close iframe icon
approved icon cANDIapple avatar PRO+
cANDIapple
A Peek at the Heart
Banner

A Peek at the Heart



behind the lens badge

In the new Centennial Gardens in Houston, there is a tulip garden, with a fountain at the center, and most of the tulips are in their prime. There were a few un...
Read more

In the new Centennial Gardens in Houston, there is a tulip garden, with a fountain at the center, and most of the tulips are in their prime. There were a few unopened buds, and a few flowers that were reaching their last days. I don't know if this was one of those, or if exposure to the elements or some other outside influence - like a child's curious fingers, perhaps - caused one of its petals to break, but I was captivated by the window the failed petal provided into the heart of a tulip. It was a very different view than one usually gets of the tulip's center as seen from above.
Read less
cameraNIKON D5100

settings Aperture f/14.0 ISO 400 Shutter 1/200 Focal Length 1450/10 

upload_dateMar, 2015

Views

1143

Likes

Awards

Fall Award 2020
Superb Composition
DanaCarruthers Avi_Levi Paige_s8 alexanakk tie.leonnaxx jessorsch issydope +18
Top Choice
sylviaporter michaelaaryanreddy dancin_shortie wimsteelandt kelliadalziel Jordyphoto krtr +16
Outstanding Creativity
MCW235 Tyuhugdgdhd MiyoJergen asid ahuizotl tatianakuznetsova _1493 +16
Peer Award
Bruizaphoto sheffblue Paul_Joslin mkofo ElizePrinsloo mariobelcourt db.distler +16
Absolute Masterpiece
Duece5150 PearlyBakerDesigns angelanolagrijalva sanjukta169 ngairebarton Nerea_bf Steve_Thomas +6
Magnificent Capture
nathaliemedeiros MylesNewberryPhotography karensommerslohre TAndros
Genius
Confalonieri LondonMcCormick p_eileenbaltz
Superior Skill
quincyfloyd Stellasview
All Star
FotoJojo1958

Emotions

Impressed
Steve_Thomas

Top Ranks

Spring Selections Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Pink It On Photo ContestTop 20 rank
Pink It On Photo ContestTop 20 rank week 1
From Raw To Ready Photo ContestTop 30 rank
From Raw To Ready Photo ContestTop 30 rank week 1
View more
Spring Please Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Spring Please Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Flora Macro Photo ContestTop 20 rank
The Creator Show ProjectTop 30 rank
The Creator Show ProjectTop 20 rank week 1
Photography Awards 2021Top 10 rank
Creative Boundaries Photo ContestTop 30 rank week 1
The ViewBug ProjectTop 30 rank week 1
Inspired By The World Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Inspired By The World Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Capture Textures Photo ContestTop 20 rank week 1
Capture Light Colors Photo ContestTop 30 rank
Capture Light Colors Photo ContestTop 20 rank week 1
Bold Colors Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Bold Colors Photo ContestTop 20 rank week 1
photographyawards2019Top 10 rank
artFix Exhibition ProjectTop 20 rank
artFix Exhibition ProjectTop 20 rank week 1
Flowers And More Flowers Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Flowers And More Flowers Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Pink Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Pink Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 2
Pink Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Colorful And Bright Photo ContestTop 20 rank
Colorful And Bright Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Celebrating Nature Photo Contest Vol 4Top 30 rank week 3
Celebrating Nature Photo Contest Vol 4Top 30 rank week 2
Celebrating Nature Photo Contest Vol 4Top 30 rank week 1
Spring Photo Contest 2018Top 20 rank
Spring Photo Contest 2018Top 10 rank week 1
A Low Vantage Point Photo ContestTop 10 rank
A Low Vantage Point Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Fill The Frame Photo ContestTop 10 rank
The Emerging Talent AwardsTop 20 rank
Beautiful Flowers Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Beautiful Flowers Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Spring Photo Contest 2017Top 10 rank
Spring Photo Contest 2017Top 10 rank week 1
Macro Masterpieces Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Macro Masterpieces Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Dancing Flowers Photo ContestTop 20 rank
Dancing Flowers Photo ContestTop 20 rank week 1
Our Natural World Photo ContestTop 20 rank
Social Exposure Photo Contest Vol 5Top 30 rank week 3
Celebrating Nature Photo Contest Vol 1Top 30 rank week 2
Social Exposure Photo Contest Vol 5Top 30 rank week 2
Social Exposure Photo Contest Vol 5Top 30 rank week 1
A World Of Pink Photo ContestTop 10 rank
A World Of Pink Photo ContestTop 20 rank week 1
Isolate And Simplify Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Isolate And Simplify Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Creative Composition Photo Contest Vol 2Top 30 rank
Creative Composition Photo Contest Vol 2Top 20 rank week 2
Just Flowers Photo ContestTop 30 rank
Spring 2015 Photo ContestTop 20 rank
Spring 2015 Photo ContestTop 20 rank week 2
Up Close Photo ContestTop 20 rank week 1

