I am so glad that I planted this Zephyr tulip blend a year ago. They bloomed so beautifully this last spring/summer and I could not get enough of them. The whole purpose of planting flowers in my garden is so that I can photograph them. So why do I photograph flowers?

I’ve been thinking about this as I have been going through the images that were created this year. When something is very normal and involuntary you don’t really think of the reasoning of why you do it. When I see flowers I light up. I love the beauty and joy they bring. As I spend a little time with them then I start noticing the more unique details. The curve of the stem. The way a leaf looks. How the petals are shaped. The coloring. There is always a bloom that stands out to me from the rest. This is the moment that I can’t help but need to photograph that stem if I can.

I love beautiful garden photos but I love even more to isolate a stem and really let it shine. That is why I like to shoot with a solid background and with soft window light indoors. There is no distracting the viewer from this one beautiful bloom. Then the studying begins as I start taking photos. I can take hundreds of photos of one bloom over several days. Shifting light, position, and background. The bloom will change day to day. This journey of discovery is exciting to me! So exciting that I then must share what has been created.

Now this is the part that I wish I had more to tell. A lot of the times this is where things stop. I share and get a few reactions and then it is done. My dream is to make something you, the viewer, can hold and share. Prints for home decor. Note cards to send. Notebooks to write in. Puzzles to enjoy. I just can’t get it to that point. It’s mostly because of the season I am in but also some doubt if my viewers (who are few) will even want that. Plus it takes money to produce product and inventory. I have tried giving up on this so many times out of frustration. Social media games, not enough time or energy, lack of support, tight budgets and so on. I just can’t let go of the dream though.

So why do I photograph flowers? Because I was created to.