Clematis and clouds
While wandering—but not lonely as a cloud—in the northeast quadrant of Mopac and US 183 on February 27, 2013, I photographed the latter stage of the familiar vine known colloquially as old man’s beard, Clematis drummondii. It’s appeared in these pages probably a dozen times, but never with as dramatic a skyscape as the one from that day two years ago.
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I’m still away from home (barely). You’re welcome to leave comments, but please understand if I’m a bit late in answering.
© 2015 Steven Schwartzman
Portraits of Wildflowers 
That is amazingl
Shannon
February 27, 2015 at 6:03 AM
I was impressed with the sight too, Shannon, and was glad to be able to record it.
Steve Schwartzman
February 27, 2015 at 9:10 PM
Well, I sure hope you don’t mind if I share it next Monday on my Mish Mash post. Cheers!
Shannon
February 27, 2015 at 9:12 PM
Share away!
Steve Schwartzman
February 27, 2015 at 9:21 PM
What a perfect background – nature really cooperated with you
norasphotos4u
February 27, 2015 at 6:48 AM
And I with it in making this testimonial image.
Steve Schwartzman
February 27, 2015 at 9:10 PM
Great shot, Steve.
oneowner
February 27, 2015 at 6:59 AM
Thanks, Ken.
Steve Schwartzman
February 27, 2015 at 9:10 PM
I love it, this one says something! It says a LOT of things!
Elisa
February 27, 2015 at 7:05 AM
The more things the better, Elisa (assuming they’re good things).
Steve Schwartzman
February 27, 2015 at 9:11 PM
Love the connection between land and sky. You are very good at this.
georgettesullins
February 27, 2015 at 7:45 AM
Gracias, Georgette. Sometimes I think I should adopt Connections as a middle name.
Steve Schwartzman
February 27, 2015 at 9:19 PM
Lovely capture with a delicacy of nature’s hand.
lensandpensbysally
February 27, 2015 at 8:03 AM
As above, so below.
Steve Schwartzman
February 27, 2015 at 9:21 PM
Very creative, Steve.
Tom
February 27, 2015 at 8:03 AM
That’s what I aim for, Tom, and sometimes I get it right.
Steve Schwartzman
February 27, 2015 at 9:58 PM
I love the whimsy in this one, with the resonance between the wispy cloud and the wispy beard.
melissabluefineart
February 27, 2015 at 8:15 AM
The photographer’s beard would have been too much of a good thing, so I stopped at these two.
Steve Schwartzman
February 27, 2015 at 9:23 PM
chuckles…
melissabluefineart
February 28, 2015 at 7:41 AM
Fabulous! This must be one of my all-time favourites Steve!
Cathy
February 27, 2015 at 8:42 AM
Thanks for letting me know, Cathy. Hope spring comes early in Bavaria this year.
Steve Schwartzman
February 27, 2015 at 9:24 PM
Barely any signs of it yet Steve, but it can’t be far off now. 🙂
Cathy
March 1, 2015 at 3:07 PM
Despite your postings of ice, snow, and frostweed, this feels like the most wintery photo in your oeuvre. The blue and white are as pristine as a bright, winter day after a fresh snowfall, and the clematis strands resemble frost. It’s beautiful.
shoreacres
February 27, 2015 at 9:27 AM
Today is an appropriate day for wintery, alas, with the thermometer in my yard in Austin reading barely above freezing. That wasn’t my intention when I scheduled this picture in January, but I’ll agree the blue calls up cold quite well.
Steve Schwartzman
February 27, 2015 at 9:37 PM
Ah ~ welcome home.
shoreacres
February 27, 2015 at 9:51 PM
Thanks, though I wish I could say the same to my valise, which has gone missing. Maybe the airline will still turn it up, or maybe not. I’d never entrust anything important (like cameras, photographs, laptops, phones) to checked baggage, but rebuying lost clothing will still be a nuisance if the bag doesn’t materialize.
Steve Schwartzman
February 27, 2015 at 9:56 PM
This is lovely…
Jewels
February 27, 2015 at 10:37 AM
You’ve given me leave (I hope) to place this among the jewels of nature photography in Austin.
Steve Schwartzman
February 27, 2015 at 9:51 PM
Love this photo!
photoleaper
February 27, 2015 at 10:59 AM
I seem to have struck something good here.
Steve Schwartzman
February 27, 2015 at 9:38 PM
Very nice. Ethereal!
jane tims
February 27, 2015 at 6:14 PM
Ethereal is a word I used to use a lot, and a good one to bring up here.
