My photography subject for the past few days has been a single stem of delphinium flowers, elegant, tall, and complex.
As I spend time capturing various parts of the whole, and attempting to express the essence of this wondrous flower, it makes me wonder about the essence of things.
What is essence? The definition of essence indicates that essence, by it’s very nature, is elusive and abstract: “Essence – the intrinsic nature or indispensable quality of something, especially something abstract, that determines its character.”
“When you approach something to photograph it, first be still with yourself until the object of your attention affirms your presence. Then don’t leave until you have captured its essence.”
― Minor White
Essence seems to embody the mystery and wonder of life. To experience it you have to slow down and be present. It’s as elusive as a faint sweet fragrance in the air. Look at the stem of flowers in the photograph above. The colors of these flowers vary from the deepest periwinkle blue to a pale lavender.
But looking closely at the flowers, and describing them carefully does not capture essence. I found this description in Wikipedia and loved the careful description of delphinium (also known as larkspur) flowers, even though it takes me no closer to the experience of the essence of the flower:
In June and July (Northern Hemisphere), the plant is topped with a raceme of many flowers, varying in color from purple and blue, to red, yellow, or white. In most species each flower consists of five petal-like sepals which grow together to form a hollow pocket with a spur at the end, which gives the plant its name, usually more or less dark blue. Within the sepals are four true petals, small, inconspicuous, and commonly colored similarly to the sepals. The eponymous long spur of the upper sepal encloses the nectar-containing spurs of the two upper petals. ― Wikipedia
I spend time looking at the texture of the flowers, the perfection of each separate blossom, and the tiny shapes and shades of colors in each petal. As the light changes, the color of the flowers deepens or lightens. Though difficult to capture, the translucent petals, when back-lit look like they glow from within.
Nature is so powerful, so strong. Capturing its essence is not easy – your work becomes a dance with light and the weather. It takes you to a place within yourself. ― Annie Leibovitz
Studying and photographing flowers has made me more aware of the transitory nature of life. Flowers grow, bloom, and fade so quickly. A bud today opens to become a beautiful flower today, and tomorrow withers and fades. So too, do our lives pass, in the blink of any eye.
But I believe that essence does not fade or wither or disappear even as all living things are born and die. It is the mysterious breath of God, spirit, the deep mystery, oneness, that is eternal.
The essence of things is the great mystery; it is the “intrinsic nature” of life, a wholeness that lives in all things.
“Eyes closed on an open soul…the world starts from within its core towards its final frontier: the end surface.”
― Soar
The next time you see a flower, stop and pause and ponder the essence of things. Breathe in the mystery, sense it’s inner perfection and wholeness, soak in it’s beauty.
May you walk in beauty.
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