Begonia Beguine

Soon this begonia will go back outside, but for now, it sings and dances indoors. The delicate, coin-sized flowers dangle shyly under arching leaves, and the whole plant appears ready to take flight.  It won’t take off, but in a few weeks I will, to northern Europe for most of April. These posts may slow to a crawl, so thank you in advance for tolerating any irregularity. Hopefully the begonia and her friends will manage without human intervention for a while.

 

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OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

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And for your listening pleasure…

 

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For all except #2, #8 and #10, I used an Olympus Zuiko 60mm f2.8 macro lens with apertures from f2.8 –  f4.5, handheld, natural light only.  For #2, #8 and #10 I used a vintage Super Takumar 50mm f1.4 with an adapter, at f1.4.  The photos were processed in Lightroom Classic and Color Efex Pro, using a variety of styles including solarization, infrared, and film effects.

If only the differences between people were accepted and appreciated as readily as the variations we enjoy in different photo processing styles….then the world would be a kinder, safer place.

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77 comments

    • It’s good to hear from you, Ule! Bewitching! Thank you. We should be done with frosty nights before we leave – I guess it’s a long growing season here. We will hope for the best!

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  7. I like the shy, “ghostly” quality to a lot of these shots. And you’ve done very well by this flower, making it very intriguing-looking, because for me, it’s usually “Begone, Begonia.”
    At my parents’ house, it was always Benny Goodman playing that tune, but I guess Artie Shaw made it a hit in the first place, and his version is excellent. Thanks for the great tune, and photos that actually make me like begonias more.

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    • Begone, begonia! Nooooo! You just have to find the more interesting varieties, not the one that goes into masses of summer beds. These are called angel wing begonias, and they’re really nice – you can have them inside for the winter and outside for the summer. And Rex begonias, they’re cool too. Somehow I’m not surprised you heard this at home….Benny, Artie, they’re all grand!

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  8. Hi Lynn, Sitting here bopping to “Begin the Beguine” as I make a second round of your splendid study of your Begonia. The petals are so beautiful close-up. You do such nice work with those lenses. And your parting words are so true.
    I hope you have a wonderful trip to Northern Europe- nice to have a change of scenery. Safe travels. 🌈

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    • Thank you, Jane! I’m glad to hear it. Once in a while, a little indoors shooting….but notice plants are still the focus! Soon it will be buildings and I’ll be wishing I had your expertise with them, but I’ll work on it. 😉 Thanks for your perennial graciousness….

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    • You singled out the leaves, interesting….I know that you often notice leaves in your own wanderings. Lucky you, your trip sounds relaxing and stimulating in equal measures. We’ll stay in Leiden, Ghent, Cologne, Hannover and Amsterdam, making a circle….with side trips….some relatives are in the Hannover area, in the countryside, and we hope to dip into France by way of Lille, and the Rhine, Brugges, etc. We’ll see how much energy we have, or how much we just want to sit and watch the world go by. 🙂

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  21. Lovely! Thanks Mother Nature for Her generosity in loaning us blooms across the bleak cold season. My geraniums have wintered over inside . . . their red is a transfusion of color to me . . . they’ve saved my life many times more than I saved theirs!

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    • Those indoor blooms are precious in the early months, aren’t they? I like your realization that the blossoms save you more times than vice versa – so true. Thanks for stopping by, Liana, it’s a pleasure to be privy to your thoughts.

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    • And that’s the reason for variety – what speaks to you may not speak to another person….likewise, I have impulses towards the bold and the delicate. 🙂 Thank you Adrian!

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    • Uh oh, a bit of politics… 😉 I understand – we keep saying to one another, well, this probably wouldn’t be the best time to travel in the UK. We’d be bombarded by the news all the time (as if we aren’t here). I hope it gets sorted out shortly but that may be a pipe dream. Thank you Louis!

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    • That’s a good guess Dave. I’ve been playing with a vintage lens that isn’t macro, but does flower closeups beautifully. It’s just the perfect time for it, and I’m glad I’m able to see all the tender beginnings here before I leave. Thanks!

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    • Spring is just getting started here, in sync with the calendar this time. Your comment is appreciated! And enough early spring flowers – mainly on bushes and trees – have emerged in the last few days for me to do more of this, but outdoors this time. It’s such a pleasure. 🙂

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    • Exactly, it’s such a pleasure, so sensual, working with flowers close up. As I was saying above, I’ve been outside doing more the last few days, since the first little flowers have opened. More coming soon, I think…. thank you!

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  30. Oh lucky you, Lynn. Of course I say that optimistically assuming you are going for pleasure. I am sure your plants will miss you but once outside they’ll flourish. Have a great time, again I hope, and post when you can. We’ll all be waiting. 🙂

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    • Oh yes, for pleasure, and I’ll meet a number of bloggers, as well as some relatives of my paternal grandfather, who came here from a farming community in northern Germany. That’ll be interesting. Thanks for your good wishes!

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  31. The angel wings are my favorites, and so of course I love #5. The texture of the leaves is so appealing; you’re right that the bedding plant begonias can’t hold a candle to them. When I was a budding clarinetist, Arti Shaw was a hero. I remained a budding musician, though, and never bloomed! Happy and safe travels to you. There’s nothing like a little time away, and a new environment, to stir the creative juices!

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    • Thank you Denise…I won’t have the software I would want to really post from Europe but I may post some phone photos. We’ll see. Of course eventually I should have more than phone photos, but as you’d guess, street photography isn’t my forte. We;ll see how it goes!

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  35. While walking today (in Mindo’s cloudforest) my friend Francisca and I admired a really unusual and well-mannered begonia. Contrasting with the giant ones here that soar toward the skies, this one was peering and poking through a chain-link type fence.
    Now, quite belated, I view your own begonia studies! Lovely!

    Have a great time on your trip – y no reply needed!

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