The first tulips are blooming at the Garden.  They are in the Bulb Garden and are called 'Bronze Charm' tulips.  As you enter the Bulb Garden, they are along the path to the left.  Because it was a bit chilly and overcast when I was at the Garden, they were tightly closed. Their colors are stunning and I enjoyed photographing them with a wide aperture to create a watercolor-like portrait with focus along a petal edge or the tip of the tulip.

Another early blooming flower is the dwarf iris and you will see a number of varieties of them in various places around the Garden.  I love to read about the various flowers blooming at the Garden in the "What's in Bloom" section of the CBG website.  You learn all sorts of interesting facts about the flowers.  The irises have a splotch of white with a strip of yellow known as the "nectar guide."  It acts to attract bees and other nectar gathering insects onto the "landing strip" and guide them inside the flower to the nectar and pollen.  The insects carry the pollen from one flower to another, causing pollination of the flowers.  Clever! The most beautiful spot to see the irises is in the wooded area of the Sensory Garden.   

The 'Harmony' irises are nestled in between the Whitespire birches in the woods.

Snowdrops are the first flowers to appear in the late winter/early spring and they are such a sight for winter weary eyes.  You often see them as early as late January or February poking up through the snow cover. Despite their delicate appearance they are hardy little flowers that can withstand dips in temperature.  They remain closed like little drops of white milk until the sun warms them and then they open to reveal a bell-shaped flower with 3 outer petals arching over 3 inner petals.  They are all over the Garden now, but my favorite patches to photograph are lining the steps in the Waterfall Garden. You can sit on the steps and get right up close to capture their delicate-looking texture and lines and the glistening white of the petals. This particular variety of snowdrop is called 'Atkinsii Snowdrop' and it is in the amaryllis family  I adore these little gems of spring.

The crocuses all over the Garden are in full bloom.  My favorite place to photograph them is on Evening Island where they blanket the grassy hillside in purple, yellow and white.  The grass allows you to get right down on your belly and photograph them straight on at ground level.  My brand new tripod arrived last week and this weekend I finally had a chance to try it out.  It's a Gitzo GT2531EX with a Really Right Stuff ball head, if you are interested, and it's amazing for macro work because you can get it down to within an inch of the ground...perfect for crocuses and other low growing plants and flowers.  I'm taking an advanced portfolio class in the Garden photography program right now and I am focusing on capturing the spring blooms in a more dreamy, abstract way, using the widest apertures my macro lenses will allow. Using shallow depth of field, selective focus and blurring creates a more impressionistic portrait of the flower.  Crocuses are ideal for this kind of shooting and that shallow depth of field takes care of blurring all the dead, brown grass the crocuses are blooming in - not so attractive.  I am particularly drawn to the purple flowers.  They have such lovely patterns on their petals and I love the way the golden stamens and purple petals are complimentary colors.

Here are a few of my crocus portraits...

The white crocuses lend themselves beautifully to the use of backlighting.

I happened to stop in Regenstein Center over the weekend while I was exploring the new spring blooms outside and was surprised to see a new display of flowers.  Remember the beautiful hydrangeas from last week?  They are gone and have been replaced with this spectacular arrangement of wisteria, columbine, toadflax and primrose. You could smell the wisteria before you even entered the building. I'm not sure how I managed to get a photograph of the display with no people in it because there were so many people looking at and photographing the display. I guess it just takes patience and time to wait for the right moment.  I particularly enjoyed photographing the columbine.

Today I was guest contributor on the "Out of Chicago" website.  Read my article on flower photography and get ready for Spring flowers! Thank you, Chris Smith, for the opportunity to share my passion for photographing nature with others!

http://outofchicago.com/flower-photography/

Just when we were beginning to think it would never happen, the temperatures pulled up into high 50's, the sun came out and the Garden is in bloom.  A sign in the Crescent Garden at CBG announces "Coming Soon!...26,000 tulips!"... and that's just one of many gardens that will be blanketed with tulips and other spring blooms in the coming weeks. I spent 3 hours at the Garden yesterday, walking, soaking up the sunshine and warm air and looking to see what is in bloom all over the Garden.  The renewal of life in spring is truly a miracle.

