I went back to the next to last day of the orchid show yesterday. It was so crowded on Saturday that we made it about a third of the way through and left. Not so bad on a weekday. It was beautifully clear, which created interesting lighting opportunities in the glass walled and ceilinged gallery.
It is striking that something as complex as an orchid can come from a simple, symmetrical bud, or, in this case, a cascade of them. It makes for nice layers.
Orchids come in an astounding variety of shapes, sizes and colors. I'm no botanist (where I grew up the ground cover was cement and asphalt) but I've never seen anything like this. A sign said it was called something like a spider orchid. I don't think of spiders as curly and pink but what do I know. Looks to me roll-up candy.
Orchids share a basic morphology but come in lots of variations. The range at the Botanical Garden's annual show is bewildering. There is an equally wide variety of ways to photograph them. One approach is a trio with shallow depth of field.
A similarly shaped orchid with a different color scheme. I bumped up the saturation and contrast to see what would happen.
I don't know much about orchids other than that they are epiphytes and sometimes look, um, provocative. This looks like the same variety of flower as in yesterday's post, but with shoots and buds that I assume will become new blossoms.
Time for a change. The annual orchid show is nearing the end of its February run at the Missouri Botanical Garden. We wanted to get there in time but, on a clear winter Saturday, it was so crowded as to be unmanageable. The lumbar facet joints were complaining loudly so we got a third of the way through and decided to come back on a weekday - one of the benefits of being old. Still, got some decent images.
A final photo for 2025, one last from Garden Glow. It has been a tumultuous year in this country and I’m not particularly sanguine about the one to come. It’s some comfort, though, to remember how often predictions are wrong. Maybe, like Annie sang, the sun will come out tomorrow. Or maybe not, but I’ll keep observing.
As mentioned, due to family circumstances I need to finish out the year with some last pictures from Garden Glow. The inventiveness of the projections on Tower Grove House always surprises and delights. Someone asked if it was accompanied by narration. Not that, but there is an ever-changing musical score.
Another Garden Glow favorite that changes year to year. Tower Grove House was the home of the wealthy 19th Century merchant, Henry Shaw. He donated the land that became the Missouri Botanical Garden and adjacent Tower Grove Park. The projections on the building constantly change and evolve, and are different every year. Again, I marvel at the technology.
Over the years, my City Daily Photo colleague Steffe has posted a series of beautiful photos of an ancient tree near where he lives outside of Stockholm. The Missouri Botanical Garden has a magnificent, tall specimen (I’m ashamed that I don’t know the species) that is lit in the same way year after year. It looks ghostly, not in tune with the season’s cheery theme. Again, I can’t imagine the work it took to put all those lights up so precisely.
Groups of illuminated trees at Garden Glow. My first association was that they were being consumed by a magical fire. Then I thought they were being attacked by a swarm of radioactive fireflies.
A new display at Garden Glow, a flock (is that the right word for butterflies?) moving through the darkness. The reason for the sort of pretentious title is that, for some of us here, everything sounds better in French.
Much of the attraction at Garden Glow is the swirling, brightly colored lights. There is something to be said, though, for simply pattern. I thought black and white might be the best way to express it.
Another set of lights at Garden Glow. This one throbs with constantly changing colors and patterns. But there is a different way to approach this subject that I will explore tomorrow.
Just after entering Garden Glow at the Missouri Botanical Garden, visitors are led past a curved line of lights toward the Climatron. It is a geodesic dome containing a complex system of landforms and ventilation that replicates four climate zones.
Every year at this time, the Missouri Botanical Garden lights up the place for the holidays. The technology gets more and more amazing. The view here is across what is a reflecting pool in the warm months, changing color and dancing to music. More to come.
