I took a somewhat short walk this morning because I have symphony this afternoon and evening. I hadn’t intended on using the camera much, but I landed in front of a house that had the most lovely opium poppies.
Yes. Opium, Or, as I prefer to call them, Papaver somniferum.
It was breezy, and the flowers were being tended by bees, so capturing anything was going to be a challenge. What you see below is certainly not my first shot (that I couldn’t possibly share, Mr. Bee was so blurry!) and I’m truly hoping it’s not the best shot. But it’s what I had time to quickly work on to post here.
This post is mostly about the nice conversations I had, rather than the photo. This is what photography can sometimes do for a person, and I’m grateful.
As I was shooting the flowers in the parking strip of the house the homeowner came out and said, “There are more in the backyard!” She was inviting me to see them! How kind of her, and what fun to see the variety and the lovely blooms, along with the poppy pods that would then spread their great seeds out even more for the next season of flowers. She explained that these flowers are illegal to plant in California, but that these “Came with the house,” and then it’s okay to have them. I hadn’t heard that they were illegal to purchase and had thought I’d seen them online to buy. (I had been looking because I love them and would like to grow some.) Interesting.
So I shot a lot of frames, hoping that at least one might have caught things in a still moment. I’m not sure about that, sad to say.
As I was leaving, I saw another photographer out front with the same flowers. We had a very nice conversation about what we are doing, and I do hope he reads this and leaves a comment because, typical of me, I have already forgotten his name. I should really write names down so I remember! (I did take down the address so I can send the kind homeowner some photos if any are printable.)
So, finally, here is a photo of one of the colorful flowers. I just wish I had it all in focus, but that’s the challenge of shooting up close when it’s a breezy day and one is doing hand-held work.
Opium Poppy (I), 5.6.15