The weather here has been pretty frightful---snow, strong winds, and cold temperatures. Even on the days when it has warmed up a bit, the sidewalks are still too icy for safe walking. Any exercise is coming from the gym. This is about the time of winter when I begin to tire of the whole event, and yet I know from experience, there's a good 6-8 weeks of winter left for those of us in western New York.
Fortunately, there are a few places (and times) we you can take solace---and your camera---to events and places where the organizers know exactly what Rochesterians need right now. For the next two weeks, The George Eastman Museum is hosting The Dutch Collection. George Eastman loved plants and flowers and every year imported thousands of bulbs to bring spring into his mansion. I've posted photos from this event in the past, although last year I missed it. Here are some photos from my trip on Thursday, the first five taken within five minutes for Sandie's Five in Five meme.
Pots of Helleborus lined the hallway from the photographic museum to the mansion. In the pots, they were not terribly impressive, but . . .
. . . close up they were lovely.
Looking down on some beautiful Fox Trot tulips.
Flowers in the atrium.
And always one of my favorites, the clivia.
One of the challenges I've set for myself this year is to try to use the different cameras and lenses I own. I finally mastered the controls of my Olympus mirrorless camera in January, and all the photos I took on the trip to Disney World and Wisconsin were taken with the Olympus or my iPhone. The last few years when we've traveled I've taken my Sony Cyber Shot RX10, lighter than my Canon Rebel, no interchangeable lenses, but a great zoom. What's been neglected is the camera I relied on for years--my Canon Rebel and my favorite fixed lens the 50mm. So that's what I took with me on Thursday. I was surprised at how much heavier it is, and how much I've come to rely on Live View and a zoom when taking photos. It forced me to "see" things a bit differently than I've been accustomed to.
The bank of flowers (mostly tulips) in front of the organ in the Conservatory.
Even more flowers upstairs overlooking the Conservatory.
A Purple Rain Amaryllis
And last, a collection of narcissus in front of windows showing the snowy landscape of the outside gardens.
