Appreciating plants and bees from the art of being a lovely photographer series by Janet Keen

Granny Bonnet leaves with water droplets after the rain

Sedum head. These plants are succulents and easy to propagate so I have them all around my garden. They form red and pink flowers just before Autumn and the bees love them.   

Bergamont, otherwise known as bee balm 

Fennel Flowers, great honey bee attractors.

Agapanthus, always appreciated by bees in late summer 

It's very difficult 

to get these bees in focus 

they are always fuzzy 

They are so covered in pollen 

You know they are doing a good job 

Chinese or Japanese lanterns or Abulitons are wonderful bee attractors and their displays go right through  to winter 

Lavatera flower long and prolifically and bees want them as well. 

Creative Quote

Life is full of beauty. Notice it. Notice the bumble bee, the small child, and the smiling faces. Smell the rain, and feel the wind. Live your life to the fullest potential, and fight for your dreams.

Ashley Smith

Weta and woolly aphid portraits in the cottage garden of Janet Keen Rotorua from the art of being a lovely photographer series

Many people apart from etymologist's probably look at these guys and shudder

When I saw this Weta crawling in my art studio I did too but I took it and put it on a fern leaf and decided to try to get some  good shots of it with my macro lens

It was remarkably tame and patient with me and I grew to like it

Wooley aphids make most people reach for the spray 


I don't because I'm organic and I believe that they are good food for birds that fly in and my plants are all so healthy they can spare some sap

They are quite beautiful little soft looking creatures when you view them close up

So they are welcome as well as even the ants are that feed off their honey dew. 
An organic garden is a kind, giving natural place where every animal and insect is welcome.

Creative quote of the week 

 “Cultivate clarity, strength, vitality and power from natural,

beautiful and organic living foods.” 
 
― Bryant McGill, Voice of Reason

Lake Rotorua Sulphur Point photos of birds and land

Sulphur Point Rotorua early morning geese photography adventure

 The beauty of the geese at Sulphur Point Rotorua

Some people say they are scared of these geese because they have a reputation for being aggressive. But I go to Sulphur Point regularly  to meet them because I love them. I say to them I love them and I just hang out with them and sometimes I take them some bread and I find them surprisingly gentle and understanding. They are quite tame and they are big grass eaters and they seem quite happy for me to follow them along to take photos of them. I don't know if its my imagination but I feel they recognise me and even light up when I appear. All birds are surprisingly intelligent and receptive if you give them a chance. I prefer them to a lot of people.

Creative quote of the day

I'm crazy about ducks and swans and geese, so I don't eat foie gras. I try to eat organic.

Anna Chancellor

Thousands have lived without love, not one without water.

W. H. Auden

Rotorua Lakefront early morning gull and reflection shoot

 A lot of people  write off gulls

They say they are noisy, aggressive and always hungry

But I love their plumage and early in the morning their feathers look angelic and their cute little red feet and beaks always remind me of  soldiers guarding Buckingham Palace

There is always something going on around gulls. Yes they are aggressive and noisy sometimes but often they hang out together on piers just relaxing in the sun or cleaning themselves

A lot of people would look at the bird shit on the tyres and say yuk that's dirty 

But I think that it could be interpreted as the marks on an abstract painting. Besides bird shit is good for the garden and at least in this case it's white. A lot of people think white is a clean colour. 

 You look into the water and sometimes you don't see the reflections but they are always there, its a matter of adjusting your view and slowing down to see the beauty in nature that is everywhere. 

Thee two are obviously a couple and after an initial squabble they settled down quite nicely together in quiet unity

I like surface patterns on things and  I like going out to take photos with certain people. It can be a spiritual experience and it's  a lot of fun
.

Things as they age and get dirty can have a type of beauty that many people overlook. 
It's just a matter of changing the way you see things and getting past the voice in your head that might be saying, "that's not beautiful."  

Creative quote of the day 

Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer's day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time.

John Lubbock

Lake Rotorua and Sulphur Point Photo adventure with Janet Keen and Jing Pan Early morning.

Early morning this lovely lady was taking her little dog for a walk with her friend around the lakefront to Sulphur Point.

Float planes at the lakefront ready for business

This time in the morning the lake is like a Monet painting 

 

Seagulls at Rotorua lakefront stake out their jetties in the hope that someone will come along and give them breakfast.

  

Lone seagull flying in

Sunrise against the Manuka

Sulphurous rocks along Sulphur Point

Islands with more seagulls and vegetation glinting in the early morning sun

Gorgeous textures and colours of these volcanic rocks

 

Pools of hot water mix with fresh water and steam escapes into the early morning air.

The little dog and her owner catches up to us at Sulphur Point. I don't think the point of the exercise is to exercise the dog.