San Angelo, my fair city, is in a desert. It is on the eastern edge of the Chihuahuan Desert. Imagine my surprise to learn that San Angelo is home to the International Waterlily Collection. For the last fourteen years, the International Waterlily Gardening Society (IWGS) has sponsored the LilyFest, a celebration of waterlilys that includes hundreds of varieties, introduction of new varieties, tours of the collection, and more. Here are five frames from LilyFest 2018.
Reflection of a Lily
It was a cloudy day, with intermittent sprinkles. It made for nice, soft light for photography. I particularly like the reflection in this photo.
The ‘Bones in the Band
It’s not all about the lilies, there was a band. Here is a shot of the trombone section. I like the colors of the horns and the oranges of the player’s shirt and hat.
Lily and Bees
I set up to shoot this lily because I liked the blue color. Then the bees arrived. It was a twofer.
Peeking Lily
I like the delicate color of this lily against the green of the pads. I shot this through some foliage in the foreground, as if the camera had discovered a hidden gem.
Blue and Pink
Here the blue and pink together caught my eye. I also liked the closed blooms and the pseudo symmetry of the open and closed lilies.
Bonus Frame
This is “Texas Dawn”, the State Waterlily of Texas. It was created in 1985 by Ken Landon. Ken is the heart and soul of the International Waterlily Collection. I like the double reflection of the lily: in the water and from the sign.
These photos were all taken with a Canon 6D wearing a Canon 100-400mm zoom lens. I used Darktable running on Ubuntu for post processing.
Don’t know crap about Ubuntu, but I really like the first picture. Definitely suitable for framing. I like the “Bones” too. Looks like a lot of fun doing this.