Tulip, YellowYellow tulip photo by Glenn Franco Simmons.
When the Second Great Depression of 2008 was going to result in the closure of the daily newspaper I co-founded, I left six months before it was finally closed.
By that time, my wife and I were well on our way to moving away from the North Coast, where I lived and worked most of my life. It's where my brother, mother and dad are buried. It's where two of my daughters live. It's where countless friends still reside, not to mention memories.
But my wife needed to continue to pursue her city clerk career and so we moved to Cupertino in the midst of then-boooming Silicon Valley, one of the rudest places I've ever had the displeasure of living or visiting.
Tulip, LandscapeWhite tulips in a formal garden photographed in the San Francisco Bay Area by Glenn Franco simmons.
That said, Silicon Valley and the Bay Area, in general, has a bonanza of beautiful gardens and museums.
Not foreseeing the coming of the smartphone with their cameras (which, to me, are still no comparison to traditional 35mm digital or film cameras), I began a career as a professional photographer.
I worked for an international flower company that specializes in popular roses. My photos were used in brochures and on its website.
At that time, I also launched my business, The Flower Photographer of Silicon Valley. As a result of that decision, I visited many gardens, photographing flowers, which are my favorite subjects.
Why is that? Probably because my Grandma Hill loved flowers. And, as a child to an adult in my late 20s, I was still very allergic to flowers of all types. (Dahlias being the one flower I'm not allergic to, and it's my favorite non-fragrant flower.)
Tulip, Red & YellowRed tulip photographed in the San Francisco Bay Area by Glenn Franco Simmons; specifically, about a half-hour south of The City.
Smartphones came and my sales didn't really take off, but it doesn't matter. My art stands for itself. My photos have been shared, sold, used and admired from the majority of countries on Earth. Some have appeared in magazines, on websites, and more.
Tulips are one of my favorite subjects. With more than 75 species and who knows how many colors and color combinations, a photographer can probably never photograph them all.
According to one historical account, "tulip" is derived from the Persian word for turban.
Tulips & HyacinthsTulips & hyacinths photographed, by Glenn Franco Simmons, in the Valley of Hearts' Delight, also known as the Santa Clara Valley in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Tulips now span continents, but were first found from Central Asia to Southern Europe. Since the 1700s with ever-increasing advances in cultivation, they have been naturalized in many areas.
I hope you enjoy my photos.