Floral Photography at the Living with Nature Center - Art and Botany

Floral Photography 

at the Living with Nature Center

San Vicente, Ilocos Sur 

 

Dr Abe V Rotor 

"Two things come to the scene, 

with a camera in a garden:

art and science, 

photography and botany." - avr 

 Staminate flowers of squash (Cucurbita maxima) are gathered for 

vegetables, rich in antioxidant properties, vitamins and minerals.

“What I like about photographs is that they capture 

a moment that’s gone forever, impossible to reproduce.”

– Karl Lagerfeld

Make-believe flowers of  thorny acacia (Acacia auriculiformis) 

are red petals of Bougainvillea (Bougainvillea spectabilis)

“Everything that slows us down and forces patience, everything 

that sets us back into the slow circles of nature, is a help. Gardening 

is an instrument of grace.” ― May Sarton

Female flowers with seeds of Mickey Mouse plant (Ochna serrulata)

The male flowers are yellow and are borne on the same plant.

“Great photography is about depth of feeling, not depth of field.”

– Peter Adams

Red gumamela (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis) is a common ornamental 

plant in the Philippines.  In comes in various varieties and cultivars.

“Photography helps people to see.” – Berenice Abbott

Chinese sampaguita (Jasminium sp)

“You can get attached to plants when you lose faith in people.”
― Manuele Fior

Red Bougainvillea (Bougainvillea spectabilis)

“There's something satisfying about getting your hands in the soil.” 

― E.A. Bucchianeri, Vocation of a Gadfly

 Caballero (knight in Spanish) or Caesalpinia pulcherrima 

comes in two colors - red and yellow.

“If your pictures aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough.”

– Robert Capa

Abanico or fan plant (Scaevola albida)

“Spring time is nature at its best.”
― Lailah Gifty Akita, Think Great: Be Great!

Inflorescence of spurge - Euphorbia multifida 

False Bird of Paradise (Heliconia rostrata) flower meets sunrise

“Taking pictures is savoring life intensely, every 

hundredth of a second.” – Marc Riboud

Sabawil plant or Velvet bean (Mucuna pruriens)

Peace Lily or Lírio-da-paz (Spathiphyllum cannifolium)

“There are always two people in every picture: the photographer 

                                                  and the viewer.” – Ansel Adams

“Each of us is like seed, planted by the Good Gardener 

so we might grow into something majestic.” ― 

Seth Adam Smith, Rip Van Winkle and the Pumpkin Lantern ~

Living Wall at Home: A World at Peace

Living Wall at Home

A World at Peace

Living with Nature Center

San Vicente, Ilocos Sur

Dr Abe V Rotor

  

Living Wall at Home mural by AV Rotor, restored c. 2015 

There's a saying, "If you can't go to the mountain, make the mountain come to you."

I heard this many times in my childhood, and now that I'm old, it's indeed true.

So I learned to draw on paper, paint on canvas, and many years later, on a wall,

I planted trees, made a watershed, dug a cave, trained a river and a waterfall.

Eureka! Providence guided me to create a scene of Nature, a li'l piece of Eden

here on earth redeeming in my humble way, far from perfect, that lost Garden.

I invite people to come, passersby to stop, strangers to find a place to rest,

even only for a while, while the world wobbles in incessant turmoil and unrest. ~

Nature in Photography and Poetry in 16 Scenes

Nature in Photography and Poetry 

in 16 Scenes

Dr Abe V Rotor

"On earth there is no heaven, but there are pieces of it." 

- Jules Renard

It must be Pavlov's conditioned learning,

they come at the time of feeding,

and we, delighted of their friendliness

believe we are kind and loving.

In each leaf a fountain

stored from cloud and dew;

I won't thirst on my travel

even days without rain.

"Nature is not a place to visit, it is home." –Gary Snyder

"In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." 

–John Muir

"My wish is to stay always like this, living quietly in a corner 

of nature." –Claude Monet

Beauty begets beauty,

but only for a time;

sooner of later fades,

with its scent divine.

There's always a monkey on my back,

asleep or awake,

I lead the evolutionary track

for all creatures' sake.

What tells you this owl this hour of day?

" I can't join you at night," the owl seems to say,

"with my hunting adventures around the bay,

and you on the computer night and day."

"What is the good of your stars and trees, your sunrise and the wind, if they do not enter into our daily lives?" –E.M. Forster

I won't pity you my friend

having reached your end,

if worth a museum piece,

to disturb man's peace.

"Some old-fashioned things like fresh air and sunshine 

are hard to beat." –Laura Ingalls Wilder

You are made of jelly, third state of matter:

colloid pulsing in the computer.

But I would rather make you a prism

in search of an unknown realm.

"Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet 

and the winds long to play with your hair." - Khalil Gibran

Let him be among the sand pipers and crustaceans;

to grow up unlike us away from sea and sun;

I wonder how we survived not having as much fun,

in modern caves, concrete jungle, always on the run.