The snowdrops appeared in various places in the Garden as early as January, but they were tightly closed and surrounded by snow until the past couple of days. My favorite patch of snowdrops is along the steps in the Waterfall Garden area. They are the first flower of spring and one of my favorites.   

The Winter Aconite is in full bloom near the bridge to the Fruit and Vegetable Garden.

I was surprised to see the irises already blooming in the woodland area of the Sensory Garden. It's amazing how fast the blooms can appear.  I walked this path 3 days ago and they weren't there.

The crocuses are just beginning to pop up in a few areas.  By next week they will be blanketing the hill on Evening Island in purple, yellow and white.

  Happy Easter and happy spring to all!

The first day of Spring here in the Chicago area was not very spring-like.  Our temperatures were down in the 20's today with a bitterly cold wind.  At least there was sun and blue sky.  I'm so ready for Spring to arrive; I'm starved for time outdoors, sunshine and flowers to photograph.  I went to the Garden today hoping to find something interesting to photograph in the greenhouses. CBG never disappoints.  I walked into Regenstein Center to make my way to the greenhouses and was greeted by this beautiful display of hydrangeas in the reflecting pool in Krehbiel Hall. Happy first day of Spring!

Some of you may have seen my original blog post about the Chicago Cultural Center last month.  You can find it here: http://annebelmont.zenfolio.com/blog/2013/2/chicago-cultural-center.  This past week I went back to the Cultural Center to take some more photographs.  After working on my previous photos, I wanted to try some different vantage points and also focus on some of the details in the stained glass and sparkling mosaics.  This time, luck would have it, Bradley Preston Hall and the G.A.R. Rotunda were completely empty, with none of the chairs, tables, recycling bins or distracting elements that had been there during my previous visit.  It was fun to photograph the rooms in their pristine state.  

The Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.) Rotunda and Memorial Hall

Bradley Preston Hall and the beautiful Tiffany dome

I was eager to capture more images of the grand staircase with its beautiful marble and mosaics.

A few of the close ups of the dome and mosaics using my Tamron 180 mm macro - wow, I love that lens more and more each time I use it!

This is an odd angle to shoot the clock but, because of a light fixture in front of it, I couldn't take this shot head on the way I wanted.  I guess I just need to go back and shoot some more with different lenses!  After 4 hours, my energy was waning.  Many people don't realize how physically demanding photography can be - carrying heavy equipment, bending, kneeling or getting into odd positions to get the right angle, etc.  It keeps me in good shape.

Two weekends ago I had the pleasure of shooting the sunrise at the Chicago Botanic Garden.  I am not normally a "morning person" but when Tony and Chris, fellow photo club friends, called to see if I would meet them at the Garden at 5:45 a.m., I knew I couldn't pass up the opportunity.  I didn't even know you could get into the Garden at that early hour!  After a cup of coffee to wake me up and bundling up in many layers, I was off to meet my friends.  It was beautiful and serene at that hour at the Garden and surprisingly there were a number of walkers and joggers there enjoying the dawn.  The sky was still dark and the moon still visible when we set off to the Japanese Garden, a perfect place to witness both sunrise or sunset.  

  I started on the west side of the Japanese Garden, facing the sunrise for a few shots.

It's always interesting to see another photographer's way of seeing.  Tony and Chris moved to the eastern side of the Japanese Garden and rather than shooting to the east to capture the sunrise, were capturing the beautiful light that the sunrise reflected to the west.  I joined them there and we watched the sky to the west light up with lovely pinks.

I love this old willow tree and have photographed it many times from different perspectives, at different times of the year.  It reminds me of the tree in Harry Potter and I always imagine it coming alive.

Oh, and I learned that the best part of shooting sunrise at the Garden is that you get to have a delicious breakfast in the Garden Cafe afterwards! Maybe I could become a "morning person" after all.