Search This Blog

Echinacea Purpurea at the Getty Center Gardens

Photo of a coneflower Echinacea purpurea
The central gardens at the Getty Center in Los Angeles were designed by artist Robert Irwin. (Getty Center The Central Garden) Irwin who conceived of the palette and structural layout worked with landscape design firm Spurlock Poirier to pull off this spectacular garden. The buildings, by the way, were designed by architect Richard Meier.


Visiting the Getty is as much an outing to be in awe of the architecture and the gardens as it to be in awe of art. To tell you the truth, I personally get more out of the buildings and the gardens than I do of the art. The art, of course, is highly specialized since John Paul Getty collected "antiquities". However, the Getty is building a substantial photographic collection currently and always has a large photographic exhibition running, and the "current exhibitions" are typically not focused on antiquities and are very compelling.


The photo of a coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) was taken on my recent visit there. The garden was in full-bloom and if you've never been and live in the LA area or will be visiting, the Getty Center is well-worth the visit in so many respects.
Canon EOS 20D
18-55mm lens at 55mm
1/40 sec at f/9
ISO 400

Comments

Most popular posts in the last 30 days

Pink Bromeliad #4 aechmea fasciata

Pink Bromeliad (aechmea fasciata) This beautiful bromeliad is flowering in a pot on my patio at the moment. I guess it must like my garden. I had it sitting under some trees in a pretty shady but bright spot for most of the last year since one of my neighbors moved and gave it to me. Once I saw all the blooms coming I moved it into the sun while it puts on its show. Its common name is urn plant or urn flower, and its botanical name is bromeliad aechmea fasciata. These plants are related to the pineapple, did you know? Please feel free to post any comments.

What is Bokeh?

Columbine at the Huntington Library gardens, shot at f/4.5 to throw the background into bokeh. © John Corney A photograph I took of columbines at the Huntington Library gardens recently has such a beautiful bokeh effect that I thought I'd use it as an excuse to talk about bokeh today — what it is, where the word comes from, and how to get it in your own photographs. What Bokeh Actually Is The word bokeh comes from the Japanese word boke (暈け), meaning "blurred" or "haze." It started being used by photographers in the late 1990s to describe specifically the quality of the out-of-focus areas of a photograph — not just the fact that the background is blurred, but how aesthetically the blurring is rendered. Good bokeh is creamy, smooth, and pleasing. Bad bokeh is harsh, distracting, or busy. Two lenses can produce the same depth of field but very different bokeh. It's pronounc...

National Wildlife Federation 2010 Photo Contest Submission

I have finally finished selecting and submitting my entries for this year's National Wildlife Federation photo contest. I submitted 25 entries in total in the mammals, birds, other wildlife, and plant categories. I put together this video presentation of my entries which can be viewed in HD  here at YouTube . Below is a low-definition version. If you'd like to join in the fun and submit your own entries, you have until July 6th to do so. Here's a link to the competition website .

Waterlily

Waterlily - Toned (c) John Corney 2009 Waterlily rendered in black and white with yellow split-toning. Subscribe by email Your subscription will begin only after you activate it by responding to the email you will receive from "FeedBurner Email Subscriptions" immediately after submitting this request. If you do not see the email within the next minute, please check your spam folder.

Bryce Canyon Rock Warrior

While walking back up from the bottom of the Queen's Garden Trail back to Sunrise Point I noticed that in this rock formation I could make out the face of a Mayan or Aztec warrior chief. If you click on this image and look just below the center of the bigger image hopefully you'll be able to make him out. He has a big nose and a high headdress. It was a pretty amazing sight. I wonder if other people have ever picked this out. I think a lot relied on the shadows that were being cast at the time by the sun. Perhaps it doesn't look like a warrior if the shadows aren't just right. Bryce Canyon National Park website