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| Shade of Purple |
It has been more than three weeks since I caught my cold. Nothing particularly serious and I intended to just tough it out. When my cold symptoms persist for more than two weeks, I paid my doctor a visit. The first dosage of two medications calmed my cold down in the evening, but I was sick like a dog the following day. I have not had such a pounding headache since I was in school. I think I reacted to the medication, but not sure so far.
Pain bounced around inside my body from head to toe, with no definite destination, like a guitar out of tune and the player just ignored the note. I managed to go on with my everyday routine, but I have not acted normal and I don’t feel inspired to do much of anything. Unless it is unbearable, I usually don’t touch any painkillers. Now I am not tough anymore and I have to follow the doc’s instructions to take them, yucks!
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| Little Miss Buggy and Daisy |
I need a significant flower bouquet as a gift for an important birthday. If I need flowers for my house, I went to grocery stores to get ordinaries just for the need. For gifts, I go to my favorite florists to get something more exotic.
With the large bouquet in my hands, I seemed to have a hard time letting go. I wish I had one. In fact, not mentioning a large beautiful bouquet, I would be happy with a small bunch of wildflowers and keep myself entertained for hours and hours. I am addicted to shooting close-up flower shots. Winter has desolated nature, no flowers, no colors, but why didn’t I think of using cut flowers from florists? Why cannot I just indulge myself and get myself a nice bouquet?
Craving thoughts haunted me throughout the whole weekend while I was swallowing painkillers unwillingly…. On Monday, as soon as store hours hit, I was at the florist. My desire was in control. I however did not buy a large bouquet, I only purchased about half a dozen single stems. I figured I would get lots of fun out of them.
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| Snow White in the night |
Now I have flowers, but it has been raining and the natural light source is not readily available. I used window light when the opportunity opens up, but it was mostly short. I tried to use rain as a backdrop, but I did not like the result. Rain in gloomy weather looks depressing, not charming, I am afraid. Particularly when the no-name devil was pounding my head recklessly and I had less than normal endurance…
I tried a few flower shots, not exactly what I wanted, but I thought to give myself a break and not `push myself too hard.
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| Royal Fantasy |
Red has never been my favorite color though it is passionate, sensitive, cheerful, and indulgent. I intended to shoot the whole flower, but the overwhelming bright color was choking me and I retreated to a section shot.
In comparison with the shot above, this red flower resembles a Queen with her luxurious richness and powerful charm, proud and magnificent. The white flower is more like a full-bloom young Princess. Her beauty and vitality are understated, and also through that subtlety, an extra-ordinary exquisiteness and elegance are displayed.
For a long time, I like to shoot flowers at shallow depths of the field because I like dreaming and soft touch. For these two flowers, I made the switch to using small aperture. It takes a bit longer time to burst and the images have lots more clarity and sharpness. While I was picking and choosing, I still found the one with a slight blur more attractive.
Have been home-bound for a while. I am anxious to get out and shoot something else. I certainly hope that I am set for a wildlife shoot this coming weekend.
photobychriskilpatrick.com 
Beautiful work Chris.
Just the way you look at flowers, and the glorious beauty God created for us, is healing.
I so enjoy how you captivate everything in nature.
Nature is so inspiring that reminds me of divine design and ultimate creative source.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
I am always encouraged by your unique perspective and exquisite attention to detail, Chris. Thank you for uplifting my day 🙂
Joy is to share, Your nice words have impact on me, too. I believe we all inspired one another. Thank you.