Whiling away before a wooden frame;

sungka played wild and tame,

turns friend to fiend; to loot and burn;

all's fair in this ethnic game.

Tame, though its gene is wild;

sans its own kind in the wild,

human its master and king,

and every guest its friend -

but in a little while, one by one

until the species is gone, and lo!

the hero in the last hour,

would he himself follow.

“What I like about photographs is that they capture a moment that’s gone forever, impossible to reproduce.” – Karl Lagerfeld

Extinct beasts come alive in our midst,

challenging faith and tradition;

seeing is believing yet how nil these are

to the realm of understanding,

a God before and now, near and far,

makes man's awe and thanksgiving.

Desert ship, the camel tame and dumb,

why of all places you have come?

is it a new wasteland that you found

from forest and pasture land?

Nothing beats the native chicken's taste,

and for the convalescing patient;

the karurayan all in immaculate white,

to the herbolario, an angel sent.

“The best thing about a picture is that it never changes, 

even when the people in it do.”– Andy Warhol

Who can tell a beast from a baby?

all babies though are in a bind;

and like our own it needs TLC,

orphaned from its own kind.

A baby elephant with sultry eyes

feeling the touch of a lovely lass;

for a mother's love is also weaned,

as childhood soon will pass.

Stars of the sea were once

stars in heaven that fell

to bring joy in the deep blue

which was thought as hell. ~

“Photography takes an instant out of time, altering life 

by holding it still.” – Dorothea Lange

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Lesson on  Living with Nature School on Blog

Paaralang Bayan.sa Himpapawid (School on Air) with Ms Melly C Tenorio
738 KHz AM 8 to 9 evening class, Monday to Friday

Some "saving grace" from the deleterious effects of El Niño in the garden

Some "saving grace" from the deleterious effects of El Niño drought in the Garden

Living with Nature Center

San Vicente, Ilocos Sur 

Dr Abe V Rotor

  

Country lass Angie Tobias 18, holds a bountiful harvest of karamay at the Living with Nature Center. Extreme drought triggered heavy fruiting of karamay or karmai (Cicca acida).  The ripe fruits are eaten fresh with salt, or pickled with sukang Iloko (Ilocos vinegar).

 

Sorosoro or karimbuya (Ilk) - Euphorbia tirrucali - is resistant to drought given ample watering, otherwise it loses all its leaves even when its stalk remains green. Try lechon baboy or manok (also relyenong bangos) stuffed with sliced leaves of karimbuaya. It's the secret of Ilocano lechon and relyeno.

 

 Upland kangkong (Ipomoea aquatica) survives dry field condition  at the basin (alug, Ilk) of ricefields, providing an alternative source of vegetables in difficult times.

   

 

The fruiting season of macopa (Syzygium samarangense) is summer.  Ripe fruits are picked from the tree, otherwise they fall to the ground. Dry spell and strong wind may cause immature ones to fall off. Macopa is popular among Ilocanos, the ripe fruits are eaten fresh, or specially made into fruit wine and vinegar.  

   

 

Golden shower (Cassia fistula) is brightest in summer, heightened by prolonged dry spell.  It is the tropical counterpart of the cherry blossom phenomenon in temperate countries.

 

 

Mulberry (Morus alba) is principally grown for the silk industry as food of the silkworm.  It is commonly found growing in the wild.  It is resilient to dry spell and flood.  Ripe fruits are alternative to "berries" in difficult times.  Table wine from mulberry has a unique quality in taste and color.

 

Caballero (Caesalpinia pulcherrima), also known as Bulaklak ng Paraiso (Flower of Paradise), belongs to the legume family, Fabaceae. It is used as traditional medicine for its anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, anti-viral and purgative properties. Although it blooms throughout the year, it is most profound in the dry months. Yellow and red are the most common local varieties.

 

The color of mature nuts of Bunga de jolo or Manila palm (Adonidia merrillii) is intense in summer, heightened by dry spell as shown in these photos. 

 

Drought-resistant Buntot Tigre maguey (Agave), and Variegated Oregano

(Origanum vulgare) grow luxuriously under moderate water regimen.  Maguey is a natural source of fiber for rope making, while oregano is home remedy for colds and other respiratory diseases.

 

Water plants grow in a garden pond - duckweed ( Lemna minor ), kiapo (Pistia stratoites), Hydrilla and water hyacinth ( Eichhornia crassipes ).  They are virtually unaffected by the deleterious effect of El Niño as long as the pond is full. 

 

Mango trees (Mangifera indica) laden with fruits during drought can be explained physiologically, but much of the phenomenon remains a mystery. Very tall trees are difficult to harvest, thus their fruits just fall naturally and browsed by goats and ground fowls.  Fruit bats have their fill in the tree at night. ~

 

Heritage trees such as anahaw (Livistonia rotundifolia) and caimito (Chrysophyllum cainito) are resistant to climate change and can withstand drought because their root system can pernitrate deep into the ground. A coed from nearby San Vicente Integrated School studies a three-generation caimito tree as part of a practicum. ~