One thing I love about Kew is that the curators have managed to gather and successfully display plants from every major ecological niche in the world. This means you can walk in one area and see tropical plants from Indonesia and in another, flowering perennials from alpine locations.

I love the area that houses water lilies. It was a little early for the really large lilies, but on this day there were a handful of beautiful blue/purple lilies blooming. The color and symmetry of the flower were my first attractions, but I really loved the transition between the petals and water which highlighted and outlined the petals.

I spotted this Monarch resting for a few moments. I especially loved how the dark colors of the butterfly were complimented by the yellow flowers in the background. The open space on the lower left and the butterfly on the upper right balanced each other in this composition.

Focusing can be an issue when you are this close. I choose to focus on the stamens which seem to work quite well in this composition. I was also pleased at how the texture of the petals was really evident in the final print. As a bonus, the pollen grains seem to be quite clear with a lot of detail.

We were on the edge of civilization and I believe there were parts of the city that were lawless. At least it felt that way. But, nothing scary happened.

Across the Batopilas River from the city center are the Hacienda San Miguel Ruins. We walked along the ruins one afternoon and were the only ones there. It was quite peaceful. Deer were grazing within the buildings. Right at the end of the walk as the sun was setting I came across an old stand of purple bougainvillea. I loved the contrast between the texture of the ruins and flowering bougainvillea.

I love all kinds of flowers and just about anything to do with water. So, when I come across water lilies, I’m in photography heaven.

I really loved how the strong diagonal lines of the petals contrasted with the diagonal position of the flowers. I also thought the purple petals really popped against the green of the pads.

One day, I went out into their backyard and spotted this lupine flowering in full glory. I had never seen it before. I took this photo and printed out a copy for my friend. My friend’s garden was their sanctuary and I thought they would love a photo from their garden. Later that morning, I brought the photo to them and we hung it up on the wall behind their hospital bed.

Three days later my friend received a miracle in the form of a life saving transplant. The lupine never bloomed again.