Tulips

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Nikon D850 with Nikkor 105mm micro lens

Alliums

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Feed me, Seymour!

This one is, well, um, interesting. It’s got a Little Shop of Horrors “Feed me, Seymour” vibe. I’ll capture it fully unfurled and see if its demeanor changes.

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Parrot tulips blooming in my new flower bed

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Stack ‘o butterflies

I think the top and bottom ones might be Clouded Sulphurs, middle one is a Variegated Fritillary; feasting on Purple coneflowers (with purple Lantana in the background)

Nikon D850, Nikkor 105mm micro lens, 1/250 sec, f/14, ISO 400

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Honeybees on white asters

Honeybees on white asters (iPhone 8Plus, Camera+ 2 app in macro mode)

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Camellia japonica ‘Jerry Hill’

Jerry Hill Camellia (iPhone 8Plus, Camera+2 app in macro mode)

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

FREE MINI-MAG! Photography in the Garden

In this mini-magazine, I share my tips and tricks for photographing your garden in its best light, whether you’re shooting with a DSLR, point-n-shoot, or smartphone. You’ll learn about composition, harnessing the light, photographic resources, and what’s in my bag. Photographing gardens and the natural world has been enormously rewarding for me. Below are some sample pages from the mini-magazine.

Read your manual, shoot regularly, learn how to process your digital images and above all else, always stay curious!

Click here: Cindy Dyer Garden Photography

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

 

 

 

 

Larkspur

Nikon D850, Nikkor 105mm micro, 1/125, f/10, ISO 200

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

 

In my garden: Bearded iris ‘Superstition’

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

In my garden: Bearded iris ‘Poem of Ecstasy’

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

In my garden: Bearded iris ‘Poem of Ecstasy’

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Japanese Roof iris

Japanese Roof iris, photographed at Green Spring Gardens

Nikon D850 / Nikkor 105mm micro

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

In my garden: Bearded iris

Bearded iris (Nikon D850 / Nikkor 105mm micro lens)

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Bearded iris ‘Megabucks’

Bearded iris ‘Megabucks’, photographed at Green Spring Gardens (Nikon D850 / Nikkor 105mm micro lens)

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Bearded iris

Bearded iris (unknown cultivar), Green Spring Gardens (Nikon D850, Nikkor 105mm micro)

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

In my garden: Bearded iris

Bearded iris (unknown cultivar name); Nikon D850 with Nikkor 105mm micro lens. I counted 67 blooms of this color in my garden this morning!

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Bearded iris ‘Megabucks’

Photographed at Green Spring Gardens; Nikon D850 with Nikkor 105mm micro lens

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

In my garden: Bearded iris ‘Edith Wolford’

Bearded iris ‘Edith Wolford’; Nikon D850 with Nikkor 105mm micro lens

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

In my garden: Bearded iris

Bearded iris (unknown cultivar name); Nikon D850 with Nikkor 105mm micro lens

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

In my garden: Bearded iris

Bearded iris (unknown cultivar name); Nikon D850 with Nikkor 105mm micro lens

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

iPhoneography: Lantana

iPhone 7Plus, Camera+ app in macro mode, Snapseed app border

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

 

Osteospermum (Cape daisy)

Osteospermum (Cape daisy), Nikon D850 with Nikkor 105mm micro lens

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Double Late Tulip ‘Orange Princess’

Nikon D850 with Nikkor 105mm micro lens

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

iPhoneography: Orchids

iPhone 7+ with the Camera+ app in macro mode / Snapseed app border

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

iPhoneography: Spring starflowers

These star-shaped, pale blue flowers with grass-like foliage are Spring starflowers (Ipheion uniflorum). This perennial is grown from bulbs and blooms in mid-spring for 3-5 weeks. Originating from Argentina and Uruguay, this plant naturalizes very swiftly, spreading by self-seeding and from bulb offsets. Often used in rock gardens and woodland gardens, they grow just 4-5 inches tall, and are perennials in Zones 6 to 7 (with mulching to protect from frost) and in Zones 8 to 9 without mulching. They can be grown in full sun to part shade, require medium watering, are low maintenance, and tolerate a wide range of soil types.

This image was captured with my iPhone 7 Plus with the Camera+ app in macro mode. Grunge border was added in the Snapseed app.

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

iPhoneography: Genie in a bottle

Some of the tulips yesterday had missing petals, so I was able to photograph an angle that I wouldn’t normally see with a flower. This tulip had one petal missing and the wind blew the other petals together, forming this “genie in a bottle” effect.

This image was shot with my iPhone 7 Plus, and I used the Camera+ app in macro mode. The wind made captures hit or miss at the beginning of the session, so I’m happy I was able to get some shots like this one. I also got some shots with my new D850 and Nikkor 105mm micro lens.

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Bearded iris

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Daffodil and tulips

My first photo with a friend’s new Nikon D850 and my Nikkor 105mm micro lens

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Featured in “Snapshots” e-newsletter!

Here’s Part 1 of my article for Snapshots, an e-newsletter published by Fairfax County Park Authority. I believe Part 2 will debut in the next issue. This article offers tips for photographing with a smart phone in the garden. Thanks to editor Carol Ochs for including me in the publication! If you’re local and want to subscribe, click the link below:

 

https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/e-news

iPhoneography: Saucer magnolia blooms

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved. iPhone 7Plus / Snapseed app borders

Time to get back into the garden with your camera!

It’s that time of the year again. Time for garden photography! Learn my tips for capturing beautiful shots in gardens with Nikon’s Learn & Explore series:

https://www.nikonusa.com/en/learn-and-explore/a/tips-and-techniques/how-to-grow-your-garden-photography-skills.html

Honeybee on ‘Sombrero Adobe Orange’ coneflower

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Butterfly ginger

Butterfly ginger (Hedychium coronarium)

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Skipper on ‘Sombrero Adobe Orange’ coneflower

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Ptilotus Exaltus ‘Joey’

Here’s a shot I got at the rock garden at Green Spring Gardens. Is this not the cutest little plant? It looks like hundreds of little hot pink lipsticks. Each spike is only about 3-4″ tall. It’s a drought tolerant and heat resistant plant from Australia. It’s called Mulla Mulla or Joey Lamb’s Tail (Ptilotus Exaltus ‘Joey’) How’s that for a name?

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

 

 

Bell Agapanthus

Bell Agapanthus (Aganpanthus campanulatus)

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Buffet line: Skippers on Purple coneflower

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Daylily ‘Moonlit Masquerade’

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Eastern Amberwing dragonfly

Going through my dragonfly photo archives and came across this “high key” photo of an Eastern Amberwing dragonfly (Perithemis tenera) perched on a waterlily bud. Amberwings are one of the smaller dragonflies. The depth of field is shallow on its wings, but I like this shot because the body and head is still sharp. The high key/bright sunlight works in this photo, too. Normally I try to shoot on overcast days or use a diffuser—but you can’t really use a diffuser on moving subjects! This was shot at Green Spring Gardens a couple of years ago.

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Female Blue Dasher dragonfly

Female Blue Dasher dragonfly (Pachydiplax longipennis) on Sacred Lotus leaf

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

 

Daring Jumping spider on iris

Daring Jumping spider (Phidippus audax) on an iris (unknown cultivar)

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Shrub Rose ‘Zaide’

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Geranium ‘Roxanne’

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Star of Persia (Allium christophii)

Star of Persia (Allium christophii)

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Japanese iris (unknown cultivar)

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Japanese Water iris (Iris ensata ‘Pin Stripe’)

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

J

Violas

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Larkspur blooms

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Poppy

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.