I Blinked & Spring is Gone…

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botanical, common weeds, eco, flower, garden, gardening, lavender, macro, macro photo, macro photography, natural, nature, painting, petal, petals, plant, plants, purple, sharon cummings, spring, summer, weeds, wild, wildflower, wildflowers

 

I went outside today to see if there were any flowers left blooming.  In Florida we have a short Winter and then a handful of nice Spring days with bursts of color everywhere.  The azaleas…….the bromeliads……and then it all dies………….9 months of HEAT. Not much grows in Summer except the grass and weeds.  All of my irises are brown and crispy looking.  The lilies look like beef jerky.  But this little group of tiny dancers was still celebrating, so I snapped them quickly before the sun was full in the sky.

I will be in my studio painting now for a good long while……..expect some new acrylic work very soon!

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What ARE These?

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botanical, common weeds, eco, flower, garden, gardening, macro, macro photo, macro photography, natural, nature, orange, pale yellow, petal, petals, plant, plants, sharon cummings, soft, weeds, wild, wildflower, wildflowers, yellow

 

I like to walk around with my camera just seeing what I can find.  I love old buildings and garbage piles because often the most interesting photos are there.  These beauties were growing proud all along an abandoned restaurant. They were not in neat little rows, but wild and rangy. They were large flowers, so I do not think they are weeds.

Do you know what type of flowers these are?

Gettin’ W.I.L.D.

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botanical, common weeds, eco, flower, garden, gardening, lavender, macro, macro photo, macro photography, mother nature, natural, nature, orange, pale yellow, petal, petals, plant, plants, purple, sharon cummings, soft, stamen, weeds, wild, wildflower, wildflowers, yellow

Wildflowers that is.

It’s Spring here in Florida and all of the beautiful flowers are in full bloom.  We went out on a photo shoot this weekend and there were so many to choose from.  Hibiscus and bougainvillea were plentiful.  And the stargazer lilies were absolutely stunning!  But as I was snapping away, I realized with a macro lens I can find beauty far beyond the typical floral fare.  So I got on my hands and knees and started looking at the plants and flowers along the raggedy fences. The little “weeds” and scrubs had my full attention for the day. I was absolutely amazed at the beauty I found in these things we normally mow down and look over.  It’s another world of magnificence!

The lavender specimen above revealed to me the most delicate purple hairs with dancing bursts of yellow rimmed in black. Seriously WILD!  The yellow soft surprise below opened it’s inner world to me with a show of orange and delicate veins.

Nature: I bow to you in even your seeming insignificance.  I no longer see “weeds” in my garden. 🙂

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Creativity vs. Skill

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aromatherapy, botanical, botanical prints, bud, buds, calm, calming, cottage, essential oil, essential oils, field, fields, flora, floral, flower, flower garden, flowers, fragrant, france, french, french lavender, garden, health, herb, herb garden, herbs, homeopathy, lavender, lavender oil, macro, macro flower, macro photo, macro photography, micro, micro photography, natural healing, oils, peaceful, plant, plants, purple, relax, relaxation, relaxing, selby gardens, sleep, sleeping, traditional

 

As I continue my photographic journey I am realizing that a good picture has more to do with creativity than skill.  Skills can be learned, but imaginative expression cannot.  Having shifted my focus recently from my paint table to my camera, I am viewing the world a lot differently.  I am not looking to simply copy what other photographers are doing.  These days with the advent of virtually full-proof cameras, anyone can take a picture of a pretty flower and have it look really good.  I am looking for things that are slightly different.  Perfect flowers can be boring and I am anything but that.  I seek out the slightly edgy or spent.  I want flowers missing from the spray.  I look for torn edges and unpopular subject matter.  Sure, I will capture a perfectly beautiful rose when it happen to be in my visual path, but I am not looking for them.  

This piece titled “Lavender Dance” was a single shoot with missing flowers in a patch of perfectly lovely lavender sprigs.  I liked that nature had taken some of it’s beauty, yet left some for me to capture still….

My skill will improve over time and I hope my imagination will too!