Love is the flower you’ve got to let grow
John Lennon
Who doesn’t love flowers? Very few people indeed, I am sure. And by extension, who doesn’t love a flower photo? Of course, no photo can fully convey the beauty, and no scents were ever appreciated through an image.
But nevertheless I hope this selection of flower photos, all taken in my local London suburb of Ealing, will give you a lift. Some are from our own garden (including the fuschia in my feature photo). Others are from the (front) gardens of neighbours and many from the several local parks with which we are blessed. Finally, a few are of flowers bought locally to brighten the house.
For Sofia’s Lens Artists challenge theme of ‘Floral’ I did consider simply editing my recent post about wildflowers in Kensington Gardens. But in the end I couldn’t resist the opportunity to share yet more flowers this week. After all, I think we could all use that lift, and we all need to spread that love. And if you keep your eyes open you may spot some visitors spreading not love but pollen. Which arguably comes to the same thing, because it gives us more flowers!
Taking and editing floral photos
I’ve concentrated here mainly on close-up or macro shots. For instance, with tulips I enjoy poking my lens right into the flower to capture the pattern at its heart. Sofia also asks us to share how we help our flowers to shine through post-editing. Many of these images have been edited in Nik Color Efex Pro to create a softening effect, using a blur vignette, soft focus filter or both. For others, I chose to use a vignette to darken the edges of the frame, or in Photoshop Elements darkened all of the background.
Since quite a few of these shots are squared, I’m also linking them to Becky’s month of Squares for renewal. I’m about to go away for the annual Virtual Tourist meet (in Split and Kotor) so if I’m slow to reply to comments please bear with me!
52 Comments
Annie Berger
I echo Tina’s comment about the color groupings, Sarah, and how one color grouping slowly morphed into the next – just inspired! Can never get enough of flower photos. Keep them coming.
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much Annie, I’m really glad you enjoyed the colour scheming 😊
wetanddustyroads
If I had such pretty fuschia in my garden, I would be sitting outside every day! Thank you so much for the beautiful flower photos Sarah – it brightened my day for sure!
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you, I’m so glad you enjoyed them 😊 We may not sit out every day but when the weather is suitable we certainly love to do so!
Wandering Dawgs
Beautiful collection!
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you 😊
JohnRH
Wow. Beautiful, Sarah. Love the spectrum of floral colors.
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much John, glad you liked them 😊
Wind Kisses
A beautiful palette, Sarah. I love the way your organized them too. Fuchsias are a favorite. They remind me of little ballet dancers.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Donna 😊 I see just what you mean about ballet dancers!
Leya
This is a wonderful gallery, Sarah! A joy to behold!
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much Ann-Christine 😊
grandmisadventures
Beautiful! Just makes me want to lay down in the grass surrounded by all the color and joy 🙂
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you, that sounds like a lovely idea!
rkrontheroad
So much color. The poppy is my favorite, the lone flower looks so graceful.
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks Ruth – I know what you mean, it does look rather graceful 😀
gederedita
great collections
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you 🙂
Leanne Cole
These are wonderful Sarah, love the fuscias, I tried growing some once, but didn’t get very far.
Toonsarah
Thank you Leanne. The credit for growing anything in our garden goes entirely to my husband!
Bernie
I’ve never really done any editing other than size and occasionally light so it was interesting to read about your process. Love that poppy one and I feel you edited the background. They all combine to become this glorious root of colours! Bernie
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you very much. I’ve got into editing quite a lot in recent years, I really enjoy creating different effects. For that poppy I simply darkened the background a bit
norasphotos4u
Gorgeous gallery!
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Nora😀
Egídio
I agree with you 100%. What a magnificent collection!
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much 😊
Monkey's Tale
A beautiful cornucopia of colour! Maggie
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Maggie 🙂
Ingrid
Agree, flowers are uplifting. I do adore them. Beautiful gallery of images and I enjoyed the edits you chose.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Ingrid, I’m so pleased you liked them 🙂
Sofia Alves
Colour organised for more impact and loveliness 😀 These are all stunning, Sarah, I’m glad you decided to share more flowers with us.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Sofia 😊 I’m glad you like the organisation of the images!
thehungrytravellers.blog
Mother Nature is a gifted designer!
Sarah Wilkie
Absolutely!
Sue
Great collection, Sarah!
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Sue 🙂
carabeinsplash
Wow! It was like a walk through a garden! Lovely post Sarah.
Sarah Wilkie
Oh thank you, that’s a lovely thought ☺️
photobyjohnbo
Wonderful gallery, Sarah. That yellow rose composition shows off the delicate nature of those lovely petals.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you John 🙂 Yellow roses are my favourites, much more so than red!
Anne Sandler
Beautiful floral array Sarah. I really like how you captured the light on the bottom middle flower. It shows how delicate the petals are.
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much Anne 😊
Tina Schell
Quite a collection Sarah – enough to brighten anyone’s day! I especially liked the blues and purples and love the way you broke the images into color groupings.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Tina, I’m very glad to have brightened your day 😊
Heyjude
A beautiful rainbow gallery. A joy! Enjoy your trip – I was in Kotor many, many years ago when a girlfriend and I hitched through Europe (1971) when it was still Yugoslavia. Stunning scenery.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Jude – I’m always happy to spread some joy 😊
BeckyB
stunning
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Becky 🙂
Teresa
Some fantastic shots you have here Sarah! Have fun on your Tourist Meet.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Teresa 😀
margaret21
A wonderful gallery.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Margaret 😊