03-07-13 An Ordinary Rose

You may have noticed that I revisit the same subjects and scenes in my photography. It could be that I do that because I have limited access to new subjects and scenes. Or it could be that I both lazy and have limited vision.But it occurs to me this morning that, though there may be a grain (or a bolder) of truth in in this, the real reason is that as I improve as a photographer, I keep wanting to go back and improve on the photos I have taken. Whether the improvements are visible or worth the time and effort, I can't say. I'll admit that photography for me is sometimes more about the experience and process than it is about the result. Talk about right brained. . . .What I like about this "ordinary rose" is the texture in the catchlights in several of the drops of water. How did that happen? By accident, of course. In the process of experimenting with a honeycomb grid on a medium soft box, I discovered that the grid shows up like window panes in several of the focused drops. I like it even if you don't. :-)I also like how I spent 10 minutes in Photoshop moving one of the drops because I thought the balance in the photo would be improved. I figure that the drop is less than 3mm in size. But in the macro world, that is pretty big. Which drop? I'm not telling. . . . It ends up being one of the "1000 unseen details."

02-14-13 Better Than the Real Thing

Red roses are a symbol of love in our culture. So sending roses is an act of love, I guess. And I'll admit that fresh, red roses beautifully arranged are hard to beat. But they're expensive. And they are ephemeral: if a fresh rose symbolizes love, what does a wilted, drooping rose suggest? I'm not even going to suggest the possible answers to that question.But these roses will never wilt. So that's why they are "better than the real thing." Feel free to share them with someone you love. . . .

10-25-12 Variations On A Theme

It was on this day in 2009 that my mother died. And it was on the same date years before that that her mother and my grandmother died. So these roses are for Bernice and Ida. The "roses" are really the same rose with 4 different HDR treatments.

Red

Somebody gave my wife a dozen roses, which gave me a photo opportunity. Did I buy the flowers? Nope. Kim did.

Another World

When I took this photo, I saw a single pink rose. But, as is often the case, I saw other things as I began to process it. I don't know how your broswer behaves when you look at my photos in this blog but on my computer when I click on the photo, I get a bigger view. And when I hover my cursor over the bigger view, it turns into a magnifying glass with a "+" sign on it. Try clicking on the photo then and you get an even bigger view.When the photo is fully magnified to full resolution, you might be able to see what I saw and understand why I called this post "Another World." While you are here, how about taking a look at the Crab Nebula and looking for similarities between it and this flower which is no bigger than a US quarter (or a 2 Euro Coin). The Crab Nebula has a diameter of 11 light years, by the way. I guess I've given away one of the differences.Canon 5DII 1/60s f/2.8 ISO320 100mm

11-02-09 Rosey Remembrance

This red rose came from an arrangement for my mom's funeral. We had brought the rose home and as I was walking through the dining room, I noticed that the late afternoon sun was bathing it in strong, angular light. I guess this was a sign for me to photograph the flower.

07-29-09 Rain Drops On Rose Petals

Here's another macro photo that renders the subject a little abstractly. Donna, my neighbor, urged me to check out her roses and this is what I saw. Thanks, Donna, for growing them!

Canon 5DII 1/80s f/6.3 ISO200 100mm

03-17-09 Summer Roses

I'll let you in on a secret: I sometimes play the role of Mother Nature. In this case, I misted the flowers with a spray bottle. The beads of water add interest and I'll bet I'm not the only photograper who does this.

NOTE: I'm going where there is no wireless and because I am behind in my photo a day project, there will be no commentary on the next few photos. I have a feeling no one reads this stuff, anyway. :-)