Photography is an Art, a way of life, of thinking creatively and seeing life, it is my passion, mental and emotional nourishment. All I can say is experiment, experiment, experiment... the exposure is irrelevant because each flower, the light source is different, just like for people and everything else!
I love flowers, they are neither shy nor temperamental, just extremely ephemeral, and that is one of the things I like to capture and eternalise, their beauty.
All flowers are beautiful, some through their shape some through their colour, some through both, just like with people, however, I noticed over the years, that some flowers are more photogenic than others... just like with people…
Fresh flowers, a fresh idea, a fresh image.
For professional work, the flowers have to be PERFECT, luckily, for my free work, I love a bit of 'imperfection', adds interest and is less boring!
I love gardening, seeing plants grow, unfurl, bloom, and rain-damage doesn't make a flower less appealing to me because it's not 'perfect'!
I like the natural light too, but that is another blog for later!
Make it your own! Continuously experimenting and playing with light, I love the textures and tones, taken in the studio, playing with light, flags and cutters to get the desired effect of chiaroscuro... also with emotion and a sensuality of 'you're making my toes curl'?
I often have several arrangements for the different takes, yet often I have previsualised it so well, that it takes ONE shot!
I wanted dramatic lighting for this series.
Paul and I love working together whenever we can, the lights set up, hand measuring the light, then a quick try (before it used to be with Polaroids) with the digi (Nikon D70/200, nikkor Macro 60mm).
It is always the same, once you have an idea for the studio, you get in there, see something else, and something else again, wonderful how inspirational it can be.
The feeling I get when I see the results… they sing to me, rich and sensual both in tones and forms.
Photographed the way I like it, minimal dof, fading away in the dark, black bg, it gives it a lovely sense of mystery...
I wanted to capture the mystery the red rose seemed to hold. I gave it a dramatic sidelight, some just stroking the rims of the petals and going off into the deepest darker corners.
I know, not everybody's cup of tea, but I think there is a 'need' for creative photography, if not for you... for me... LOL.
The Roman goddess of flowers, gardens, and the season of spring is Flora.
The Greek goddess of spring, flowers and nature is Chloris.
Flowers have been cultivated and bred for their beauty and their perfume from earliest times and have accumulated a vast and intricate treasury of symbolic associations derived from legend and folklore. Individual flowers have been celebrated in heraldry (rose), in religion (lotus), and in politics (violet) and have become emblems for many countries, including Switzerland (edelweiss), France (fleur-de-lis), Scotland (thistle), and the United States (the state flowers).
In modern times, we cultivate, buy and love to have flowers and blooming plants around us for the colour, it has become a part of our ‘interior design’.
Flower lovers will know that there is a flower language.
Every sentiment is expressed in one form or another by delicate blooms. Of course, even the experts disagree on the "true meaning" of many flowers and most have different meanings to different people. So, while all flowers convey thoughtfulness and love, a gift of flowers for a special someone will always create its own personal meaning, too.
Paul knows how much I love flowers and as there's not much going on in the garden, he often buys me flowers.
I think he chooses them in the secret hope that I'm going to photograph them, hihi. And he's right, I DO!
I WISH YOU A BLOOMING GOOD DAY, M, (*_*)
5. The heart was already dead... a gorgeous, large, duotoned bloom of Chrysanthemum.
Tempus fugit is a Latin expression meaning "time flies".
Frequently used as an inscription on clocks to remind us that life passes FAST, tic...toc....
All is fleeting and so ephemeral...
The expression was first used in the verse Georgica written by Roman poet Virgil: Sed fugit interea fugit irreparabile tempus, which means,
"But it flees in the meantime: irretrievable time flees".
The flower still full of beauty to me...
6. A client bought and renovated a beautiful Victorian house, they wanted photos for the rooms of Victorian (style) flowers, portrait format, but of course I tried all kinds after I'd finished the commission.
Chrysanthemum: the big blooms often duo toned, collectively known as kotengiku or antique chrysanthemums.
I love colour photography because I see the world in colour…
I love black and white photography, because it strips the ‘reality’ out of the image, it leaves the naked truth, without the frills and ‘distraction’ of colours, just tones that add to the emotion, the all important ingredient, for me, in photography.
VALSE LENTE
(photo nr1)
The slow waltz, gentle, easy gliding across the dance floor.
Every Monday afternoon there is a ‘dance’ meeting at one of the old halls.
The ladies and gents duly arrive on time to have a great time, all done up and ready for a good time.
The music begins soon after the greetings and laughter.
The dance floor fills up very quickly, I notice a lot of ladies partnering up, there are not enough men for all of them, a few sitting on the side, I smile, nothing ever changes, some guys remain shy forever or only know one dance….
It’s a great atmosphere; I talk to them, hear what this means to them, the joy, the banter and yes, sometimes love is in the air.
Again, nothing ever changes…
Then the music starts, a couple walk hand in hand to the middle, take the stance, their dance begins, nobody else, the rest just watch.
PUT ON YOUR DANCING SHOES
(photo nr2)
I went there for a project, they love being photographed, well, most of them.
This lady wore her comfortable dancing shoes, but the moment she spotted my lens going to her feet, she stopped me, no no, wait...
Out of the bag came the 'newer' ones, they had not been properly broken in, yet.
With delicate gestures she closed the strap across her ankle, while her gentleman friend sat patiently waiting for the next dance.
A genteel world that is fast disappearing.
I seem to go in HCB (Henri Cartier-Bresson) mode when I'm in those places...
I chose the grainy film Ilford HP5 especially for this.
VALSE LENTE TOO
(photo nr3)
This lady, one of the first to arrive at the dance hall, was well liked and cherished.
She was obviously just there to see and enjoy her friends dancing.
I had already taken several shots, and sat down on the side to absorb the whole atmosphere; when out of the corner of my eye I saw movement.
The one foot was moving with the tune, the stick tapping the beat, the rest of her body still, her face ecstatic.
I wondered where she was in her memories, for a moment I saw the young girl emerging, a youthfulness in her shining eyes.
The music stopped, applause, her shoulders sagged a bit; she leant a bit more heavily on her stick.
Valse Lente too.
Wishing you all a great day and thanx for viewing, M, (*_*)
400 iso b/w film, wet darkroom developed and printed.
To my grandchildren, on a visit from the Continent, this was an enchanting and enchanted wood!
They collected coloured leaves, ran through the rustling carpet, conkers and chestnuts, pinecones, saw the squirrels race up the trees, all the things that kids love.
They already are quite used to the smaller digital cameras most people have and how to take photos, This was taken on my Nikon F4, with 400iso film, it has a ‘special’ back so each time I took a shot, they came running to ‘see’, I had a lot of explaining to do!
Soon, there will be a generation that will not know what film is, a darkroom, negs?
Now that they have more of ‘an understanding’ about photography, my lovely bunch are more and more interested and more curious in some of the ‘tricks’ and creativity, especially my granddaughter.
After the ‘normal’ shot, with my camera on the tripod and while the shutter was open I moved the camera upwards creating the blur effect (Enchanted wood 2). They thought it was magic!
I like it because it’s such a lovely blend of the autumn colours with the tree trunks so strong.
The ‘essence’ of autumn. I am trying to be continuously and consistently creative in my photography. Trying out things, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t… I learn from both experiences!
And the joy (forever) and the feeling when it DOES work, is to be felt, cannot be explained, hihi.
I wish you all a clear day and THANK YOU, Magda (*_*)
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