Categories

Submitted to Photo Contests

Tags

#tulip #petals #falling petal #flower #flower petals #pink #spring #Spring 2015
See all

Behind The Lens

Location

This photo was taken in the tulip garden at the McGovern Centennial Gardens in my hometown of Houston, Texas in the Spring of 2015. The gardens sit at the north end of Houston's iconic Hermann Park, directly east of Rice University, just south of the Houston Museum District, directly north of the Texas Medical Center, and just west of State Highway 288 and the South Freeway.

Time

This photograph was taken at 10:34 a.m. on Tuesday March 17th, 2015. Given my abnormal work schedule at the time - those days I worked Wednesdays through Saturdays from 9 am to 7 pm - I had Sundays, Mondays, and Tuesdays off and was able to go to the gardens on a weekday morning without interference from large crowds of visitors.

Lighting

Late morning on a spring day in Houston meant that the golden hour had passed about two hours earlier, but since the day was cloudy the light was less harsh than it would have been on a sunny day. Had the day been sunny this little window in the tulip's petals may have been too shadowy for a good photograph, and the sunlight may have washed out the intense colors of the petals.

Equipment

I used a Nikon D5100 with a 55 - 200 mm zoom lens, and shot at 1/200 sec. f/14 145mm, ISO 400 to account for the cloudy weather.

Inspiration

I was born and raised in Houston and grew up coming to Hermann Park to visit the Zoo, Miller Outdoor Theater, the Reflection Pool, the Houston Museum of Natural Science, and the Houston Garden Center (not to be confused with the gardening supply store chain of the same name!). I was sad when the Garden Center closed for renovations in 2013, but excited to see what changes the renovations would bring. The renovations were completed in 2014 and the new McGovern Centennial Gardens opened to the public December 22, 2014 just in time to celebrate Hermann Park's 100th birthday. I knew the best time to photograph the plants and flowers in the garden would be the spring, so in March I made one of my first visits to the Gardens, and I was not disappointed. Among the many different areas of the park there is a small tulip garden, and it was this part of the gardens that captivated me the most. At the time, most of the tulips were in their prime - full color, petals intact and fully upright and either open or beginning to open. A few were either in their last days or damaged, like this one, which had a single petal getting ready to fall, providing a captivating peek into the heart of a tulip as if through an opening in a set of curtains. It's not often that I come across a tulip with such an intriguing glimpse of its carpal and stamens that isn't dropping all its petals at the same time.

Editing

This tulip was already in the foreground, but I wanted to bring all attention to it instead of any surrounding flowers. So I cropped the edges, particularly the right-hand edge where a taller flower loomed over this one, and I increased the saturation of the colors, the contrast, and the overall sharpness of the details, as well as reducing some of the noise and eliminating the evidence of any nicks, scratches, or particles on my lens.

In my camera bag

I normally carry my Nikon D5100 as well as a 55 - 200 mm zoom lens and an 18 - 35 mm wide angle lens, and if I know I'm going to be photographing inside or in low natural lighting, such as dawn, after sunset, or at night, then I will also carry a tripod.

Feedback

I would advise anyone looking to photograph flowers to visit locations where you know flowers grow several times. At least once beforehand so you know what kind of flowers you'll find, and for a variety of lighting conditions, go at different times of the day. Try early morning, late afternoon, or early evening, or if you know the day will be cloudy, the middle of the day. Even more important than knowing what time of day you want to go is to make sure you know the growing season of whatever flower you're looking for - tulips in Houston means March. If I wanted azaleas, also March. If I want bluebonnets (and a Texas girl always wants bluebonnets), I go in April, magnolias and jasmine, May.

See more amazing photos, follow cANDIapple

User photo
It’s your time to shine! ☀️

Share photos. Enter contests to win great prizes.
Earn coins, get amazing rewards. Join for free.

Already a member? Log In

By continuing, you agree to our Terms of Service, and acknowledge you've read our Privacy Policy Notice.