These 2 bees must have spent at least 15 minutes on this one flower. That gave me plenty of time to try and get a good pic with my iPhone. Luckily, my brother’s cat didn’t see them. I brought him outside with me to get some fresh air. Attacking bees is his favorite thing in the world, but he was busy doing other cat activities.
For man, as for flower and beast and bird, the supreme triumph is to be most vividly, most perfectly alive. -David Herbert Lawrence
What I like about this photo above is the way the flowers seemingly transition from perfection in the front to faded glory in the rear.
Yesterday was grey and ugly all day, which is great for garden pics. I decided to give 645 Pro another try after the recent update. These are a couple of the images I was happy with.
Both of these are unedited shots from 645 Pro. I’ve been putting off that review because I wasn’t happy with the app and the pictures I was getting with it weren’t very exciting. It looks like the update may have made a difference.
Before I talk about today’s image, I’d like to spend some time talking about something that Karen brought up in the comments of yesterdays post. She wrote:
I have a pet peeve and the quote you used only reinforces it for me: photography is a creative process, one in which your mind is engaged. For me, saying you’re going to “snap” a few pictures degrades that process. The quickie “snaps” are thoughtless motions, done without engaging your brain. You, my friend, do more than snap photos. You make pictures. I’d love to see you drop the word “snap” from your vocabulary when you talk about your photography.
I was waiting for someone to bring up the terms we all use to describe the process of photography. Its not something you ever think about, but the terms we use are pretty militaristic: take, shoot, capture, snap. They don’t even really describe what the photographer is doing. How should we describe the process? I’ll let the master clarify things a bit.
You don’t take a photograph, you make it.
- Ansel Adams
I have to agree with Karen that terms like those above tend to take away from what the photographer is actually doing. I don’t go out, point my camera at something, and snap away. I have an image in my head before I even point the lens at whats in front of me.
A photograph is not an accident – it is a concept. ~Ansel Adams
When I’m ready to make a photograph, I think I quite obviously see in my minds eye something that is not literally there in the true meaning of the word. I’m interested in something which is built up from within, rather than just extracted from without.
-Ansel Adams
Photography is an act of creation. Instead of those military terms, we should use more accurate words to describe what we’re doing with the camera. Ansel liked to say he made photographs. Kenneth Morgan, an awesome photographer and mentor, likes to use the word “create.” Instead of telling a client he can’t wait to shoot them, he would say “I can’t wait to get together to create some beautiful images together.” Which sounds better to you?
What other words do you think more accurately describe what you’re doing with a camera? I’d love to hear any other ideas.
Ok, now on to today’s image. I did some more water drop macro shots yesterday. I’ve always been intrigued by macro photography in the past. The only thing stopping me from really getting into it is the cost of the lenses. This free technique finally allows me to explore the macro world a little bit until I get a real macro lens for my phone or camera. I’ve been a little uninspired lately, partly because I’m bored of the central coast and can’t wait to move to Oregon and begin exploring there. This macro photography opens up a whole new world and I find myself actually having fun again because of the ability to explore the world on a new level.
Created with Camera+ and edited with Snapseed. Then I blended two versions together in ImageBlender with soft light as the blending mode.
