Some beauty in the world (and - fundraising for YKos?)

(This diary is intended to offer a momentary break from the political world and our own internecine fighting over the Dem 2008 nomination.  I've wanted to post some lovely photos I took recently.  It's probably worth peeking below the fold.  And I pose a question at the end about whether contributing larger, frameable versions of these may be a useful contribution to the YKos fundraiser.  I've love to hear people's views on that.)

Two weeks ago last weekend, I attended the 62nd Annual Santa Barbara International Orchid Show, one of the largest such shows in the U.S.  I was helping a friend sell a plant product (to which I won't link here so as not to sully the site with commerce); my reward was that, as a vendor, I could come into the exhibit hall early and take photos.  And so I did: about 600 of them.

I'm retaining copyright on these photos, but any currently registered Koster may print a copy of each for non-commercial use.  When I eventually cull these images from photobucket to save space, the photos found below will be replaced by broken links.  So, while you can, please enjoy some of the beauty in the world.

UPDATE: Somehow, it left out my poll!  Please do take the poll, thanks!

I did think about turning this into some sort of political diary -- maybe talking about pesticides, or how the tastes of the comparatively wealthy drive agricultural cultivation, or water resources, or whether we can afford frivolity at a time of grave national crisis.  But I won't.  Instead, this is in the spirit of Garry Trudeau's "Even revolutionaries like chocolate chip cookies": sometimes you just have to pause and remember the beauty that makes life worthwhile.  I hope you'll take a moment for that.

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Welcome, denizens of Big Orange!  Everyone crowd in together for the show!

Don't worry, you won't lose your individuality.

The International Orchid Show is a riot of color; it's hard to keep your focus on everthing...

... and, if you're lucky, when you fail it just comes out looking like a watercolor.

Orchids have perhaps the greatest color range among flowers.  Sure, they do pink well ...

... but how many other flower petals can give you this sort of green?

They also have tremendous diveristy of shape, from these dramatic orange and purple flowers ...

... to the Lady's Slipper, the pelican of the Orchid family.

The beauty of some orchids reminds me of that of a pug dog ...

... while others seem to call out sadness.

  These three close-ups
  give you a sense
  of the color and texture
  of these flowers.

Beyond the exhibit hall, you'll find the sales area, where I was working.

The orchids here were cheap -- especially at the end of the last day -- and gorgeous.

If anything, the variety of flowers was even greater than in the exhibit hall.

Back in the exhibit hall, there were all kinds of displays and contests.

This exhibit had lovely orchids in another unusual color (for live flowers): various shades of brown.

It also borrowed a "wild" theme that you may recognize.

Here, a volunteer at the show checks out some entrants in the floral arrangement competition.

This shot shows both the insect shapes on some orchids and how light changes their coloring.

By the way, if there is much interest in these photos, I'm thinking of donating the much larger versions of these images and many more -- all of these begin as approximately 22" x 17" images, though some of these are cropped -- as fundraisers for YearlyKos.  I would indicate the maximum resolution of each photo, whether it is full-frame or a crop.  I could set the number of winners at anything from 1 to 5 or so; however many people won would be invited to choose an image and a size, and I would work with them to choose whatever them most liked.  They could then print out, mat, and frame them by themselves.  (Ideally the shots would then be picked up at a local Costco.)  Alternatively, I would work with the purchaser so that the images could be printed directly onto canvas, at the purchaser's own additional cost, if that is desirable.

If my donating these seems like a good idea, or a bad one, please let me know in comments.

This last photo is a crop from a strange shot: the one flower that takes up most of the space was in focus; all of the others were not.  I've realized that in some way it reminds me of the experience of Big Orange itself: from diary to diary, comment to comment, day to day, the focus shifts from one of us to another.  But the reason that it works, that so many pay so much attention, is that we are standing together, facing and embracing the world, with others like us.

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I intend no false modesty in saying that I'm not a particularly good photographer -- I'm reasonably competent given my being untrained -- but the combination of a decent camera and some exquisite subject matter can overcome any such limitations.  Several friends who have seen these photos, and many of the others, have said that they want copies to frame and use as wall decorations; that's why I dare humiliation to ask whether it is worth my donating some images.  Do let me know if you think that these might fit in well as part of a Yearly Kos fundraiser.  Would you consider bidding?  Thanks!