Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Elephant Foot Palm with Jewels!

The elephant foot palm is so named because it has a large bulbous base.  It is also known as the Pony Tail Palm (I guess no explanation needed).  I refer to it as the Dr. Seuss palm because to me it looks like something out of Green Eggs and Ham.  Turns out it's not a palm at all, but a member of the Lily family (go figure!).  It is native to the deserts of Mexico.  My wife has one in a pot in the front yard.
Elephant Foot Palm: Beaucarnea recurvata 

So why am I blogging about this?  I was in my office Monday AM after a rare S. CA overnight rain, looking out my window, and noticed that the water drops on the leaves were being lit up by the sun.  I felt compelled to put on the macro lens and take some photos.  I was going to save this post for the next Macro Monday, but I'm so happy with the photos I can't wait that long!!

Droplets look like little jewels the way the morning sun was hitting them.


This is a crop from the photo above.

Looks interesting even in B&W!


Please check out more great wet posts at 
studio waterstone
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20 comments:

  1. John @ Beans and I on the LooseNovember 22, 2011 at 6:14 PM

    I think a long time ago at some ranger talk in the desert I learned that palms are of the lily family. But as I said, that was long ago and well...you know.

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  2. desertsandbeyondNovember 23, 2011 at 5:29 AM

    Oh, I love the water droplets! I need to learn how to do that!

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  3. Dutch GirlNovember 23, 2011 at 9:04 AM

    This is a very nice succession of shots. I think in the macro shot I can even see the Ginko trees from one of your earlier posts!

    The "jewels" are very clear; you must have been using your tripod.

    Ha ha. Maybe Theodore Giesel (Dr. Seuss) had a couple of these palms in in his yard as inspiration, too.

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  4. One PhotoNovember 23, 2011 at 10:16 AM

    Nice reflections in the water droplets, a great photographic opportunity.

    Thank you for your visit and comment on my monarch butterfly shot.

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  5. Oakland Daily PhotoNovember 23, 2011 at 10:39 AM

    That's a mighty fine lens you have. If you have more of these photos, think about posting on Weekend Reflection.

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  6. CameraCruiseNovember 23, 2011 at 10:52 AM

    Gorgeous shots!
    Love the water droplets.

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  7. Christina KlasNovember 23, 2011 at 10:57 AM

    Love the reflections in those drops! :) And - yup! a '69 scout... Only, I could use some spare parts for sure! She's missing a few essentials. ;)

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  8. BirgittaNovember 23, 2011 at 11:26 AM

    Love the water droplets! Great shots!

    http://blogg.birgittasplace.com/

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  9. lorikNovember 23, 2011 at 1:34 PM

    Your water drops (bubbles!) are great. I love the reflections within. I have two favourites. The second last one (i especially like the composition) and the black and white one. I like the way you have desaturated almost all the pic except for the tiny orange leaf. Thanks for you comment on my blog too. Photoshop is fun isn't it? I have been teaching myself too.

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  10. forgetmenotNovember 24, 2011 at 5:48 AM

    Wowza--that last shot is a terrific macro. GREAT photos. Happy Thanksgiving. Mickie :)

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  11. AnonymousNovember 24, 2011 at 9:11 AM

    Wow - astounding!

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  12. JenniNovember 24, 2011 at 3:25 PM

    Great shots of the water drops. Beautiful! I really need to start using my macro lens....

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  13. T...November 24, 2011 at 8:48 PM

    what wonderful droplet shots, I love how you've captured the reflection in them...amazing photos

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  14. Carole M.November 24, 2011 at 10:02 PM

    such magical photos; seems the rain is widespread

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  15. Johnny NutcaseNovember 25, 2011 at 10:00 AM

    ohh lalala! LOVE those water drop macros, such awesome reflections in them too. Great stuff :)

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  16. Ann, Chen Jie Xue 陈洁雪November 25, 2011 at 7:10 PM

    I like your water droplets. We have this elephant foot lily.

    Thanks for visiting. Which part of Ca are you in. I came to Ca twice. Once to SF, and another time to Anaheim to Disney land.

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  17. UnknownNovember 25, 2011 at 9:43 PM

    I have tried to get macros of water drops but nothing nearly as pretty resulted.

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  18. Katya kateNovember 26, 2011 at 6:50 AM

    Wow, such amazing captures of these droplets! Photos were pretty awesome and I so love it!

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  19. TexWisGirlNovember 27, 2011 at 10:43 AM

    those are some gorgeous water droplet shots! the gleam in B&W is really like jewels! :)

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  20. JudyNovember 27, 2011 at 7:02 PM

    So cool!!!

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