below normal. At its deepest, the lake is only 40-45 feet deep. The North Texas Municipal Water District (NTMWD) receives raw water supplies from Lavon Lake, Jim Chapman Lake, Lake Texoma, Lake Tawakoni, and Lake Bonham for treatment and distribution to the region served. The North Texas Municipal Water District serves hundreds of thousands of North Texans. Learn more about the effects of drought on Lake Lavon here.

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Re-post: Rhymes with orange

Originally posted January 30, 2009

For several months now I’ve been trying to catalog my images better, bit by bit (there are thousands and thousands of photos). While organizing my garden photos folder I noticed that I have a plethora of orange-hued flowers so I put together this collage of all things orange-ish to brighten your winter day.

Tangerine. Coral. Day-glow orange. Push-up popsicle orange. Sunset. Pumpkin. 70s shag carpet orange (I did window display at a department store while in college and there was multi-shaded orange shag carpet in each window. Do you know how hard it is to design around that color scheme? I covered it up every chance I got—with a decorating budget of zilch, unfortunately. I asked for $5 once for a huge set of markers and my boss freaked out).

Orange peel. Safety orange. Salmon (did you know that the “l” in salmon is silent? The correct pronunciation is “sam-uhn.” Don’t believe me? Click here).

Frou-frou-big-bowed-bridesmaid-dress-apricot (yes, I had to wear one once upon a time).

Carrot. Persimmon. Vermilion. Orange-red. Rusty can orange. Burnt orange. Tomato. Panama Brown orange (the color Dad insists his old diesel VW Rabbit was—sorry, Dad, it was orange).

After a week of designing at the computer in a cold basement, pausing only to look out at winter gray skies (save for that remarkable sunset on Wednesday), I needed a jolt of color to inspire me. What better color than orange?

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Repost: Photographs? Well, not technically.

Originally posted 1.28.2010 and 1.28.2011

A few years ago I dabbled in scanning flowers on my Epson flatbed scanner and got some pretty good results. The technique works best if you can cover the flower arrangement with a dark piece of fabric or black cardboard. While the original images were nice “record” shots of my flowers, I wanted to do something more with them. I ran the scanned images through some artsy Photoshop filters to give them a romantic, soft-focus glowy look. So there you have it…photographs without a camera!

Not long after I toyed with the process, I saw an exhibit of photographer Robert Creamer’s images at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. These large-scale works were amazing! He scanned all sorts of things—dead birds, flowers, fruit, bones, and more. You can read more about his Smithsonian exhibit here and see more of his work on his website here. Watch the video here for a demonstration of his setup.

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

You are cordially invited to Garden Muse: A Botanical Portfolio

Mark your calendar! My first exhibit in umpteen years will run from Tuesday, February 28 until Sunday, April 29, 2012. The show will be on the ramp in the Horticulture Center at Green Spring Gardens in Alexandria, Virginia. I’ll be hanging the show on the morning of February 27 but I’m making the official start date as February 28. The show will be dismantled on the morning of April 30, so my end date is April 29.

The show reception will be held from 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, April 15, 2012 in the Horticulture Center. Appetizers and beverages will be prepared by Barbara Kelley of Kelley Hospitality (also known as the Sneeze Guard Heiress).

Artwork will be available for purchase (both matted and framed as well as matted and ready to frame by you!).

I’ll be re-posting this announcement regularly as a reminder to mark your calendars and will include updates and additional information leading up to the big event. If you can’t join me for the reception, you have two months (that’s a lot of days!) to get over to Green Spring Gardens to see the show.

For those of you who don’t live nearby and can’t make it, I’ll be preparing an online “virtual gallery” so you can experience the show from afar, so stay tuned. Thank you to everyone for your support!

Austin sky

I know I’ve said it, but I’ll say it again (and again): Texas (at least for this cloud-crazed photographer) remains undefeated for stellar sky displays, hands down. There’s an amazing show virtually every day!

Photographed overlooking downtown Austin, 1.04.2012

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Chinese Maple leaf canopy

While preparing for my March/April 2012 solo photography exhibit at Green Spring Gardens, I stumbled across this image I captured at Garvan Woodland Gardens a few years ago. I was on a road trip with my friend, Sue, and we visited her Aunt Gaye in Little Rock, AR. I’m considering this image for a 12×12 print for the show.

Mark your calendars for March-April 2012 for my exhibit!
This will be my first art exhibit since college days (way back when!), so I’m very excited. The exhibit will be in the Horticulture Center in the park. The reception isn’t until Sunday, April 15, from 1-3 p.m., but the show runs all of March and April, so if you’re in the area, that’s ample time to stop by and see the show if you live nearby or plan to be in the Washington, D.C. / Northern Virginia area during that time!

Green Spring Gardens is conveniently located off of 395, at 4603 Green Spring Road in Alexandria, VA 22312. The Horticulture Center is open weekdays from  9 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. and Sundays from 12 – 4:30 p.m. Parking is free and the park closes at dusk.

All works will be for sale, with a portion of proceeds going to Green Spring Gardens. I also plan to have unframed and matted images available for sale during the reception. The show consists of 12×12 images, 12×18 images and 8×12 images, all matted and framed for the show. I’ll also have more than a dozen gallery wrap canvas transfer images (a very contemporary look with no framing needed!), ranging in size from 12×18 to 20×30.

The show includes a great deal of images I’ve shot at Green Spring Gardens, as well as images from Butchart Gardens in Victoria, B.C., Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden in Virginia, Brookside Gardens in Maryland, Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens in Washington, D.C., McKee-Beshers Wildlife Management Area in Maryland, Garvan Woodland Gardens, Atlanta Botanical Garden, and in my own front and backyard gardens.

Stay tuned to this blog for an announcement of my show website with more details and a sneak preview of some of the images that will be featured. The website will also include ordering information if you’d like to purchase an image (whether matted/framed or matted/ready to frame) but can’t come see the show in person.

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Self-portrait, Texas sky

Photograph taken near the town of Poth in Wilson County, Texas

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Bowtie sky

Originally posted 3.31.2009. While preparing for my photography exhibit, I came across this photo in my archives and thought I’d share it again. This image was shot off of I-95, just a few miles from home. As my regular visitors may have noticed, I am quite fond of photographing skies. Images like this are the reason that I always carry a Nikon Coolpix with me. I can’t always carry my pro gear on my daily jaunts, but the quality I get from this point-n-shoot is great!

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.