Pic(k) of the Week: "Early Azalea" blossom

A native early azalea shrub blooms in the Trailhead Community Park, of the East Decatur Greenway: City of Decatur, Georgia, USA. 5 April 2024.

Rhododendron prinophyllum —commonly known as the early azalea, roseshell azalea, woolly azalea — is a rhododendron species in the heather family (Ericaceae), native to the eastern and southern United States, found in damp thickets, open woods, and along streams.

Rhododendron prinophyllum is a woody, spreading, deciduous shrub that grows 2 to 8 feet in height. The flowers, light pink to purplish in color, appear in early spring before the emergence of the foliage. The flowers have a pleasant, clove-like fragrance, and are up to 1½-inches long (4 cm), with protruding stamens and 4-5 petals occurring in large clusters. The foliage is smooth and blue-green, and turns purplish in fall.

— Wikipedia.
— North Carolina Cooperative Extension.
— Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

And, as a bonus image, a bud of an early azalea, pre-bloom...

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About the accompanying music

The tune is Up Jumped Spring, a jazz waltz composed by trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, performed on his album Backlash from 1966/67. Belying the the piece's 3/4 time, Hubbard's playing is crisp and driving, leavened with a joyful sense of dance and melody. Mix that with James Spaulding's sprightly flute, the left-hand comping and right-hand runs of pianist Albert Daily, and the powerful backbeat of bassist Bob Cunningham and drummer Otis Ray Appleton: it's a crystalline masterpiece (and, yes, appropriate to this week's image!). The tune has since become a standard in the jazz repertoire.

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• On 7 May 2024, the administrator for the Flickr photography group "Flickr Best compositions" rejected this image, writing: "your floral shot just isn't a real good composition, there are no dynamics, nice shot but kinda blase." [their misspelling]. I've retained the memory of that nonsense as a badge of honor.


• Pic(k) of the Week: one in a weekly series of images posted on Saturdays.
• Photo 20 of 52, for year 2024. See a hi-res version on Flickr: here.
• Commercial reproduction requires explicit permission, as per Creative Commons.


• Camera: Olympus OM-D E-M10 II.
• Lens: Olympus M.40-150mm F4.0-5.6 R
• Settings: 100 mm | 1/1000 sec | ISO 400 | ƒ/5.0


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