Steve Schwartzman
February 27, 2015 at 9:39 PM
Very nice photo!
jane tims
February 28, 2015 at 6:37 AM
I got ‘Antipodes’ for Christmas. I love the poems, the way they make you feel you are driving down the road with her! Jane
jane tims
February 27, 2015 at 6:17 PM
Is this the ‘Antipodes’ you’re talking about?
http://www.australianliterature.org/Antipodes_Recent_Issues.htm
Steve Schwartzman
February 27, 2015 at 9:43 PM
Hi. Sorry, I was responding to the post just below yours on my reader and must have hit the wrong spot. Antipodes is a poetry book by Maureen Sudlow. Nevertheless I have been thinking about you and wonder if you’ve ever been to the Ajo Desert. I am re-reading Edwin Way Teal’s ‘Journey into Winter’ and mean to go back in your posts to see if you have photographed any of the plants he mentions. I’m certain you have done some of the cacti. Sorry for the mixup! Jane
jane tims
February 28, 2015 at 6:36 AM
Hi, Jane. I thought perhaps you’d inadvertently put a comment here that was intended for someone else, and so you did. This past fall I was in Phoenix and Tucson but never made it southwest of those places to the desert near Ajo. Maybe someday I will.
Steve Schwartzman
February 28, 2015 at 11:58 AM
Clap, clap, clap–till my hands hurt!
krikitarts
February 27, 2015 at 7:10 PM
I appreciate your enthusiasm, Gary, (and your novel way of expressing it), but not at the expense of calloused hands.
Steve Schwartzman
February 27, 2015 at 9:44 PM
wow ness
sedge808
February 27, 2015 at 8:09 PM
Thanks ness.
Steve Schwartzman
February 27, 2015 at 9:45 PM
My first thought was that it was a cloud in front of another cloud. The wispy Clematis looks like you’ve captured a cloud on a stick. Very dreamy.
Jane
February 27, 2015 at 10:10 PM
Now that’s a great description: a cloud on a stick. Dreamy it is.
Steve Schwartzman
February 28, 2015 at 9:20 PM
Wonderful shot
lynnwiles
February 28, 2015 at 7:45 PM
Thanks, Lynn.
Steve Schwartzman
February 28, 2015 at 9:21 PM
I love the simplicity of this image Steve!
Michael Glover
February 28, 2015 at 11:47 PM
Simplicity can be a virtue, Michael. Thanks.
Steve Schwartzman
February 28, 2015 at 11:58 PM
This is quite a unique, and I imagine neck challenging, shot. Great sky as a backdrop for this beard in the wind.
Steve Gingold
March 1, 2015 at 6:45 PM
I’m all for uniqueness, Steve. My neck has a bend in it that will never go away.
Steve Schwartzman
March 1, 2015 at 11:18 PM
[…] Photo courtesy of Portraits of Wildflowers […]
Mish Mash Monday | DirtNKids
March 2, 2015 at 5:05 AM
And my haiku that goes with the image. Thanks, Steve, for the borrow! It’s a great shot.
white hair in the breeze
my twigs as wings gain lift
flying as the clouds
Shannon
March 2, 2015 at 7:48 AM
Happy flight, Shannon.
Steve Schwartzman
March 2, 2015 at 8:45 AM
Still one of the most mesmerizing and dreamlike images I’ve seen anywhere. Trust you to see this perfection and capture it so sweetly.
kathryningrid
March 3, 2015 at 12:53 PM
Thanks and thanks again, K.I. That’s saying a lot.
Steve Schwartzman
March 3, 2015 at 1:50 PM
This is a really impressive shot. The repetition of theme, color, and movement is wonderful. Great job!!
Ann
March 3, 2015 at 8:39 PM
That’s a good analysis of the picture, Ann. I approve.
Steve Schwartzman
March 3, 2015 at 8:45 PM
Love this!
Susan Scheid
March 5, 2015 at 6:08 PM
I’ll call it a hit, Susan.
Steve Schwartzman
March 5, 2015 at 6:45 PM
Gorgeous!
K.J. Ottinger
February 10, 2019 at 5:57 PM
This has become something of a “golden oldie.” Glad you like it.
Steve Schwartzman
February 10, 2019 at 10:03 PM
A great composition/juxtaposition. Both appear windswept.
tanjabrittonwriter
August 15, 2023 at 5:40 PM
Thanks. It’s been 10 years and I don’t recall if a breeze was blowing at the time. Even without any wind the feathery Clematis fibers could well have been in the positions shown here, as I’ve often seen them that way in still air. Nevertheless, I understand how they convey a sense of being as windswept as the clouds aloft were.
Steve Schwartzman
August 15, 2023 at 8:27 PM