I absolutely love the month of May! Despite the allergies and the busyness at work, May brings sunshine, warmth, beautiful nature, and of course, my birthday:) No matter how much stress I am feeling, it is hard not to burst into a wide grin when I walk outside in sunny spring weather. One of my favorite signs of spring are the beautiful flowers and trees that slowly peak their heads out and then suddenly one day are in full bloom. Since flowers and trees are such a common subject for photographers, I try to be mindful of finding interesting ways to portray them through capturing bright colors, interesting angles, intriguing lighting, interesting arrangements, and scenes that provoke emotions.
Bright Colors
Intriguing Lighting
Whenever I grab my camera, I am always drawn to the way that light illuminates subjects, especially when it does so in unexpected and interesting ways. In the following picture, the bright sunshine made an ordinarily mundane and commonplace object beautiful, a gray metal fence. It also highlighted the brilliant colors of the flowers.
In the following shot, I was captivated by the yellow glowing eyes of the cat and how they reflected the colors of the yellow flowers in the grass. The cat has a demonic look which contrasts nicely with the happiness of the yellow flowers.
In the next picture, I like the way that the sunlight illuminates the petals of the flower. The lighting is further emphasized in the shot due to the crispness of the flower, and the unfocused background.
Interesting Angles
Taking pictures of flowers at interesting angles can make the pictures more engaging than they might be otherwise. I enjoy playing around with the angle at which I hold my camera as well as the angle at which I stand while taking a picture.
I love these purple flowers but when I took the shot head on, the composition of the picture was rather boring. However, simply shifting the angle of my camera created a more engaging composition with a slanted door and frame of the house.
Rather than head on, I took this picture by leaning over the fence to capture the image of the flower from above. Not only does this angle capture the inside of the flower, but it also exaggerates the difference in size between the pink and the purple flower.
In taking pictures of the flowers from outside of a metal gray fence, in some of the shots I included the fence and in others I stuck my camera in between the metal bars. I found that the pictures that included the gray fence were a different take on the flowers and helped to frame them in an interesting way.
I also like to experiment with taking pictures of flowers from below. The following is a picture of one of the most gigantic sunflowers that I have ever seen, taken in Providence, Rhode Island.
Interesting Arrangements
The way that flowers are arranged in a composition can affect how engaged the viewer is with the picture. In the following shot, the flowers follow in a diagonal line from the foreground to the background of the picture. As a result, the viewers' eyes travel from one point of the photograph to another.
Sometimes colors pop in a picture when there is a limited amount. In the following shot, the bright yellow buds jump right out from the page since they are surrounded by nothing but green leaves.
When we look outside in a mindful way, Mother Nature often provides us with intriguing scenes. All we have to do is open up our eyes and see clearly to view them! I love how this green leaf slices through the yellow flower.
Sometimes the angle in which a flower's leaves fall can be intriguing...
Standing underneath a tree, I took this shot and found this incredible pattern created by the flowers on the trees.
Evoking Emotions
Pictures of flowers can often evoke emotions such as in the following shot that exudes happiness.
My challenge to you as you are outside enjoying the beautiful spring weather and the prettiness of Mother Nature is to appreciate the flowers outside in a new way. Make note of the way that the light illuminates them and try to view them at different angles (head on, above, below, from the side). Think about the way in which they are arranged and how that affects the way that they look. Most of all, just take a minute to stop and appreciate their beauty.
Bright Colors
 | ||||
| Pinks and Purples |
 | |
| A Beautiful Red Rose |
Intriguing Lighting
Whenever I grab my camera, I am always drawn to the way that light illuminates subjects, especially when it does so in unexpected and interesting ways. In the following picture, the bright sunshine made an ordinarily mundane and commonplace object beautiful, a gray metal fence. It also highlighted the brilliant colors of the flowers.
In the following shot, I was captivated by the yellow glowing eyes of the cat and how they reflected the colors of the yellow flowers in the grass. The cat has a demonic look which contrasts nicely with the happiness of the yellow flowers.
In the next picture, I like the way that the sunlight illuminates the petals of the flower. The lighting is further emphasized in the shot due to the crispness of the flower, and the unfocused background.
Interesting Angles
Taking pictures of flowers at interesting angles can make the pictures more engaging than they might be otherwise. I enjoy playing around with the angle at which I hold my camera as well as the angle at which I stand while taking a picture.
I love these purple flowers but when I took the shot head on, the composition of the picture was rather boring. However, simply shifting the angle of my camera created a more engaging composition with a slanted door and frame of the house.
Rather than head on, I took this picture by leaning over the fence to capture the image of the flower from above. Not only does this angle capture the inside of the flower, but it also exaggerates the difference in size between the pink and the purple flower.
In taking pictures of the flowers from outside of a metal gray fence, in some of the shots I included the fence and in others I stuck my camera in between the metal bars. I found that the pictures that included the gray fence were a different take on the flowers and helped to frame them in an interesting way.
I also like to experiment with taking pictures of flowers from below. The following is a picture of one of the most gigantic sunflowers that I have ever seen, taken in Providence, Rhode Island.
Interesting Arrangements
The way that flowers are arranged in a composition can affect how engaged the viewer is with the picture. In the following shot, the flowers follow in a diagonal line from the foreground to the background of the picture. As a result, the viewers' eyes travel from one point of the photograph to another.
Sometimes colors pop in a picture when there is a limited amount. In the following shot, the bright yellow buds jump right out from the page since they are surrounded by nothing but green leaves.
When we look outside in a mindful way, Mother Nature often provides us with intriguing scenes. All we have to do is open up our eyes and see clearly to view them! I love how this green leaf slices through the yellow flower.
Sometimes the angle in which a flower's leaves fall can be intriguing...
Standing underneath a tree, I took this shot and found this incredible pattern created by the flowers on the trees.
Evoking Emotions
Pictures of flowers can often evoke emotions such as in the following shot that exudes happiness.
My challenge to you as you are outside enjoying the beautiful spring weather and the prettiness of Mother Nature is to appreciate the flowers outside in a new way. Make note of the way that the light illuminates them and try to view them at different angles (head on, above, below, from the side). Think about the way in which they are arranged and how that affects the way that they look. Most of all, just take a minute to stop and appreciate their beauty.
Beautiful photos!
ReplyDelete