I love how the purples come through on the edge-lines in this photo of an agave plant. The effect was mostly achieved by color-burning. index.html agave_2762 Agave at the Huntington Library Desert Garden in San Marino, CA. When visiting the Los Angeles area, if you love gardens, then this is a great place to visit. There are gardens from all regions of the world. index.html agave_2 Agave at the Huntington Library Desert Garden in San Marino, CA with gray hues emphasised. When visiting the Los Angeles area, if you love gardens, then this is a great place to visit. There are gardens from all regions of the world. index.html agave_gray If you like dark and moody photos, then this one should appeal to you. It really looks nice printed. index.html agave_3 The flower stalk of a succulent makes for a very sculptural photographic effect. index.html succulent_flower_stalk_3052 A hosta leaf with drops of water. index.html hosta_leaf_9944 A hosta leaf with drops of water in black and white. index.html hosta_leaf_9944_bw This cypress bonsai tree can be seen at the Japanese gardens at the Huntington Library in San Marino, CA, close to Pasadena. I used an "orton" effect here, which in traditional photography is a double exposure intended to cause slight blurring. index.html bonsai_orton_effect_2813 Sepia is one of the traditional photographic tones. Not quite black and white, but prior to the invention of color photography it was actually a black and white photo. After creating the sepia image I brought back the green of the pine tree to give it focus and add interest to the photo. The sepia works well on the old wooden fence in the background I think. index.html bonsai_2813 Agave and Cactus at the Huntington Library desert gardens in San Marino, CA. The purple tones make for a very moody photographic effect. index.html agave_and_cactus_1 The same photo with a brighter look and emphasis on the greens and yellows. index.html agave_and_cactus_2 I like to go to the Getty Center as much for the gardens and architecture as for the art. Here is a photo of some reeds in the gardens. The Getty Center is a "must see" if you are visiting Los Angeles. index.html reeds_9843 Dead and dormant trees and shrubs in the desert make for great photographic subjects. For a start they have so often been sculptured by the elements revealing interesting contorsions of branches and wonderful wood grain. This shrub in Anza-Borrego desert caught my eye. I presumed at forst ot was dead, but in the desert this is survival tactics. index.html dormant_shrub_9502 A warm gray version of this dormant shrub at Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, CA. index.html dormant_shrub_warm_grey_9502 You don't want to mess with the cholla. It's barbs are incredibly sharp, and there's no pulling them out. It's so vicious that it's nickname is "widow's cactus". index.html cholla_cactus_9680 This is a photo of a king palm in my backyard taken at night. For each of the last three years this and one other of my king palms has flowered and then a year later the fruit turns red before dropping. I'm not sure what you really call the fruit - they don't look anything like a date. I've noticed that several of the fruit that have fallen to the ground have sprouted and little palms are growing. The long filaments in the top right corner are actually this year's flower. Within a few days that will be open and covered with bees. I have a spot light on the palm and at night (when this was taken) it's a beautiful sight in out on my patio. index.html king_palm_berries