Minds work best when open!

Today's post takes  me in a slightly different direction. As a nature photographer, most of my images are meant to reflect the subject in as authentic and "as is" view as possible. Over the years I have tried to present here exactly what I originally saw through my lens. This reflects my science background and the need to "document" my observations, rather than to interpret them in an artistic way. Early on, I feel that my images were an extension of "data" rather than potentially something more expressive. As I have (hopefully!) grown as a photographer I "see" more when I am composing a shot and now consider a a wider range of composition choices before pressing the shutter button. I'm also more willing ( and hopefully able) to see an image that is technically a bit off and see another view of it so that it might have  some artistic value. 


This image of a cluster of Mexican Plum (Prunus mexicana) was one I liked, but since I had spontaneously shot it handheld on a breezy morning it was not as sharp as I would want. I liked the composition and the bokeh, but the softness of the flowers was just not acceptable. It was at this point that I started to see beyond the documentary photograph and began to envision it as something more impressionistic. As such, I embraced the "weakness"of the photograph and sought to enhance the softness and through some Photoshop filtering and layering. The result was surprising to me as it has a very painterly feel while preserving much of what I liked about the original photograph. 

Click in the image to visit the original Blue Lion Photos gallery

As a person who feels that "Minds work best when open", I think this is a small example of an open mind being able to be flexible enough to see another interpretation that can be artistically pleasing. I would not expect to see all future Blue Lion Photos be impressionistic, but such a style is now another facet of the diamond of my particular experiences.