Friday 12 April 2013

A FLOWER STUDY ...





The Emotional Impact of Flowers Study was published in the April 2005 issue of Evolutionary Psychology.
Home Ecology of Flowers Study
Harvard: Living with Flowers Strengthens Feelings of Compassion, and Decreases Anxiety and Worry

With people’s desire for tranquility and stress relief stronger than ever, fresh research takes an insightful look at flowers and the important role they may play in our daily lives. A behavioral research study conducted by Nancy Etcoff, Ph.D., of Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, reveals that people feel more compassionate toward others, have less worry and anxiety, and feel less depressed when fresh cut flowers are present in the home.

“Other research has proven that flowers make people happy when they receive them,” Etcoff says. “What we didn’t know is that spending a few days with flowers in the home can affect a wide variety of feelings.

The Home Ecology of Flowers Study at Harvard uncovered three main findings:

*Flowers feed compassion.

Study participants who lived with fresh cut flowers for less than a week felt an increase in feelings of compassion and kindness for others.

*Flowers chase away anxieties, worries and the blues at home.

Overall, people in the study simply felt less negative after being around flowers at home for just a few days.

Participants most frequently placed flowers in their kitchens, dining rooms and living rooms, where they spend a lot of time at home. They reported wanting to see the blooms first thing in the morning.
*Living with flowers can provide a boost of energy, happiness and enthusiasm at work.

Having flowers at home can have a positive carry-over impact on our mood at work, too. The study found that people were more likely to feel happier and have more enthusiasm and energy at work when flowers were in their home living environments.
“As a psychologist, I'm particularly intrigued to find that people who live with flowers report fewer episodes of anxiety and depressed feelings,” Etcoff says. “Our results suggest that flowers have a positive impact on our well being.” AND AM I NOT LIVING PROOF OF THAT???????? LOL????
As a youngster, being born in Bruges, West Flanders, I would often just walk into one of the many musea and churches where you could admire all the great old Masters, I was a sponge, absorbed it, stored it, till now?
So, I adapted the lights and reflectors for the 'Flemish School of light' again, it so suits these.
It is full on the time of the DOUBLE TULIPS in the shop... at the moment, I feel they 'might' be my favourites! They are a bit capricious, Baroque, so varied in shapes, with small oddities, I have become fascinated by them, aahh, and the colours, from deep red, through textured orange to veined yellow to green, the leaves also perform.Oh my, and that sweet honey fragrance... HMMMM, Love them.
Here are a few 'studies'.
I wish you all a very good day and thanks for all your kind words, time, comments and likes. Very much appreciated.
Magda, (*_*)
 For more of my other work or if you want to PURCHASE (ONLY PLACE TO BUY MY IMAGES!), VIEW THE NEW PORTFOLIOS AND LATEST NEWS HERE on our website: www.indigo2photography.co.uk
IT IS STRICTLY FORBIDDEN (BY LAW!!!) TO USE ANY OF MY image or TEXT on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit permission. © All rights reserved

tulips,red,double,blooms,flowers,design, conceptual Art,studio,colour, black-background,square,lighting,Nikon D7000, magda indigo

Tuesday 2 April 2013

ANOTHER EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW.

FROM THE HEART!!!


I was asked by Rosphoto for an exclusive interview. See the link at the bottom!
The choice of images I left up to them. They best know their 'audience'.
Often the questions are the same, but I like to think that my answers differ somewhat from my peers.
It is a Russian site and a lot got 'LOST IN TRANSLATION'???
That is why I am giving you both the questions AND my answers, as I gave them.


- When you started taking the pictures?
All in my family had cameras, I grew up with them, but 'serious': about 30 years ago. What a journey!

- What genre of photography is your favourite?
Over the years it has changed. I still love to photograph people, because I strongly believe that one of the main, yet too often forgotten ingredients in photography is: EMOTION! I am however best known for my flower-work. I maintain though, I AM NOT A FLOWER photographer... just "A" photographer.

- What equipment are you using?
To me, cameras are just wonderful tools! It is the photographer, behind the camera, who makes the photo!
I love my Hasselblads and my Nikons, but it really does not matter, give me any camera! GOOD lenses(glass) are important though, more important than the body.
Studio lights, often use a big softbox, continuous light and many reflectors.

- What do you like the lens Carl Zeiss? 
I love it for its clarity, sharpness, quality.

- Finish this sentence: "The Photo - it is.."
...at last seeing on screen or in print the image I saw in my creative mind, the thrill of having conquered the challenge.

- What advice can you give a novice photographers?
By learning the skill that 'IS' photography, not chancing it like I see too much of, people don't 'care' enough. It's been made, they think, 'TOO EASY'? You have to RESPECT your medium! Learn about composition, in other words: THE RULES so that you can break them!
It took me about 20 years to come to the result I WANTED!
All I can say is experiment, experiment, experiment... the camera, the lens, other people's EXIF data are irrelevant, because each subject, the material, circumstances, light source is different. Make it your own!
Learn from every mistake you make. Do you think I've stopped learning' I probably work harder at it than most, trying out different, new light settings and techniques constantly.
Never upload an image that is not 100%. Treat each upload site as you would an Art gallery, because that is what it is, you put up an exhibition! People come, visit and judge!
Accept that not everybody is going to like your work, just like you don't like all of theirs.'Your ideas' also aren't always understood, but when they are, you'll get a compliment that will touch you deeply. And last but most important: have fun, enjoy it!

- What character should be a photographer?
A determined creative, with a madness they love to call 'PASSION'?

- Your favourite flowers?
Impossible to answer!

- Your dream?
Most of my dreams have come true, because I wanted it enough? Have a sudden win, money to organise and pay for a MASSIVE exhibit for all the good photographers that I know and who's work is sadly not being seen or recognised!

- Tell me please, how do you manage to make such a beautiful, clear photos on a black background?
To light an object well you need to understand it.
I have tried all sorts of light sources, from flash to Northern daylight, to halogen, FL, and other continuous light sources. There is no magic formula. Each flower needs to be brought to life by individually lighting it. The size, distance, angle and quality of the light all play a role.

- What is your source of inspiration?
My inspiration is nature and people, and a love of life and beauty. I've often said, 'I don't talk to flowers, they talk to me.' I try to let nature's beauty speak to me and then show what I see to the world.

-The creativity of any photographers who is to you particularly important?
As a creative, I try NOT to be influenced by anybody, I want to keep it fresh and personal... meaning that it comes from my brain, not someone else's. However, I do admire the work of Ralph Gibson, Jane Bown, Shinzo Maeda and my husband Paul Indigo.


Thank you, any comments are always welcome! Magda, (*_*)


http://rosphoto.com/a_flowers_magda_indigo