Amaryllis Amour

Both of my amaryllis plants are in full bloom and I am still making photographs of them every day. I’ve been playing around with very high key, almost over-exposed images and then tried layering and combining in Photoshop with various techniques.

Amaryllis Amour

I am in love (amaryilis amour) with these flowers.

Over the next few weeks I will continue to try different experiments with these images. I feel like I want to push myself to move past what I know now and learn new ways to express myself photographically with these images.

While I am intrigued by more abstract representations and layering photos, I also find great satisfaction in simple portrait-like depictions of these beautiful flowers.

I’m learning simple things in my daily photographing like how moving the camera higher or lower changes the image, how background color impacts the image, how setting the color balance of the image correctly in the camera makes working with the image so much easier, how delicate a balance there is between not enough detail in the flower petals and too much detail.

I find red one of the most difficult colors to accurately represent in photographs. Working with these vivid red flowers has made me look and look again at what colors are actually present in the flower petals. Looking carefully I see that along with the red, there are shades of orange, sometimes deep pink, burgundy, and shades of blue. When I increase the exposure more of the oranges and pinks show up. When I decrease the exposure, the deep burgundy and shades of blue show up. Both are beautiful in their own way.

The Joy of Simply Seeing

The process of simply seeing what is there is such a satisfying exercise. I find the beauty, tiny details, and perfectly imperfect flowers fill me with joy. Their bright colors, graceful shapes, and elegant design lift my spirit. Becoming curious and asking lots of questions that start with, “I wonder what it would look like if…” makes me feel full of possibility.

Not all of my different experiments work. And that is perfectly fine with me. I am finding more joy in the exploration than in the outcome.

What lights you up and fills you with wonder?

Here are a few of my flower play images from the week.

May you walk in beauty.