June 9th, 2007: Gerbera Daisy (Gerbera jamesonii) by htop

The Bloom of the Day for June 9th, 2007 was Gerbera Daisy (Gerbera jamesonii).

View the bloom of the day here: http://davesgarden.com/bloom.php?date=2007-06-09

how do you get gerberas to bloom again? I bought one last year and it was dead in 2 weeks. I had it in partial shade and watered only when it was dry.

No offense to this method of getting bloom of the day.................but this is just a matter of who owns the best camera?????????????

Actually, they are nominated by DG members. I nominated many of them as I come across them in PlantFiles, there is a link for anyone to do that. Often when I come across a particularly good photographer, I have gone through all their images to find others to suggest for the Blooms.com.
It's not always who owns the best camera, thats' all relative, even a cheaper camera can give good pictures although a better quality one does help with crisper images. Most often what strikes my fancy is the the angle of the shot, the lighting, the composition, many factors that can enhance an interesting image.

I saw the thread when people were discussing how they were nominating.......my only objection is: How many people try to grow, for example, this cultivar of Gerber Daisy in the yard??????

I just think that we are missing out on a lot of plant material that people actually try to grow...... Photography doesn't interests me at all..................just the plant material.....but I obviously am in the minority.....

Let's be honest and admit that only an expensive fancy camera takes pictures like this particular one and many other shots selected since the decision was made to let people nominate pictures for bloom of the day. I am sitting here with a 450.00 camera and was told which cameras to buy which offer good macro properties..............they run around 800.00 to 1200.00...................

I am sorry that I did not see the comments on this thread sooner.

rockin_r, I took me a long time to find the perfect spot for growing gerbera daisies. Mine are in part morning sun (maybe 2 hours) and then in shade the rest of the day. I try to not have any water hit the leaves when I water. I just slow soak them. They quit dying when I planted the plant in a mound tat is higher than the surrounding soil.

gessiegail, you have assumed too much. I took this photo with a camera my husband bought on Ebay that was all beat up and he had to repair it. It cost $250.00. It is not an expensive camera and takes 3.3 mega pixel photos. Since the camera is 5 years old, it can be purchased on Ebay for about $100.00 now. They have the newer, better ones at Walmart for about $400.00 or so (Sony CD). Most of the time, I have trouble seeing if an image is in focus in bright sunlight because the camera does not have a view finder and the LCD screen is blocked by the light. You say that you are not interested in the photography; however, you belittled excellent photos in Dave's Garden 2007 Photo Contest.

I find it discouraging to be criticized because some of my photos are good and that some people assume that my photos are taken with an expensive camera and/or I am a photographer. I have had no training in photography. I just know how to use my camera to some degree after much experimentation and know how to take macros. I take better macros than anything else. In fact, I have been thinking about taking a college photography course; however, I am scared that I will need a better camera which I can't afford. The photo of the princess flower bloom that took second place in the Dave's Garden 2007 Photo Contest was taken with the same camera as were the photos that won places in the previous Gave's Garden photo contests. Some were evrn taken with an older terrible camera. Maybe I should just start taking out of focus photos so other people don't feel so bad and I am not berated for my efforts.

All I want to do is share the beautiful and interesting plants I observe with others. I want each and every one of them to be admired so I want to take the best photos of them that I can. Not so someone might think, "What a great shot" ... but because I want them to think "How we have been blessed with beautiful and amazing plants." By the way, I also grew this gerbera daisy in my yard as well as the other gerbera daisies of which I have posted photos. I took the photo right after I had brougt them home.

Thank you for your comments, Calif-Sue. You have taken some beautiful photos yourself. I don't feel so sad after reading them.

I have grown the princess flower too. Photo of princess flower bloom is here:
http://davesgarden.com/contest/2007/winners.php?catid=278

This message was edited Dec 11, 2007 7:03 PM