I like the water lily court at Longwood Gardens and have posted photographs from it several times before (see the links at the end of this post). I tried some different techniques when we visited the gardens last week can got some better results than I had previously.
I tried to position myself so that my shadow fell on the flower – so the light was less harsh. The colors seemed ever more vivid and the surface tension where the petals touched the water was visible. I always think the center of waterlilies are surreal looking both because of their structure and their colors.![](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/59a947c9893fc067169a1515/t/59a9d81e02d7bca420cfbced/1443311810607/1000w/2015+09+IMG_4731+clip.jpg)
Sometimes water lilies look a little like tulips. This one was just opening.![](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/59a947c9893fc067169a1515/t/59a9d81e02d7bca420cfbcee/1443311842373/1000w/2015+09+IMG_4736+clip.jpg)
Once open…the bees find the flowers irresistible. Many times there are several bees in the same flower.![](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/59a947c9893fc067169a1515/t/59a9d81e02d7bca420cfbcef/1443311864067/1000w/2015+09+IMG_4739.jpg)
Longwood puts black dye in the water of the pools to reduce algae growth but it helps with photography as well. Either surface tension or reflection is common.![](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/59a947c9893fc067169a1515/t/59a9d81e02d7bca420cfbcf0/1443311888803/1000w/2015+09+IMG_4746.jpg)
Most of the time we think of lily pads as being green but they often have a lot of red – particularly when they are new.![](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/59a947c9893fc067169a1515/t/59a9d81e02d7bca420cfbcf1/1443311909427/1000w/2015+09+IMG_4748.jpg)
This flower was partially submerged. I also like the water accumulated on the battered lily pad above the flower.![](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/59a947c9893fc067169a1515/t/59a9d81e02d7bca420cfbcf2/1443311931002/1000w/2015+09+IMG_4750.jpg)
The flower was in the full sun but I managed to get golden reflection rather than overly bright areas. This is the flower of the largest water lily pads.![](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/59a947c9893fc067169a1515/t/59a9d81e02d7bca420cfbcf3/1443311950993/1000w/2015+09+IMG_4753.jpg)
There are subtle color changes of the petals that are hard to notice with the flowers are in full sun.![](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/59a947c9893fc067169a1515/t/59a9d81e02d7bca420cfbcf4/1443311988773/1000w/2015+09+IMG_4767.jpg)
Notice the framing of the flower (below) with the scalloped edges of the lily pads.![](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/59a947c9893fc067169a1515/t/59a9d81e02d7bca420cfbcf5/1443312009091/1000w/2015+09+IMG_4769+clip.jpg)
I was surprised but the increased detail visible in the petals when the flower is not in full sun.![](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/59a947c9893fc067169a1515/t/59a9d81e02d7bca420cfbcf6/1443312032099/1000w/2015+09+IMG_4771.jpg)
The flower seemed to glow – surround by green…and the water tension visible where the lily pads touch the water.![](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/59a947c9893fc067169a1515/t/59a9d81e02d7bca420cfbcf7/1443312052048/1000w/2015+09+IMG_4773.jpg)
Shading the flowers took some effort…but I like the quality of the images more than ever!