Loyalty and Devotion

How I shot this: ss 1/60 f 4.8 ISO 2500 – natural light – Nikon D800, Nikkor 100mm f2.8

In the Victorian language of flowers, Alstroemeria mean devotion and loyalty.  My husband gave me a beautiful bouquet of them on our 20th anniversary in November.   The flowers kept their beauty for three weeks, when I finally had a chance to photograph them.   The funny thing is, they have never been my favorite…I am unsure why, and needless to say my husband was teased about brining home flowers that he knew were not my favorite.  His intention, however, was perfect.  The Day Lily is the flower for the 20th anniversary.  As he was not able to find Day Lilies he purchased another flower that is in the lily family.   Now that I know the meaning of the Alstroemeria, and because of the occasion that introduced me to the meaning, they will become a flower I appreciate and treasure.

And with that, I leave you with a quote that could not be more perfect to accompany this post.

“Through devotion, your family cares become more peaceful, mutual love between husband and wife becomes more sincere, the service we owe to the prince more faithful, and our work, no matter what it is, becomes more pleasant and agreeable.”

~ Saint Francis de Sales

“Perfect Love”

“Perfect Love”

“A beautiful thing is never perfect.” – Unknown

In the Victorian Language of Flowers one of the meanings of the tulip is “Perfect Lover”.  We’ve all experienced beautiful love, but have you experienced a perfect love, or lover?  Can you define perfect love or describe the perfect lover?  You are thinking, aren’t you? 😉

I thought the quote above was a “perfect” accompaniment to the image – when in full bloom the Tulip was beautiful and appeared perfect.  But as the wholeness of the Tulip began to fade and it began to wilt, the perception of having “perfect” symmetry and grace disappeared.  However, as seen in the image above, the beauty remains.   To intertwine the image, the quote, and the meaning of the Tulip, one can think of the loves/lovers one has experienced and ponder the beauty of each and what made those loves/lovers perfect, or what caused them to lack perfection.

Have a wonderful weekend filled with beautiful and near perfect love!

Double Exposure – “It’s Heavenly…to be with You”

It’s Heavenly…to be with You

A Double Exposure – White Lily Leaf and White Lily Bud

The title of the above image is based on the meaning of the white Lily in the Victorian Language of Flowers.  The fact that the image is a double exposure of two flowers and was created with an ethereal feel helped make the meaning a perfect title.

I have a fabulous announcement to make.  Yesterday I received an email with the subject line saying: “Congrats!”  At first I thought it must be spam.  Once I read the message and clicked on the link included in the text of the message I was pleasantly surprised.  The link to BWGallerist led me to the home page which had a list of the  “Best of the Best” of Emerging Fine Art Photographers of 2014.  Guess what!  My name was on that list!  I am so honored and excited!   Please visit the link above to read the article and see works of other inspiring photographers on the list.

For those of you who truly love black and white photography I highly recommend subscribing to BWGallerist.  It is a wonderful, informative and inspiring magazine.

Happy New Year!

Tiny Miracle

Tiny Miracle of Love

Yes, I know….another image of snow!  But, I felt this image warranted a post to itself.  Do you see what I captured?  I was using a narrow depth of field which was a mistake, but I still managed to capture a miraculous sight.  Be sure and look at at the snowflake in the lower righthand corner of the image.  I thought it was special to have captured this particular snowflake in the month of February!

Golden Peace

A wave of grace

Washes over the soul

As the golden glow

Of the sun recedes

Beyond the horizon.

A wave of golden warmth

Moves the heart

And stirs the emotions

Of then and now,

Of loves lost and gained,

For people who’ve come and gone

With the ebb and flow

Of the waves of life

Flowing near and far

Tempting the soul to grasp

The glory of the golden peace

That often lies beyond our reach.

Until, at last,

We concede to accept

The love and peace

Offered by –

The divine.

copyright Robyn Graham

Golden Peace