Six-spotted Fishing Spider (Dolomedes triton); it’s so hard to get perfect depth-of-field with these tiny subjects, but I’m happy with the overall look of this shot regardless (thanks to my friend Michael Powell for the identification). Re: size—this one was probably about an inch or so long (they can get up to 2.5 inches!). The lily pad was a smaller one.
© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.
The teeniest of frogs—barely a 1/4″—in one of the ponds at Lilypons this morning
© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.
Silver-spotted skipper (Epargyreus clarus) on Pickerel weed (Pontederia cordata)
© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.
Mating Red Milkweed beetles (Tetraopes tetrophthalmus); photographed at Lilypons Water Gardens in Adamstown, MD
© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.
Blackberry lily (Iris domestica, formerly Belamcanda chinensis), also known as Leopard flower or Leopard lily, photographed at Green Spring Gardens. The flowers are typically orange spotted with red, although there are yellow-flowered varieties. The seed pods open in the fall, showing clusters of black seeds whose fancied resemblance to a blackberry gives the plant its common name, “blackberry lily.” The plant is hardy to zone 5 and is propagated by seeds or division.
© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.
© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.
Honeybee headed for a Pineapple lily (Eucomis comosa) at Green Spring Gardens
© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.
‘Towering Orange’ Cosmos—beautiful late afternoon light at Green Spring Gardens
© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.
For Installment #12, in the top two rows we have Bailey Lojek Oliveria (Haleiwa, HI); my sunny friend and HLAA member Carol Halla (Charleston, SC); new friend Jeff Kleinrock (Kensington, MD), son of my friend and HLAA member Joan Kleinrock (he is a landscaper and grew water lilies; he had just bought the stamps and at his mother’s 80th birthday party a few weeks ago, he learned I was the photographer so he came over and introduced himself!); and my high school friend (actually her bed!) Cynthia Cruz Badilla (Alamo, TX).
Next we have my dear friend, HLAA member, and fellow member of H.A.R.P.S. (Honorary Association of the Red Pen Society) Judy Schefcick Martin (Jacksonville, FL) and Laura Pinaud Terrbonne (Jacksonville, FL)—they used the water lilies stamps for their Walk4Hearing kick-off announcements!
Next is my friend and uber-talented musician/singer/songwriter Katy Kinard (Nashville, TN). I met Katy online several years ago when she asked permission to use a landscape photo I shot of my friend Tom Hedstrom’s farm in Orange, VA. She wanted to use it for Lullaby Hymns CD. She later sent me copies of her CDs and I fell in love with her music! You will too—-http://www.katykinard.com. I hope to meet her in person some day soon, photograph her, and interview her for my blog and for my soon-to-debut creativity podcast (stay tuned!).
To Katy’s right is Pat Calelly (Spring, TX), who purchased the framed water lilies special issue. Pat is one great example of how blogging has allowed me to connect with people from all walks of life. When I was just 12 years old, I began studying oil painting with artist Lila Prater in Weslaco, TX. I was the youngest student she had in her studio at the time. I actually reconnected with Lila sometime in the 90s and she was about 92 years old then. She was in an assisted living home and had lost her eyesight. She remembered me and some of the images I painted under her guidance. It was such a treasure to be able to talk to her all those years later and thank her for everything she taught me. After blogging in 2012 about my time painting in her studio, her grandson Pat contacted me! (He commented on the post: Cindy, my name is Pat Calelly. I am Lila Prater’s grandson. I preached her funeral when she passed away but my remarks included recognition of her work as an art teacher and artist in her Weslaco, Texas home. My home is decorated with many of her oils and water colors and I have the sign for her studio as well. Both her daughters were artists as well and although my mother has passed away I have some of her work as well as that of her sister Phyllis Fleming, who is retired in Kerrville, Texas where she is a nationally recognized water color artist.) Pat is now a Facebook friend! You can read about “The Painting Years” here: https://cindydyer.wordpress.com/2011/12/29/the-painting-years-first-florals/
Next, my friend Betty Ferguson recruited yet another stamp collector out in a lovely field of sunflowers—Tammy (Denton, TX). My former roommate and longtime friend Wendy Soloway Paris sent her photo from her home in Shepherdstown, WV. I met Kashan Choy (Alexandria, VA) at the Kenilworth Water Lily & Lotus Festival earlier this month. She purchased stamps and stopped by my table to pose for me. Louise Clarke and Cathie Leighton came to the festival all the way from Median, PA, and had already used many of their stamps! And finally, Jeff & Sue posed with the special dedication poster at the festival.
