The appearance of things changes according to the emotions; and thus we see magic and beauty in them, while the magic and beauty are really in ourselves.”
― Kahlil Gibran

I really struggled to find a quote that complimented this photo. It’s such a contrast. These tulips have been the subject of my photos for a few days now, and I watched them mature and slowly fade, yet, to me, the beauty remained. In fact, the beauty now is even more intense, since it’s so unexpected.

And that, has me thinking more deeply about my perception of beauty. I’ve always been able to find beauty in mundane places. It seems a bit of an odd trait nowadays, in our busy and stress filled world, so I consider it a gift. In a world filled with such intense ugliness, to be able to see some vestige of beauty is a real blessing. I don’t mean that I don’t see the ugliness and live in a dream world, it’s simply that I can effortlessly perceive those small glints of wonder and loveliness that so many can’t or won’t see. I can’t turn that off, not that I would want to.

The ability see these images and capture them is one of the reasons I started blogging in the first place, to share some of those moments, hoping it brings joy to someone else, perhaps someone struggling to find some light of hope in this world. If an image does that for a single soul in this world, then I have accomplished what I set out to do.

The image above was processed in a style I have not used before, yet I felt compelled to try it, and it seems to work, given the subject. I was not looking for bold, I was looking for serene, by using a soft background to let the flowers’ colours radiate gently from the white background.

Yet, with all things of beauty, they seem all to brief and changeable, and I am faced with the fact, that even this stage for the tulips must pass to the next, so I savour it, while I can, understanding a bit more about myself and my perceptions.

Tamron SP AF 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro 1:1 (272ENII)@90mm
1.0 sec, f/36.0, ISO 200

High Resolution Image on 500px

For more images like this, please visit my Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/EdLehming
or my website (some images available for purchase)
http://www.edlehming.com