Garden Tulips (IF YOU HAVE DIAL-UP, DON'T EVEN BOTHER)

Four years ago last week, my family (along with superconnected) visited the display garden at Roozengaarde in the Skagit Valley. I probably wound up taking more photos there than I had over the previous year or two combined, and it really became the turning point for me in going back to doing photography on a serious basis after twenty-plus years of being an occasional hobby.

Although I planned to return to Roozengaarde every spring since then, the timing/weather/whatever had never been right. This past week, finally, I got the chance to return (although, unfortunately, superconnected couldn't make it this time). Though an unforecast breeze made shooting a challenge (as Robert Zimmerman might have said, "the tulips, my friend, were blowin' in the wind, the tulips were blowin' in the wind"), ISO 400 and faster-than-usual shutter speeds resulted in steady images. (All photos: Sony Alpha 100, Minolta 75-300mm "Big Beercan" zoom, circular polarizer -- this time, I've identified the species of tulips if I could figure them out.)


Caravelle and Dynasty





Apeldoorn and Golden Apeldoorn





Aperitif





Seattle





Various tulips





Fabio (insert your own jokes here)





Princess Irene





Apeldoorn, Golden Apeldoorn, and Negrita





Unidentified white and yellow tulips (I suspect White Dream and Yokohama)





Ninja, Rosalie, and Spring Green





Roozengaarde grounds





Rosalie and Ninja





Dreaming Maid





Dynasty





Yokohama





Île de France





Île de France and White Dream

All are great but my fave is the one with the stump and ALL THOSE COLORS.

Can't even imagine how intense it would be in person.

And very fine music.

I'll never look at a tulip as just a tulip again... :)

I had no idea there were so many different kinds, shapes, colours of tulips. Too bad they only last a short time.