Lotus Up Close
by Bruce Bley
Title
Lotus Up Close
Artist
Bruce Bley
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
This photograph of a yellow water lily or lotus was taken while visiting a small lake near my home this past summer.
The roots of lotus are planted in the soil of the pond or river bottom, while the leaves float on top of the water surface or are held well above it. The flowers are usually found on thick stems rising several centimeters above the leaves. The plant normally grows up to a height of about 150 cm and a horizontal spread of up to 3 meters, but some unverified reports place the height as high as over 5 meters. The leaves may be as large as 60 cm in diameter, while the showy flowers can be up to 20 cm in diameter.
An individual lotus can live for over a thousand years and has the rare ability to revive into activity after stasis. In 1994, a seed from a sacred lotus, dated at roughly 1,300 years old was successfully germinated.
From ancient times the lotus has been a divine symbol in Asian traditions representing the virtues of sexual purity and non-attachment.
Hindus revere it with the divinities Vishnu and Lakshmi often portrayed on a pink lotus in iconography. In the representation of Vishnu as Padmanabha (Lotus navel), a lotus issues from his navel with Brahma on it. Goddess Sarasvati is portrayed on a white-colored lotus.
Often used as an example of divine beauty, Vishnu is often described as the 'Lotus-Eyed One'. Its unfolding petals suggest the expansion of the soul. The growth of its pure beauty from the mud of its origin holds a benign spiritual promise. In Hindu iconography, other deities, like Ganga and Ganesha are often depicted with lotus flowers as their seats.
I hope you have enjoyed this photograph and will share it with others. You can see more of my work on my homepage in the various galleries I have created. Thank you for visiting and please come back.
Uploaded
September 7th, 2015
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Viewed 351 Times - Last Visitor from New York, NY on 04/18/2024 at 2:21 AM
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Comments (22)
Robyn King
Congratulations your beautiful work is being featured in The World We See Group :-)
Bruce Bley replied:
Robyn, I sincerely appreciate the feature in the group "The World We See"/ Thank you so much.
Bruce Bley
Kerri, I sincerely appreciate the feature in the group "Best of Botanical Beauty". Thank you for the honor.
Bruce Bley
Neal, I sincerely appreciate the feature in the group "Macro Photography Group". Thank you for the honor and your support.
Bruce Bley
Shawn. I want to thank you for the feature in the group "Seasons Of Beauty". Thank you so much.
Bruce Bley
Maria, I am very grateful for the feature in the group "Must Create Art". Thank you for the honor and your support.
Bruce Bley
Jasna, I sincerely appreciate the feature in the group "Global Flowers Photography". Thank you so much for the honor.
Bruce Bley
Dora, I want to thank you for the feature in the group "Visions Of Spring". Thank you for the nice honor.
Debra and Dave Vanderlaan
Love this interesting macro Bruce! We added our Like. Celebrate life, Debra and Dave
Randy Rosenberger
What a fine piece of artwork for me to proudly display on our Featured Artwork section of our Homepage, within our family of friends and fine artists, in our Wisconsin Flowers and Scenery group and throughout the FAA community. LIKED & FAVED Forever, Elvis, Randy B. Rosenberger (WFS group administrator)
Bruce Bley replied:
Randy, I can't thank you enough for the feature in the group "Wisconsin Flowers and Scenery". Thank you for the honor and your continued support.
John Bailey
Congratulations on being featured in the Fine Art America Group "Images That Excite You!"
Bruce Bley replied:
John, Thank you so much for the feature in the group "Images That Excite You". I sincerely appreciate the honor.
Bruce Bley
Kim, I sincerely appreciate the feature in the group "Floral Photography and Art". Thank you so much for the honor.
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