Musings by the Hairslave

I was sitting on my front step the other evening, enjoying the glorious spring/summer weather.  The light was perfect, and I became inspired.  I went in search of my camera.  Unfortunately, I was sidetracked, by my two extremely evil dogs, who decided they didn’t need to wait for me to let them out.  It was my fault I’m sure for not taking care of their needs first.

Don't let the cuteness fool you, pure evil lurks in their hearts...

Pets are such givers.

Anyway!  After a few minutes of cleanup, eeeew, I was back on task.  The light was still great when I returned with my beloved Sony SLR digital camera.  It more than suits the needs of this amateur.

I started with a test shot, just something that caught my eye.  To see how the light was going to photograph.  It was so-so…

A similar shot edited...

and so I progressed to another test shot, and then a couple of light test shots…

A simple test shot to check light, framing etc.

A slightly better test shot, edited

A lighting and angle test

Then I hit on the shot.

The Ah Ha! shot

I call this shot, the Ah Ha shot, because it’s the magical moment when something clicks; and I become inspired.

With this particular photo, I love the way the light is almost from the side because the sun is so low (thanks mutts!).  The unusual angle of the light makes the flower glow, and the background is practically black.  It got me focused on the textures, and the fabulous softness of the flowers petals.  I love how the edges fade away, and give the flowers a feeling that they could be made of porcelain.  It’s not a perfect shot, but it sets the stage for what is to come…

The same composition with a slightly different edit

A new angle is better

Might be my favorite, definitely the best composition

Last one, then the sun was gone :-((

A better edit...

This illustrates what my painting teacher used to describe as the happy accident.  Letting the work take you where it will, until something good (hopefully) happens that you would never have taken yourself to intentionally.  The happy accident.