Chives in Black and White

Sometimes detail is best shown and seen in black and white.

Bee

While I was snapping pictures of the chives near my patio, a bee decided to join me. Happy for the opportunity to take its picture, I continued shooting.

Peeling Layers

A little grouping of chives has found its way up from beneath a sidewalk block adjacent to our home. I was considering the chive, an onion plant, as I looked at the shots I took of them yesterday afternoon.

Here, we can see the layers at the base of the bloom peel back to reveal the flower.

Layers, like memories, time and experiences, sometimes painful ones, are peeled back and released to make way for new ways of living and experiencing the world. With any onion, there are often tears that flow as the layers are peeled. So it is with us.

This beautiful blooming chive, growing and thriving in an unlikely and unusual place, reminded me of this great hope we have...for healing and beauty, both.

I used my macro lens to focus on the bloom itself, showing the detail and colour and especially the layer the bloom emerges from. I also used a colour cast in processing and followed that up with applying a texture layer to complete the image. I have to say I really like the layers I've purchased from Life-n-Reflection.

Delight in the Drops

We've had quite a few rainy days in a row. The temptation is there to complain about it and sometimes I do exactly that. I'm determined to find some good things about it...and there are many. One of these good things is the photo opportunities that the raindrops bring...like this...

Chives

I must be a real sight to the neighbours at times.  Had anyone been looking out their window early this morning they may have seen me lying on the patio in my plaid flannel pj's getting some shots that could not wait for outdoor attire. No matter, I do what I have to do.

This morning's light was just right and the mild temperature drew me outside with my camera to join those early birds getting their worms.

The apple blossoms have just started blooming, just a few today. By tomorrow there will be many more.

What caught my eye even more and dropped me to the ground were some chives growing up between the patio edging and a sidewalk block.  Once captured, I brought the images into my computer and played with some layers in photoshop.

The contrasts between strong lines and muted tones, light and dark, sunshine and shade seem to echo the contradiction found in the chive. The beauty of the bud and the delicate nature of its eventual blossom stand in contrast to the strong and pungent taste that the chive gives to our baked potatoes and salads...maybe even later today!