#MagnoliaMonday

 "Abstraction in photography is ridiculous, and is only an imitation of painting. We stopped imitating painters a hundred years ago, so to imitate them in this day and age is laughable." - Berenice Abbott

168/365 More Magnolias

06-17-2013

 Magnolia blooms were made for B&W.

 Magnolia in color is not bad either.

150/365 Magnolia memories

05-30-2013

I have been aware of Magnolias all of my life but this year I keep seeing them and photographing them.

As a kid, I went to church at Jackson Avenue Church of Christ in Memphis, Tennessee.  There was a huge Magnolia tree in the front yard of the church.  The branches came all the way down to the ground and it was very full.  However, if you pushed past the dense outer layer of leaves you came into a wonderfully cavernous inside world of big low branches.  It was like a secret club house.  Also as a kid we used the old magnolia seed pods to play war.  Those seed pods were grenades.  You just broke off the stem and threw the pod at your enemy, if you hit them they died.  We loved playing guns as kids.

Magnolia Blooms

Walking papers across campus today I noticed this blooming Magnolia tree. Shot the photos with my Canon G11. I always carry that camera with me even when I am not expecting to take photos because you never know when you will run across something that deserves to be photographed.

I like Magnolia trees for a couple of reasons: the seed pods work beautifully as grenades and really big trees are great to hide in when the limbs are not trimmed up. There was a massive Magnolia tree at Jackson Avenue Church of Christ in Memphis. As a kid I would climb into the center of the tree which was very uncluttered once you got inside the shell of leaves. It reminded me of being inside a tepee.