Hibiscus

Hawaii Flower: 1

My entry for Wordless Wednesday. Not sure what the name of this flower is.

Anyone know?

Wild flowers

Wild flowers grow in abundance along the Texas roads.

This week, I went to a new University in town. The University itself is old but recently moved to a new location. It is on a nature preserve and they have done an amazing job preserving it.

I was supposed to take photos of the buildings for a project. But I got distracted by the flowers. They were everywhere. They were beautiful. And they were calling me. So I took a bunch of photos of the flowers.

Photography I've discovered has a lot to do with chemistry. As a photographer, you've got to have some kind of chemistry with the object. Otherwise, it is just a very flat photo. At least that's been the case for me. When I shoot beautiful cars, I don't really produce good photos. That's because I am just not into cars. At all. Ask me what car I drive and my answer will be, "a red one". Flowers though invoke some feelings in me.

So if you are a photographer, go and find something that you feel passionate about. And see the difference between that and something you have no chemistry with.

Enjoy the weekend! For us in the US, it is going to be a long weekend. I am planning on taking a whole bunch of photos. I hope you too.

Mistakes

I am so thankful for my photography mistakes because they always teach me a lesson. And make me a better photographer.

Yesterday I spent some time with my photography mentor Carol to go over the 22 flower shots. We had to pick the 3 most strongest ones. It was tough. Carol is brutally honest with me and will tell me what worked or what did not. And when I am over forcing something. She helps me grow as a photographer and develop my eye.

So we made a decision and then I showed her some of the other photographs. She liked some of my rejects so we changed the top 3.

Then I told her that I had a wall in my house that did not have anything on it. Could she please give me advice which photos to put on the walls? I was looking for interior decorating tips. Instead... she loved one of the photos of the wall, cabinet and flowers. It had to be in the show.

For a lot of photos I took, I spent a lot of time creating a composition, thinking and planning them. This photo, I just snapped. But she loved it. It was gallery worthy.

So we went back to the square one and started picking the top 3 again. I can tell you this. It is so nice to have a veteran photographer in your pocket. I would share these with you but I still have to put some finishing touches. And maybe even re-shoot some of these.

The deadline is this Saturday morning so I have to act fast. If I get in, I get in. If not, I am turning my house into a gallery. And you are all invited to the opening.

For Jenny