Where the Clouds Grow

I found the place where the clouds grow.

Shallow depth of field and beautifully soft morning light were my friends when I visited my gardens this morning. As I looked through my viewfinder with my aperture set at f2.8, the petals billowed into clouds around the base of the flower (which I tried to keep focused and sharp to give a frame of reference).

Letting my imagination go with the visuals presented to me through my lens is so much fun!

A Call to Simplicity

Some images call for simplicity. They call me to simplify my thoughts and my day. I will know immediately if this is the case. Quite possibly I will be aware of this on some level before I even take the shot. I wonder if I first call myself to simplicity and then take the shots that will move me in that direction. Chaos usually seeks calm.

Quite often I will turn these particular images, the simplicity images, into black and white pictures in processing. Pulling out the colour allows me to focus on the lines and form. Though beautiful in its bright yellow splendour, this tulip had greater impact stripped of its hue.