Friday, April 29, 2011

Magnolia

Waterbury, Connecticut

Spent several hours walking around Waterbury this afternoon, looking for flowering trees to work with. This point when the tree blossoms appear is torture for allergy sufferers, but delightful for picture-making. Because of the Naugatuck River and all the paving in the small city, which all serve as heat sinks to retain solar energy, the seasonal sequence is a good week in advance of my rural location only about ten miles to the west. The magnolias (there aren't a lot) in Woodbury are just coming out yesterday and today, while in the little city they are past peak and dropping petals.

4 comments:

Markus Spring said...

Fine image! I guess this was your "90% of the image ready and wait for something to come along technique" - that the biker wore this blue shirt of course is the best possible addition.

Carl Weese said...

Markus, thanks. This is an example, except that I hadn't had time to wait when the cyclist suddenly appeared. I almost missed him...

Edd Fuller said...

Carl, in the south, Magnolias are large trees with waxy green leaves and white/yellow blossoms the size of teacups, so I was certain that you were mistaken in identifying this tree. But a quick check on Wikipedia saved me from the embarrassment of parading my provincial ignorance across the internet.

It turns out that the Magnolia genera is a large and confusing one which encompasses many very dissimilar species. Thanks for the lesson in botany. Nice picture, by the way.

Carl Weese said...

Edd, I've seen those giant Magnolias down south. I recall first encountering one, a true giant growing in a back yard right in the middle of Richmond, taller than the multi-story surrounding buildings. It was amazing.