Friday, June 11, 2010

English Marigold

English Marigold
Calendula officinalis 'Radio'
(ka-LEN-dew-luh) (oh-fiss-ih-NAH-liss)

This is one of my favorite annuals. I just wish there was a way to keep it going during the summer. It often makes a strong comeback later in the season and lasts through a few light frosts. There have been several other posts on this flower here before and I am not going to post the same information again (use the search to find the posts). This particular variety of Calendula has been around since the 1930’s and it has a nice deep color and a good flower form. I really hope it self seeds for next year. Here it is June and I am already thinking about next year. I should slow down and enjoy the upcoming season.

This next picture is the famous Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in Manhattan. The other week when I went to NYC I had just watched the movie Serendipity with Kate Beckinsale. Who I think is the hottest thing to come out of England since the Beatles. A lot of the movie was shot at the Waldorf and Central Park and it was fun to kind of revisit the sites so soon after watching it. We did stay at the Waldorf several years ago and it was a pretty amazing weekend. I ordered a $45 steak from the room service menu and that is way over what I would usually pay but when the steak came it was one of the best I ever had and worth the money. In this picture you can see the Swiss flag flying which means that a high level member of that countries government is staying there.


The picture of the Calendula was taken with the D700 and 105mm macro lens. It is great combination and hard to miss the shot with. The Waldorf picture was taken with the D70s, which has come out of semiretirement, and the Sigma 17-70mm lens. I noticed how noisy the D70 photograph was compared to the D700 (it may not be apparent at this resolution).

Have a Happy Friday, everyone.

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