Finishing rolls of film. Waiting for film to be processed and negatives to be scanned. I’m antsy for something to make.
One Picture/One Paragraph
I’m never quite sure what to make of a picture like this one. I know what drew me in: the delicate flower buds and blossoms woven among the architecture of the branches. But how do you take a picture that focuses on the buds and blossoms while still tracing the curl and swirl of the branches? After all, the background and foreground are present on the same plane of paper. Is this even a picture worth taking? Wouldn’t it be better to use a telephoto lens and isolate the flowers? But, in doing so, would I lose the messiness of nature? Even in a botanical garden, nature cannot be totally tamed. This photo was taken with my medium format Mamiya 645 and Kodak Portra film. I tried converting it to black and white. I tried cropping. I thought about deleting it altogether. In the end, I just accepted that I love what I love. And let it be as it is.
A beautiful expression by our new poet laureate, Ada Limon. On poetry.
“It has the possibility to show us rage, to connect with our fear, to celebrate joy, to make room for the whole spectrum of human emotions,” she said. “Great poetry is the place where we come to get the strength to heal, to become whole again and to then recommit to the world.”
I wonder if the same might be said of great photography?
I know. I’ve taken a lot of pictures of boats lately. And the Potomac River. And my hometown. But it’s a good place to practice, and I love the views. These photographs were taken with the camera that my husband calls my “spy camera” because it is both small and quiet. Very discreet. The Olympus 35RC, my very first roll of film with a rangefinder camera. Falling in love with these tones.