The Roving Photographer's Lotus Photos

Photo Op 3: In Search of the Lotus

You can't predict where the Roving Photographer will find his next challenge. One summer, quite by surprise, he found himself on an endless pursuit for lotus photos

When I started recording my roving photographer exploits, I had thought they would be focused on more or less one-shot photo ops - here we have a county fair, there we have some gardeners. What I didn't realize was that there would be many compelling subjects that would draw me back time after time. When one of my gardener friends invited me to a tour of the lotuses in Monroe County, MI, I had no idea that I would be compelled to repeatedly visit a variety of locations to get a good shot of these magnificent blossoms.

In fact, at the time I had no idea what a lotus looked like, or why I would even want to photograph one (other than that there are few things that I won't find photo-worthy!).

Before I was done, I would come to a healthy appreciation of these dramatic flowers that have been revered world-wide, even before biblical times. I became interested not only in getting a set of good images, but in understanding more about the lifecycle and history of these flowers.

[That introduces the subject of how to improve your digital photography by getting to know your subject better, and the converse topic of learning about your subject through photography. Great topics, but let's save them for another day...]

I discovered that lotus could be easily found if you knew where to look, and when.  Yet, even when found, it was difficult to reach closely enough to them at the sites that I had been visiting.

After making four attempts in the wild, where the lotuses stretched beyond the 300 mm reach of my lens, I found myself at the Chicago Botanical Garden.  With its well laid out gardens and boardwalks across the water, I was finally able to get close. But, as these were the "sacred lotus" of the Old World, I remained intent on capturing the "American Lotus" of the New World. These were the lotus to be found in the lakes and waterways of Michigan.

The photos on this page contrast the challenge of getting a good lotus photo in the wild to the opportunities to be found in a cultivated setting.

Lotus and the Roving Photographer in the Wild

The Monroe Michigan Lotus Garden Club arranged a tour of the American Lotuses seen from the grounds of Consumers' Energy on Lake Erie. The power company graciously allowed us onto their property where we were able to walk along a bluff overlooking acres of lotus plants. This was my first glimpse of lotuses, but my Roving Photographer instincts were stymied by the distance to the flowers, as the bluff was some 10 to 15 feet (3 - 5 meters) above water level.

Acres and Acres of Lotus
Nikon D300, Nikkor 18 - 200 mm VR @ 24 mm, ISO 800, 1/320s, f/11

I had the ability to look at the blossoms through my 300mm equivalent lens, while my wife and others on the tour could barely make out the individual blossoms. You can see below that even the closest flowers, at 10" (25 cm) across, are barely discernable.

As Close as the Roving Photographer Could Get
Nikon D300, Nikkor 18 - 200 mm VR @ 200 mm, ISO 800, 1/200s, f/11

Detail of Photo Above

Only by enlarging the image was I able to begin to see what the flowers are made of. This is good for understanding the flower, but it doesn't yield sharp, engaging lotus photos.

So close, and yet so far, my curiosity was piqued and I wanted to get close enough to see what the strange yellow cone and golden stands at its base were all about.

Perhaps at our next tour stop...

We next visited Detroit Edison property, but were even further from the flowers. I even discovered lotuses at a lake five miles from my home, but even they were too far from shore. I needed a boat but couldn't get my hands on one.

Tame Lotuses find the Roving Photographer

Perhaps I should say "cultivated" lotuses, not "tame", but I think you get my drift. A month after the photos above, I was visiting my parents in Chicago and they suggested a trip to the Chicago Botanic Garden. With camera in hand (of course), we strolled past water lily ponds, through rose gardens, Japanese gardens, and many, many others.

Even while photographing the water lilies (see photo at the very top of this page), I had no thoughts of looking for lotuses. I had somehow put them out of my mind, not associating them with gardens, until my wife suggested I ask about them. I'm glad she did, as I was directed to the aquatic garden, where a boardwalk took me right alongside some magnificent sacred lotuses.

Now, I could really see what these flowers are all about...

Full mid-afternoon sun, close proximity, and a long focal length provided the close scrutiny and crisp detail that I was unable to attain in the wild. Similar to the pale yellow American lotus shown earlier on the page, this pinker sacred lotus is about 10" in diameter.

Bottom line

A key way to improve your digital photography: Get close and get that detail!