Flowers blooming in the middle of winter in a SUNY-ESF greenhouse on top of Illick Hall in Syracuse, New York. Nikon D700/50mm, 1/60s, f/8, ISO 560, EV +0.3.
I know I have been complaining about all the snow upstate New York has gotten this winter. Thankfully, I got a taste of exotic places over the weekend when I attended the Syracuse Photographers Association meetup at my college alma mater, the State University of New York College of Environmental Science & Forestry (SUNY-ESF). ESF has greenhouses on the top of Illick Hall which has species of trees, flowers and other flora from all over the world. Walking into each greenhouse was a treat for my nose. The warmth and humidity a delight to my dry skin from the long cold winter.
While I am not big into photographing flowers, the greenhouses had some plants with attitude. I have no idea what any of these are called so, please, do not ask. These were all taken using the Nifty-Fifty, Nikon 50mm f/1.8D lens, and then cropped square for composition.
Nikon D700/50mm, 1/100s, f/5, ISO 200, EV 0
There was a whole room full of cactus. One of the photographers quipped it was the “don’t bend over room”.
Nikon D700/50mm, 1/125s, f/5.6, ISO 200, EV +0.3
I swear some of the plants looked carnivorous and ready to grab an unsuspecting passerby.
Nikon D700/50mm, 1/60s, f/8, ISO 360, EV +0.3
I do not want you to think I ignored the flowering plants so here is a nice red one.
Nikon D700/50mm, 1/60s, f/8, ISO 280, EV +0.3
I did a lot of experimenting during my time at the ESF Greenhouses which I will be sharing with you in the very near future.
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Lovely array of tropical flowers. They must brighten up your snowy, cold days. I think I could get lost in there.
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They sure did, BM! I am sure you and a few others I know of would not be seen for days. There are quite a few greenhouses with different biomes. From tropical to desert and from very small plants to trees.
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“Plants with attitude”… love this expression as well as visiting greenhouses. What beautiful macros of those flowers and plants. Impressive thorns !
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Thanks, Isa! These are not macro photos. I used a plain old 50mm and then cropped down to what I needed to show. I did play around with a set of close up filters but more on those later in the month.
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Can’t wait for that assignment! 😉
My favorite of these is the cactus shot. The flowers in the first one are really pretty, hope you got a shot of them with your close-up filter, too!
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Shhhhh! Don’t spill the beans. 😉 The cactus were a lot of fun to photograph. Patterns just jumped out at ya.
Check out the link to the SPA album of the shoot. There is some very talented people in our little Meetup group.
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I didn’t spill the beans, YOU did…. Off to check out the other photos 🙂
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Oh wow! Greenhouses at this time of year are the best. I have to make it over to the Smith College greenhouse sometime over the next few weekends – they have a bulb show in the spring that is amazing!
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Me too, me too! Let’s go!
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That yellow cactus shot is devine!! Well done!
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Thank you!
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Greenhouses are always so warm and humid..instantly takes you back to sunnier days!
I think the first plant is scented geranium and the second is a dracaena ‘variegta’. By far, the third shot is the best of the group. Excellent off-center composition and it has a fantastic 3D quality.
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I like the cactus photo, too, Tracy. Might have liked a tad more depth of field but the patterns are wild. I’ll take your word on the plants though most of these were from exotic locations.
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Greenhouses in winter are one of my favorite places to be (for all the reasons you mentioned).
You have a lovely collection of colorful plants and flowers here. 🙂
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Thanks, Robin! Sure beat shoveling the heavy snow that was falling outside during my visit.
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Wow, that first cactus shot is amazing! (and you think you can’t photograph plants? I think you certainly CAN!) Well done indeed 🙂
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Oh, shucks, kiwidutch. I’m a neophyte compared to some of my blogmates but I get by. 🙂
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Love what you did with the cactus shot – it looks like you are spiralling down into it. I love greenhouses! One of my favorite places to be when it is too cold for the beach!
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Be careful, Karma. Landing on the cactus will hurt.
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I admire those fierce orange claws, yes indeed I do. You could probably make a whole catalog of Bizarre Botanicals for Syracuse!
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Bizarre is a great word for some of the plants I saw there. Some really looked more animal than vegetable.
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The cactus photo is very neat, looks like strange insects crawling. I have to pay more attention the next time I visit Biltmore.
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Now there’s a thought. Thankfully the greenhouses only had a few bees flying around for pollination duty.
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That green is such a delight for the eyes. It truly is a soothing color.
The way you photographed the cactus makes it look like a desert sun to great effect. As for the nasty man eating plant… I hope you got away without it getting a bite off you.
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Green is a color I miss so much this time of year. I did get away unscathed from the vicious looking plant but I could hear him chuckling. 😉
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