THE ONES TO BEAT TO WIN A FREE GALLERY-WRAP CANVAS: Sue Cummings Titterington (27), Betty Ferguson (25), Steve Stroupe (14), Kathy Muchemore (7), Judy Schefcick Martin (8), Martha Biz (7), and James F. Williams (5). The contest ends at midnight on December 31, 2015, so start recruiting those stamp selfies!
The Water Lilies Forever stamps were unveiled in a special dedication ceremony on Saturday at Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens. In this photo shot by Mark Saunders (USPS PR Dept.), Dr. Wendy Mcilwain (USPS Southern MD Processing and Distribution Center Manager) and I unveil the stamps before the kick off of the Lotus and Water Lily Festival. It started out rainy and very overcast that morning, but about an hour before showtime, it began to clear. The weather was downright pleasant—not the usual ghastly hot temps of a typical D.C. July day! Thanks to my “entourage” for their physical, emotional and moral support—Debbie Dyer Talbert, Michael Schwehr, Greg Carlton, Michael Powell and Heather Callin.
Insert really cool fact here: The Postal Service typically prints between 20 million and 40 million stamps of an individual subject. Half a billion Water Lilies Forever stamps were printed in anticipation of extreme customer demand. (They usually only print holiday stamps in that large amount.) Mark told me that nearly HALF of the half billion have sold to date! How cool is THAT? So special thanks to all of you who have bought them—makes me look extra good!
Please join me in the next installment of the Traveling Water Lilies Forever Stamps Project by purchasing some stamps, photographing yourself with them, then emailing me at dyerdesign@aol.com with your name, city and state. Recruit the most participants and win a 20×30 gallery wrap canvas of your choice. Contest closes at midnight on December 31, 2015!
Photo © Mark Saunders
A very special thanks to Michael Powell for serving as my co-host during my 20-minute photo presentation! In this photo below, he’s holding a photo of a Lotus seed pod and I’m explaining how I learned that there is an unofficial phobia name for people who have a fear of holes—trypophobia. It is derived from the Greek word trypo, which means having holes that are punched, drilled or bored. It is considered an intense, irrational and often overwhelming fear of clusters of holes.
Michael has a really great nature-photography-related blog; check it out here.
Photo © Debbie Talbert
John Kelly interviewed me about photographing water lilies for his column in today’s edition of the Washington Post. Read his article in the link below.
Now for something really different…when my friend Michael and I were photographing at Kenilworth yesterday morning, the sun finally peeked through right before we were leaving and I saw the waterlily pond looking more like a mirror than water. I positioned myself so that the reflection of the sun was directly beneath this waterlily, which made it look like it was outlined in glowing light and floating on glass. I kind of like it!
© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.
© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.
© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.
Waterlily ‘Pink Sapphire’ at Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens—love the variegated lily pads with burgundy and chartreuse!
© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.
Beetle (unidentified) on Sacred Lotus
© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.
© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.
© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.
© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.
My friend Michael Powell and I took a drive out to Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens this morning to drop off some signage material for the event this Saturday and also to do a little shooting. He said he wanted to find a frog on a lily pad and I found this one for him. We both did some shots until the frog was startled and sank into the abyss. I had my Tamron 180 lens on my Nikon D800 but since there are now wire fences around the water lily ponds, I couldn’t lean in a far as I was inclined to do—hence the more environmental look to this shot (rather than my usual closeups). I kind of like the shadow of the tree functioning as a leading line down to the frog. See my bonus critter? It’s a little guppy/fish at the bottom, right.
Check out Michael’s most excellent nature photography blog here: https://michaelqpowell.wordpress.com/
I love the unusual color contrast with the fall-hued, tie-dyed-look lily pad and the purple and green of this Director George T. Moore waterlily at Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens.
© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.
Thanks to my eagle-eyed cousin, Deanna, who just shared that my water lilies stamps made an appearance on CBS This Morning in a philatelic-themed feature! I missed it the first time I viewed the video (click on the link below). See the former Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe signing a page with the stamps at 3:32! Thanks for sharing, Deanna!
http://www.cbsnews.com/common/video/cbsnews_video.swf
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