Roses, Roses, Roses

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The rose garden at Villa Mira Monte, the former estate of Hiram Morgan Hill and his wife Diana Murphy, is a local gem. In private gardens around town, roses have been in bloom since late April, but for some unknown reason, the bushes here have been on their own, private schedule and have held back their blooms... until now.
I liked the delicate feel of this small, single bloom leaning out on its slender stem.

Several members of the photography club joined me for this roses shoot-out. The specific goal for the macro shooters was to capture water drops on the petals. I tried for a different perspective. I positioned myself behind the flower and shot toward the sun, which was just starting to break through the early morning cloud cover and provided a glowing light on the petals. A spray bottle provided the water drops.

I continue to be in awe of the intrinsic beauty of roses...

especially when I see one that is perfect. I was in the right place at the right time to get this shot. I had already taken several shots when the emerging sun shown just enough light to set it aglow. I under exposed it to prevent the light from washing out the deep red color. The black background was a bonus.

Thank you for viewing my photographs.
You can see more photos from this garden on Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/suebrazelton/