Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Today's Flower #100 & ABC Wednesday: X is for XinWu Lotus Farm

It is the lotus flower season again and the Lotus Festival is held every year at Xinwu (新屋) and Gyanyin (觀音) townships of Taoyuan County (桃園).  The area is a low-laying area near the western coast of Taiwan, just an hour drive from Taipei.  It used to be covered with rice-paddy.  After Taiwan joined WTO, it is no longer economically feasible to grow rice any more.  As in Korea, the situation had a great impact to the tradition of the local farming community in Taiwan.  Some of the rice fields around Xinwu and Gyanyin area have been converted to lotus pond, both for tourism and for its seeds and roots.

Xinwu means "new house", the phonic translation can also be Sinwu.  I need a "X", thus it is Xinwu.  Gyanyin means "watching the sound" and it is the Chinese translation of "Avalokltesvara" buddha's name.  By "watching" the sound of the universe in her/his mind, Avalotesvara obtained the eternal wisdom and became a buddha.  It is all very "Zen".  Let us go back to the more practical matter of photographing Lotus flower, where the buddha used to sit on.  You can go back to my old blog here, to learn the difference of Nelumbo (lotus) and Nymphaea (water lilly).


Both Nelumbo and Nymphaea are very photogenic.  I was told that they should be photographed in the early morning, when their blooms are at its best.  In reality, you really want to only shot in the early morning.  Who can stand the heat of the mid-day and early afternoon sun of June in Taiwan, not the flowers and not the photographers.  A single solitary lotus in perfect bloom can some way reflecting the light to make it almost like glowing against a background of lotus leaves.



Some times we want some seed pot and flower bud in the background to add interest and the yellow seed pod in a full bloomed flower gives even more colors.



A long telephone lens help us not only blur the background but also keep us, the photographer on the solid ground, dry and clean.  One way to get us really into muddy situation is try to photograph the lotus with a wide-angle lens.

However, a wide-angle lens does give us a totally different prospective of the flower and the lotus field.


Another way to get real muddy is to try to do a close-up.  But the flower is so big, it is usually not necessary for a macro lens, just a telephone lens can take us close enough.

Grace went to her ladies' club outing last weekend.  I went to photograph the lotus by myself.  They were shot with my Nikon D700 with 80-400mm and 20 mm lenses.

To see more entries of ABC Wednesday click here.
To see mor flowers from around the world click here.

21 comments:

Light and Voices said...

I adore the last image of the Lotus Flower. Nice composition. Like the background too, it sets off the image nicely.
Joyce

Sylvia K said...

Exquisite captures of gorgeous flowers! I love them all! Such beautiful colors! What a great post for the X day! Hope your week is going well! Enjoy!

Sylvia

Roger Owen Green said...

ah, X is much easier in Chinese and Mexican cultures


interesting stuff

ROG, ABC Wednesday team

Cheryl said...

Lovely photos and enjoyed all the different uses of that single word.

Carol said...

Lovely flowers, the lotus. And lovely pictures of the lotus.

Tumblewords: said...

I'd love to see a live lotus! Your photos are spellbinding...Thanx!

Jama said...

Lovely photos of the lotus!

photowannabe said...

Simply beautiful. The macro is especially gorgeous. Great information about the towns and the letter X.

Mara said...

Beautiful photos. They look almost painted in watercolours!

Reader Wil said...

Very great post! Good x-word too. Your photo are so perfect and colourful! Thanks for sharing. Have a nice day!

Strawberry Jam Anne said...

Great choice for the letter X and the flowers are so beautiful. A

Rune Eide said...

For obvious reasons the Lotus flower is not grown in Norway, an I therefore appreciate all the more the very nice photos. Including the advice that can be used in many situations.

Larry said...

What wonderful colors and beautiful photographs! I have elected to follow your blog and am anxious to discover more of your beautiful photography! Sincerely, Larry

Elettra said...

Great flowers with a variety of colors

ChrisJ said...

These are beautiful flowers. I wonder if they are actually what I've been calling a water lily, which we see at Gaylords in Kaui. I will have to take a closer look when we go there at Thanksgiving.

lotusleaf said...

The lotus is a very special flower for both the Buddhists and the Hindus. Your shots are beautiful- the first one has captured the essence of the lotus.

Rosie Nixon Fluerty said...

They really are so photogenic and so soft looking

Rosie @ Centre of Interest photoblog

Hanne said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Lui said...

Wow!
Perfect shots!

EG CameraGirl said...

Gorgeous!

Arija said...

Ah, the etherial beauty of the lotus flower, the first one especially. Beautifully presented.

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