Category: flora

flora, Photography

My Goodnight Flower

by patricia emerson mitchellLeave a Comment on My Goodnight Flower

Filoli: Pink Rose, 9.18.13

Filoli-_Pink_Rose,_9.18.13

I have been in the habit of saying goodnight with a flower on the various social media sites I frequent. I guess from now on I’ll just say goodnight from here. That makes it fairly easy (aside from Ello, which has yet to be included in the sharing options on WordPress — at least as far as I can tell).

For the most part I give my photos names that are pretty matter-of-fact, and I date them to avoid having the same name over and over (yes, I have a number of “Pink Rose” shots), and dating them also means that I can easily locate them in Lightroom. (Surely there’s a better method, but this is how I started and I am rather stuck in my ways.)

I’m so stuck in my ways, in fact, that I can’t seem to let go of posting a goodnight flower. (I guess that means I’d better have some lined up for when I’m gone. Hm.) One of these nights I just might have to take a risk, be brave and bold, and skip it — but I’m not sure if I would be able to sleep.

Goodnight world. Keep turning.

Color Management, flora, Photography, Sales

Red Is Tricky

by patricia emerson mitchellLeave a Comment on Red Is Tricky

Red_Rose_(II),_11.3.14

Working with red can be a bit of a challenge. The camera has a tough time handling a really intense red. ( The same can go for purple, and certain blues as well.) My husband, G Dan Mitchell, has explained the why of it to me several times, but I’m not able to wrap my slow brain around it all, or at least I’m not able to hold on to the knowledge for much longer than the blink of an eye. Or shutter. Or something. That being said, I continue to work with the color. This time of year I work with it quite a bit. Much of the time I have to turn down the saturation. I’ve noticed that highly saturated photos are a big hit with a lot of people, but I want something to look the way I remember seeing it, and I don’t usually see things so ultra-saturated.

This photo above took some work. And yes, I did slide that saturation a bit to the left. At this point I think I may try to print it, as I think it would make a lovely card, and for a variety of events: Christmas, Valentine’s Day, special occasions … it works for all. It think it would make a good larger print as well. I guess it’s time to feed some paper into the printer!

Side note: I’m not sure if I’ll be posting anything for the next few days: I’ve been hired to perform in some Christmas concerts out of town, so I’ll just have to play it by ear. The posting, that is, not the music. Dan will hold down the fort here … you can always go look at his absolutely fantastic work. Needless to say, I learn a lot just by studying his photographs.

flora, Photography

The Color Green

by patricia emerson mitchellLeave a Comment on The Color Green

Green_(I),_3.21.14

This is one of my favorite photos. I like the simplicity. I like the lines. I like the color. It makes a good print.

Do I know what this plant is? Nope. This was at Filoli and I can walk you to the exact spot where I found it, but I don’t believe it was labeled. Some guessed it might be a tulip, but I can assure you it was not: these leaves were larger and longer than tulip leaves. I plan on returning to the spot in March to see if it appears again so that I can take an “all of it” shot. I’m rather bad about remembering to do that, and of course one needs more than this to identify a plant.

Still, even if it remains unidentified, it makes a good print. I simply titled it Green (I) (I made two images). That’ll do.

flora, Photography, Sales

A First Sale, Encouragement and Apprehension

by patricia emerson mitchellLeave a Comment on A First Sale, Encouragement and Apprehension

Mission_Viejo-_Bird_of_Paradise,_11.27.14

I sold a small print. This was a first for me, and it’s what encouraged me to start this website. I had been planning to start offering my work for sale for quite some time, but I’m slow to move on things that take planning and actual work.

Yes, doing photography is work. It’s similar to music. So many think it’s all good fun, and I can’t deny that it frequently is, but it’s also work and takes not only time but energy and quite a bit of money to get things done.

Then there are those who say, “Well, I could do that!” True? Can anyone do it? Perhaps so. But not everyone does, so the “I could do that!” comment is just a comment and nothing more. It might make some of us feel as if our efforts are diminished, but if one takes a step back, observes the person who made the remark, and sees whether or not that individual did anything to show he or she could “do that” it’s not such a big deal. Or maybe it is, but it’s just best to choose to ignore it.

Now to that sale. As I wrote, it was just a small print. But getting that print just right was important to me. The color can be a tricky issue: the computer screen is back lit and colors look very vibrant. Getting that on a print can be a challenge. Then there’s color: was the Bird of Paradise blue? Purple? Bluish purple? Memory can play tricks on a person.I ended up checking in with my daughter, who was with me when I made the shot. She confirmed my belief that it was blue. (Thanks, Kelsey!)

Recently, in fact, I downloaded images I had just made on a walk and saw a rose I was just certain was purple. I had to manipulate things to get the color corrected, and was finally satisfied.

PurpleRoseSample,11.19.14

Then I decided it would be best to return to the rose and verify what I remembered since the image was pretty darn pink when I downloaded it. So much for my memory! The crazy thing was pink after all.

PinkRoseSample,11.19.14

And then there’s the “does it matter?” Is a photograph truth? Is truth what was really there, or is truth what my memory tells me? If it isn’t truth is it a lie?

I think I’ll save that discussion for another day. If I ever bring it up again, that is. I think it’s been talked about an awful lot already and I’d rather go on a walk with my camera.