Goodness of Heart

Dead, decaying flowers.  Really?  What is the allure?  I cannot explain it, but I love to photograph dead or decaying flowers.  I find them intriguing.  So much detail comes through the petals.  The colors mold into unknown shades.  Decaying, or dead flowers speak to me saying, “Even in death, there is life and more to come.”

The flower in the photograph below is a white tulip.  I saved the tulips a bit too long as mold was beginning to grow on the stems.  Time was not permitting me to tend to them until yesterday.  I finally thought “enough is enough” and decided not to let the opportunity to photograph the bouquet pass by.  I noticed this particular flower was hanging in the shape of a heart.  It is almost as though it is traveling through the air.

You’ll notice that there are three images for you to view.  I thought the original was a bit drab despite the detail.  I used backlighting and could have exposed it more, but when I did it seemed blown out and some of the details were lost.

The second version is edited in Photoshop using a curves level and then adding a texture layer.  Have you used Adobe Paper Texture Pro?  I love it.  There are so many options and once you have applied a texture layer you can adjust the opacity in the layers panel.

Loving black and white photography the way I do, I of course had to include a third version in black and white.  I left the texture layer on when converting to black and white.

Which version of the tulip speaks to you the most?  What does it say?

Original “Goodness of Heart”

ss 1/60 f 4.5 ISO 400

Nikon D810, Nikkor 105mm f2.8

Curve adjustment and Adobe Paper Texture Pro Layer – Brushed Rose

Version II converted to Black and White

A Perfect Love

A Perfect Love ~ A Poem

“A perfect love

Comprises of

Intuitive emotions,

Passion,

Warm sensuality,

Playful joy,

Friendship,

Unity,

Inner peace,

All through faith

In another.”

~ Copyright Robyn Graham ~

“We waste time looking for the perfect lover, instead of creating the perfect love.”

~Tom Robbins

Happy Valentine’s Day

Tulip II

SS 1/60 f 4.5 ISO 640 Natural light

“Art makes better humans, art is necessary in understanding the world and art makes people happy.  Undeniably, art is not optional.” – Nathan Sawaya

Tulip I

Tulip I, a Day Dream

SS 1/60 F 4.5 ISO 640

Tulip I is the first image in my 2015 tulip series. I used natural light to photograph several tulips that were decaying. Tulip I is a day-dream. I used back lighting, ambient light, and a shallow depth of field to achieve the swirly, dreamy effect.

In post processing I did a simple curves adjustment, just to give a little color pop.

“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!

2013 Tulip Series – 03

“Out of this nettle, danger, we pluck this flower, safety.” – William Shakespeare

2013 Tulip Series – 02

I declare,

The love we share,

Is more than fair.

Some may not be aware,

Of the bond we share,

Not to be broken with time and wear.

Our love is not a snare,

But two lives that care.

Sometimes we stop and stare,

And wonder how life does dare,

To claim a stake on our un-paling air.

For when we sit within the same chair,

Because there is no spare,

You gently touch my hair.

And at that moment, I dare swear,

We are a pair,

Whose love does not compare,

To those who live without a flare.

copyright Robyn Graham

I Declare

2013 Tulip Series – 01

“If I had my life to live over again, I would ask that not a thing be changed, but that my eyes be opened wider.” – Jules Renard

Rising Up to Brighter Days

 

 

 

Rising Up to Brighter Days in Black and White

(Black and white flowers may not demonstrate the cheer and hope that colorful flowers do,  but, I loved this image in black and white.  Many, many years ago, black and white would have been the only option to present this image and I believe it would have had the same meaning – Rising Up.)

As today is the first day of Spring I feel myself rising up out of the winter doldrums.   The days are getting longer, the sun, when it shines, is shining brighter.  I am longing for warmer days and more sunshine.  As the tulip in the image is rising up toward the sunlight, my spirits are rising in hope that soon, warmer, brighter days will be here to stay for a while.  Let’s all open our eyes wide so that the senses will be reawaken in the days to come – with birds chirping, flowers blooming, grass growing, and children laughing.

 

Rain Drops on Tulips – Day 3

Rain Drops on Tulips – Day 2