This is a Huntington rose taken about a year and a half ago. My photo stream is filled with a multitude of roses and other flowers. I sometimes feel that I should have enough flower photos, clearly I have taken enough. But I will enter the garden and without fail, find a flower that I want to capture. I can not identify why this particular photo resonates with me--yet it does. After I processed it, I added a bit of sepia to get the dusky feel. I rarely do much to my photos, a bit of cropping, contrasting, lightening or darkening. This took no more than 2 minutes to adjust. But when I looked at it, I wanted to add more. Immediately I realized that what I found compelling about this photo was that it brought Leo Buscaglia's rose quote to mind. This was the first photo that I added text to. It will always remain among my most favorite photos. I added quotes to a number of other photos after this one before deciding that what I really wanted to do was add my own text. I still do not spend a significant amount of active time on the photos, the program I use is fairly simple and straightforward. I think as I develop this aspect to my hobby, I might want to explore more flexible programs that allow me to be creative with a non-linear arrangement of the text.
Recently a friend and colleague suggested that I consider publishing my photo poetry as a book. I am pleased that she thinks my creations are worthy of binding, and perhaps this is something that I will explore down the line. Right now, I am happy to share my photos through photo cards sent to family and friends with the hope of brightening their day and to share online, once they have been sent out. I have decided that I will send out the hard copies first and then once I have sent out that run, I will post it online with the hopes that others will enjoy. The photo below is the first photo that I tried out my own words. Remember the gift shop at the Bellagio where I captured the nutcracker? This panel was found in the same gift shop when we returned for another Cirque du Soleil show in February. This time the Conservatory was decorated for Chinese New Year. One of the aspects that I appreciate most about photography is that when I carry my camera, I see the world differently. Without my camera, I might have looked at the screen and said "Pretty screen" and gone on about my day. With my camera, I not only see a pretty screen in a gift shop, I see art and ever increasingly I see poetry.
