“There are times in our lives when we have to realize our past is precisely what it is, and we cannot change it. But we can change the story we tell ourselves about it, and by doing that, we can change the future.”
― Eleanor Brown

As I was making images of the flowers from a recently purchased bouquet, I realized that I had saved a dried rose back in the fall. It was sitting on a bench in my studio but I had not figured out how I wanted to present it.

I had made another image that day, involving a coffee cup and biscotti titled “Taking a Break”. The shot involved a wooden charcuterie board, which my wife had given me at Christmas. The wooden board seemed like a nice background for the rose. After adjusting it a few times and playing with the lighting to minimize shadows, this is the result, simply titled “Better Days”, since the rose has certainly had them. The title, which came readily, prompts me to reflect deeply on the image created. It is significant.

To think back on the past occasions where a flower was given as a gesture of love, friendship, a bond and how some of those relationships may have represent better days, others, have not. Yet, they cannot be so easily discarded and within what remains there is some trace of the beauty they once symbolized, some future lesson to be realized?

Nikon D800
Nikor 24-70mm f/3.5-4.6 @ @ 35 mm (with 20mm extension tube)
2.0 sec, f/25.0, ISO 100

Hi Resolution image on 500px

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http://www.edlehming.com