The Lily Pond: A Study in Pink, Purple, and Green

It is one of the great joys of my life to be able to visit our local Arboretum frequently, to see how things are progressing there. Morning is my favorite time. Even if my schedule permits only a 10-minute visit, it is well worth the trip. I carry those treasures I see with me throughout my day.

Spring has turned into summer here, and there are bright pink blooms on the lily pond again. As I came around the corner on this morning and saw those pink water lilies, mixed in with the reflections of green and purple from the irises, I simply sighed with happiness.

A male mallard napped along the lily pond. The sun came and went. And I remembered a question that a woman with a camera had asked me one morning back in springtime. The bulb show was pretty much tripping the light fantastic at that time, and the sun was coming and going that day too,.

And the woman asked me a strange question, for a person with a camera. She asked: "Is it better with or without the sun?" And I was so taken aback by such an odd question that I was almost speechless. I think I stammered something out, like: "It depends."

Which it does, of course. Whether bright sunlight is good for the pictures you're making depends on what you're photographing, where you're standing, whether you are you shooting into the light or with it.

But for capturing pretty colors on the lily pond, there is absolutely no substitute for good light. So please enjoy this study above of the lily pond's beautiful shades of pink, purple, and green, bathed in morning sunlight.

Also, please check out the extras for a closer look at that pink water lily on the right, with its smudgy violet purple reflections that very much resemble brush strokes.

The soundtrack song is a haunting and lovely thing: Delores Keane with Emmylou Harris, You'll Never Be the Sun.

You'll never be the sun turning in the sky
And you won't be the moon above us on a moonlit night
And you won't be the stars in heaven
Although they burn so bright
But even on the deepest ocean
You will be the light