My mother gifted Jay & I with a one year membership to Longwood Gardens. Wanting to see the Christmas display, we made the drive yesterday. The weather was cold, wet, and dreary, so we didn't stay to see the outdoor light show in the evening, we just toured the Conservatory and the DuPont house.
In keeping with
Shimelle's Ten Things meme, here are my ten best shots from yesterday:
There were many Christmas trees displayed throughout the Conservatory - most of them featuring a single color scheme for the decorations. They were absolutely gorgeous and elegant and so different than my own Hallmark mish mash of sentimental ornaments. This first is probably my favorite shot from the entire day. It feels magical. And yes, I'm in it! Although no idea who the photo bomber is next to me.
Loved these crystal drops!
In the roughly two and a half hours we spent at Longwood, I took 66 photos. I deleted only 6 upon upload. I spent way more time taking these adjusting white balance and focal points (the two new things I have learned from
Cheryl Johnson's 12 Days of Christmas class) and really thinking about composition. The results were that I ended up with a lot of great SOOC shots. Most of these have only had slight sharpening for the web as post processing!
What is it about bright yellow flowers that just makes me smile?
From the kids' trees room.
Longwood Gardens has been experimenting with designer shades of hibiscus. I thought this was pretty neat!
The room of desert plants really didn't hold much interest for me... except for these furry little guys that look like people somehow!
One of the table arrangements up close. Love it!
This table is forever long and set to serve 48! The crystal candelabras and all the flowers... so over the top. I admire the beauty of this, but would never set my own table this way.
from the tree in the DuPont house. The second photo above was also from this tree which was all decorated in green, gold, and crystal.
Thanks Mom! We're definitely visiting again in the future!
One thing I noticed in reviewing my shots of the day. The ones where I tried to take in an entire scene (a complete tree, that long table with all the fancy place settings) were technically okay, but missing any "wow" factor. Without fail, all of the shots that drew me in were the close up ones of the little details.
I'm wondering... what does that say about me and my photography style?
11 comments:
What a lovely gift from your mom, and the photos you took are AWESOME! I loved looking at each one of these. That first one could be a Christmas card. Well done!
Looks like an awesome place and a great gift.
Beautiful shots Cheri. I love to see elegant perfectly co-ordinated trees, but I love my own mish mash of hand me down and kid crafted ornaments even more.
Beautiful photographs Cheri. I love the first one and would so love a tree decorated like that.
Beautiful photos - detail shots always grab my attention too. Gorgeous ornaments. I've had fun thinking about focal points and composition too.
Hey - I didn't know you were near Longwood, it is one of the places I keep meaning to get to when I'm in Philly but haven't ever managed it. One day I will hopefully make it tho.
What a great gift! Longwood Gardens is one my bucket list. It looks like Christmas would be a great time to visit. I love the first two photos, especially.
Fab pics Cheri..and it looks like a great place to visit! I too love seeing beautifully co-or donated trees, but when I put my own mishmash of ornaments on my own, I still love them too!
Alison xx
Cheri, these are beautiful photos and what a lovely place to visit! I love close up photography too! Sue x
What a fabulous gift. The photos are gorgeous. Great job getting fabulous SOOC shots. I've never heard of Longwood Garden before now, but I've got to add it to my list of places to visit.
I've never been to Longwood Gardens at Christmas time but many of my friends have--now I know why. Your photos are glorious and really capture the feeling of Longwood. We always seem to go there in the warmer weather.
So glad you made it for their Christmas display. From your photo's it was really awesome. That is going to be my favorite gift we ever gave you. Dallas Arboretum doesn't do as much for Christmas. Might have something to do with the erratic weather we have here. Your photos are absolutely awesome, As I knew they would be!
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