I have to confess that I am lying if I say that I am tired of taking flower pictures. It just like telling that I don’t like my grandchildren while I am thinking of them all the time. It is awfully difficult for me not to pick up my camera when the flowers are in full bloom and the sun is pouring out its magical golden potion.
Flowers are in such a vast variety that we probably won’t ever run out of shooting ideas. We can use different lenses and technic for variation and diversity. I feel lucky that I am able to live through this technology explosion era and have abundant freedom and resource to go about. I am learning some, tons more to learn. But just for a few technic and tips that I know, I have amused myself a great deal.
I have retirement time in hand, but my time shrinks dramatically if I choose a few to play. My mind wanders and my inspiration comes simultaneously when the image perspective is changed. It is so much like what I used to do in the past, new product development. Even better, nobody watches over my shoulder and I don’t have a deadline to meet. Best of all, I get to do it at home in comfort, and with no office politics. Some day I will write about my old workspace, my version of The Office’.
Remember Rick Moranis’ movie ‘Honey, I Shrunk the Kids’? That was a piece of creative and imaginative work that I can still remember up to this day. I love the picture I took for my daughter and grandgirl. The little girl did not know what Mom was doing behind her, but they certainly rhymed well as you can see. Lady bugs are everywhere, I usually don’t think about shooting them except for this one, the Lady glows in the sunlight, different from what I usually see.
I did not have the intention to shrink my daughter and granddaughter, but when I zoomed in on the ladybug, it looks crisp clear and shining. Almost immediately I linked it to my granddaughter’s picture. To make it more like a scene in ‘Alice Wonderland’, I painted the background slightly to dramatize the fantasy effect. The flower is not the main subject, but I cannot do without the flower.
It is not easy for us to see grandchildren. Long drive. Short visit. Snapshots. No time to consider better light or suitable background. I often brought home hundreds of shots, but most of them are taken in low light and among the piles of kids toys. For little ones’ pictures, I tend to keep more than what I should, for sentiment, no quality concerns. I have been waiting to do some work on these images. Recently I came across a software that helps to remove the background easier and faster than Photoshop. And, I have been addicted to it since.I love Verbena. I bought three of them this year, in different colors and variations. This rich purple looks stunning. Silver-like spots along the center of the flower are sparkling in the sun. I like the images I took, but it is just one of my many flower images, so I use it as a backdrop, the stage for my granddaughter. She was licking a spoon from her little kitchen. I just love the turquoise, hot pink, and yellow on her, and now the addition of deep purple. Lovely colors, aren’t they? I used a watercolor digital paintbrush to make the background more painting look and the image more story-like.
The little girl seems to have lots of personalities. She always looks around, checks out things, ponders, makes faces, giggles, and of course, makes her point when she is not happy. I like the look on her face. I know she found some target and was pondering over it. The flower in the background is really beautiful. I think it’s the perfect color for my granddaughter, so I blurred it and placed it as a backdrop.
The mother’s face is cut, but her content and loving smile are illustrated. I don’t care for the idea to dress a little girl’s hair with a bow. Don’t know where the tradition comes from, not a good one in my opinion. I think it makes the little ones very uncomfortable, bondage. My daughter is artistic and has eyes on the fashion. She likes to dress up her little princess and she is really good at making hair bows to match the outfit. They are very cute, but I would rather trade it for comfort and freedom for the little girl.
I am in the experiment phase working on composite and I tried not to spend a lot of time on each image. I know I can make the people more blended in with the background, but I thought, a cartoon-like presentation actually fits better with the unrealistic theme – giant flowers and small people. While the last image is a realistic visual, I only toned down the background and use it as an enhancement.
Only been more serious about photography in the last two years, I am learning, exploring, and experimenting. If you find something interesting to you and curious about how it’s done, please free feel to email me (chrisk541@gmail.com). I am happy to share and I believe we can grow together with what we know individually. Beauty is in the art of sharing.
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