Rainy Day Surprise

After a record number of dry, sunny days this summer, the rains have returned to Portland. Things had gotten too dry and I was glad to see the soaking begin. Give me a month or two of wet, dark days and I will sing a different song, but for now I am glad to just grab my umbrella and head out or stay inside where it is warm and dry!
Today I packed up my camera, umbrella, raincoat and tripod and headed for one of my favorite places to take my camera for a walk. The International Rose Test Gardens are just a few minutes from my house and I can always find something interesting to photograph. Today I was fascinated by all the texture and muted colors of fading, wet roses. I took quite a few pictures and I am sure they will show up here later in the week, but as I was heading back for my car, I looked out over the garden toward downtown Portland, and the sun had peeked through the clouds just enough to cause the brilliant reflection in the building that you see in this picture. Usually, the view of the city from the garden is hazy and uninspiring, but I loved this quick glimpse of color. It only lasted for about a minute and the flat grey returned.

Black and White Calla Lily

I love black and white photography and one of my goals this year is to learn to create finished images that look more like the ones in my head. To that end, I have been reading and working through the concepts in John Batdorff's book, Black and White- From Snapshots to Great Shots. What an inspiration! His photos are incredible.
While looking for images that will convert beautifully to black and white, I saw this calla lily  tucked into a corner of the Portland International Rose Garden. I loved the way the light shone on it to highlight all the details of this simple flower. I think it makes a wonderful black and white.