Flower Reference Photographs for Artists (Cereus, Plumeria, Tulips, Orchid)

"Flowers are those little colorful beacons of the sun from which we get sunshine when dark, somber skies blanket our thoughts."  -  Dodensky

This green and magenta orchid really caught my eye.   All of the flowers posted here are free for artists to use as reference material for their paintings.  You do not have to worry about copyright infringement and there is no need to give me the credit for a reference photograph.   Just keep in mind that I may eventually paint from the same photograph; but, let's face it, out of the thousands of reference photos I have, I will never be able to paint them all in my lifetime.   I thought it would be nice to share.     

For those of you who are not artists, keep in mind that I do commissioned paintings; if you see a photo here you like or if you have pictures of your own that you would like me to paint from for you, contact me at reynoldsrenditions@gmail.com

Cereus or Night Blooming Cactus

There are a couple of spots here on Oahu where there are many night blooming cactus showing off every July.  I have many more photographs of these if you are interested in seeing several.

Being a tropical climate in Hawaii, tulips do not grow here.   I have to purchase store bought tulips when I want to  paint them.    Below are photographs of plumeria tree blossoms which are found on all the main Hawaiian Islands in abundance.   Also known as frangipani, they put on quite a show here.   

I have an enormous collection of plumeria/frangipani photographs.  If you are interested in seeing more, just let me know.

Happy painting!

reynoldsrenditions@gmail.com

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Photographs of Kualoa Ranch - Oahu, Hawaii

Entrance to Kualoa Ranch

The center building has a nice gift shop as well as tasty food at their cafe.   In the not shown foreground is the beach across the road at Kaneohe Bay.

See the ATV's in the middle ground?   I was not adventurous enough to try them, but I have taken their jeep tours (which go more in the jungle) and also their bus tours.   The tour guides keep you informed and entertained as you travel along, and they are generous about stopping to let you take photographs.    Some shots I took from the windows as well.   

From the two photographs above you can see they have horseback riding at the ranch as well.   By the way, you can find out more information about the ranch and their tours at www.kualoa.com .   At more than one tour listed, they have short videos of beautiful scenery on their site. 

You can also have a wedding ceremony in different areas of the ranch.   This is a sixth generation working ranch complete with cattle and it was first established in 1850.

Above is yours truly when I took the Kualoa Ranch's catamaran boat tour.   Behind me is Chinaman's Hat Island, or Mokoli'i;, and behind that is the Koolau Mountain Range.   

Desert rose plant on the property

Above is what is left of the movie set "Mighty Joe Young".    Many movies have been filmed here; like 50 First Dates, Pearl Harbor, Jurassic Park, and Godzilla.  And of course most of the TV show  "Lost" scenes were filmed at Kualoa Ranch.   The ranch has a special "Movie Tour" you can choose if you wish. 

For more photographs and information on Kualoa Ranch, please visit my photography blog .

I am still painting so check back again soon.   

reynoldsrenditions@gmail.com

My Website

Took a Break, Took Photos at Foster Botanical Gardens Oahu

"I have not tried to reproduce nature: I have represented it."  Paul Cezanne

Cannonball Tree Flowers

Photography by Carol Reynolds

Since it is May, it is time for the Magnolia Trees on Oahu to bloom.  They are rare introductions on this island, and I only know of two spots where there are magnolia trees.   One is at Foster Botanical Gardens, so I went there this morning to see if I could photograph it.  There were no blooms on the tree there and no buds whatsoever.   I went later to the other tree in a Makiki suburb of Honolulu and that magnolia tree had several buds on it so I will return there again in 4 or 5 days.    

The photograph above was taken at Foster Botanical Gardens this morning, and I have several photos of  the cannonball trees there.  For more information, visit my photography blog  here and once there in the box saying "search this blog" type in cannonball tree.   I am sorry, but I could not get the link to work on the exact post there.   

Below are more photographs showing the cannonball shaped fruit on this tree, which when it falls to the ground it makes a loud cannon-like sound and also gives off a foul odor. 

Foster Botanical Gardens has a nice gazebo, and today when I first arrived there a wedding was being held at the gazebo.   I have several other photos of this gazebo taken previously, but the one below I took today.    I fully intend to paint this gazebo soon.

Below is a shot of an ornamental pineapple plant at the gardens today.

It felt good to get out and take photographs today, but now I need to finish some paintings I have started .   Please stay tuned !

Thank you for visiting today!

reynoldsrenditions@gmail.com

My Website