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"Possibility and promise greet me each day as I walk out into my garden. My vigor is renewed when I breathe in the earthiness and feel the dirt between my fingers. My garden is a peaceful spot to refresh my soul." Meems






Welcome to my Central Florida Garden Blog where we garden combining Florida natives, Florida-Friendly plants, and tropicals.

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

GGW Picture This :: Sipping Swallowtails

The first I heard of this type of photograph/scanograph(?) was about 5 days ago. Where have I been? The idea of it sparked such curiosity and imagination.

This is my entry for Gardening Gone Wild's 'Picture This' photo contest. The theme for October is 'Fall on a Flatbed Scanner'.

In my photo I've used Zinnias, Coleus leaves, Yarrow leaves, Blackberry lily pods and Christia Obcordata 'Swallot tail' leaves that appear to be sipping nectar from the Zinnias.

This was simple and fun and (unlike my normal self) I tried not to over analyze it and just had fun playing with it.

If it strikes an interest in you, you should give it a go. Click here to check out the contest and get to scanning!

It's that simple.


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These were the other two I kind-of liked. The bottom one had a purple tinge I couldn't seem to rectify. Maybe it was the Purple Muhly grass which I think has a cool background effect.

Thanks to the team at Gardening Gone Wild for always coming up with new and fun challenges.
Meems

28 comments:

  1. I've been wanting to try this too. Not sure if I will be able to find the time right now. I love these scanned photos Meems. The last one is way cool!

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  2. Nice scans, I do agree with you the first is also my favorite. This is a great idea, I saw this done with fall leaves on another blog and have been bemoaning not having colorful leaves but you have inspired me.

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  3. Wow! How cool is that? Thanks for starting my day with a lesson!
    daisy

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  4. This looks like a winner to me. Good luck.

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  5. That is the coolest thing! I've never seen that done either. I have to say I love all the pics, but the second is my fave! Your botanical butterflies are awesome!

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  6. Meems....cool stuff....depth, composition, texture, contrast, balance, negative vs positive, movement/energy.....you don't need a paint brush...........God is good!!!

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  7. meems, It looks like a fun contest and i love your scans~I need to pop over to see about joining along~gail

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  8. Wow, Meems! Those are so cool and so gorgeous!

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  9. Wonderful pictures! I've been afraid to try it but now I'm going to have to give it a whirl.

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  10. Now that is a different idea. I like the first one the best...your swallowtail plant really looks like a butterfly hovering above the pretty flowers.

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  11. What will you come up with next?! Positively amazing! Love it and I want to do it also!

    photograph/scanograph???

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  12. What will you come up with next?! Positively amazing! Love it and I want to do it also!

    photograph/scanograph???

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  13. Meems. Beautiful. I love them. I just set up a scanner at school and had someone give me 2 old cameras. This might be one of my first assignments. I love the idea and I love your results.

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  14. Where can we read more about how to set this up?

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  15. Wow! And I thought I had imagined everything possible! Dried flowers..move over. I can't wait to try this. Thanks for posting.
    BTW: Your bromeliads are stunning! Your entire place is a showcase
    and a stunning tropical garden.
    David/ Houston :-)

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  16. Very stunning. Haven't heard of it before but it looks like fun. May try it sometime.

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  17. Awesome! I've not heard of this but will now check it out. Your photos are fabulous!

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  18. Just beautiful. That has to be a winner. I do like the muhly grass background though. I wonder if my hubby will mind when I show up at his office with all my cuttings, since now I HAVE to try this.

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  19. I remember seeing pictures like this in a gardening magazine a year or few ago. Very interesting - your entry looks great!

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  20. You've got the scanner thing down, they look great. I've decided I hate scanning. Too darn messy, pollen all over the scanner.

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  21. I love how these look, I even saw one for sale in a poster bin! But I can't seem to try it myself, wonder why?

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  22. meems,

    i remember reading about this a while ago and i was going to try it...forgot all about it. i am so glad to see you doing this. i love them all. they each have such a different feel about them. hope you do well in the contest.
    happy autumn.

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  23. Thank you ALL for stopping by and leaving your kind-kudos. Even if you don't enter the contest if this project stikes a chord in you ... take a few minutes to play with it and have fun. I gathered a few things from my garden in a basket and brought them inside late one evening since its best to scan at night. The room has to be dark because you leave the scanner lid open while it scans the arrangement. (There are other options which you can read about if you follow the links to GGW in my post).

    One thought was to use several of the larger, more colorful tropical type leaves mixed together in some way. It was a bust~~ in my view anyway.

    But my first thought worked out pleasingly. I had cut the zinnias with the idea to have the 'swallow tail' leaves fluttering above but with so little room on the scanner it didn't give the effect I had in my mind. Placing the leaves as if they were butterflies sipping the flowers came next.

    Anyway... more information than you wanted but hopefully it help someone else to take the plunge and give it a try. The entire project took me no more than 30 minutes from gathering to saving the scans as jpegs.

    Go ahead... you know you want to play, too.

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  24. These are gorgeous, Meems! They look like paintings or some of the illustrations I've seen in botany books. I've never tried this, but it's certainly a creative way of making a collage.

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  25. I like your scans; they give me a real "feel" for what is going on in your garden.

    I have found this art form to be absorbing and a lot of fun, looks like you may be catching the bug yourself.

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  26. I'm glad you enjoyed scanning, it shows in your scans. They are wonderful.

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  27. I really enjoyed your creations - I would have had a hard time picking between them. First time for my trying this project. Hope I can become as creative.

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  28. I just scanned my first tries two nights ago...I am a newbie at it as well! Your flowers here are interesting to me because my DIL is in a wedding and all the bridesmaids are wearing dresses the color of your coleus, with orange sashes, the color of your orange bloom here! Pretty neat composition! Good luck!

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Have a blessed day,
Meems


September 2010

Back Garden: October 2010

Louise Philippe: Antique Rose

Tropical Pathway