A new way of looking at broomweed
In the recent post about experiments in zooming I mentioned that the fountain at the Lakes Blvd. and Howard Lane hadn’t gotten turned on by 7:10 in the morning, so I left and did other things. One of the first was to see what sorts of images I could make with the disc of the rising sun reflected in a nearby pond. I used those bright reflections to silhouette a broomweed plant, Amphiachyris dracunculoides.
Here’s an unrelated thought for today: “The notion that nothing might be anything is quite something.” β S.S.
Β© 2020 Steven Schwartzman
Portraits of Wildflowers 
Glad I clicked on the photo to enlarge – with the dark grey background it really pops! Also enjoyed the “notion” that you shared π
Ms. Liz
September 10, 2020 at 5:07 AM
I’m not sure I ever clicked through to the dark background till now to see the image the way you did (which is also the way I recently recommend for another picture). Whether surrounded by white or dark, the image still looks good to me. As for the notion, it came to me when I was thinking (as math teachers do) about zero. Along those lines, I was reminded once again of the great mystery: how could a world in which nothing is alive suddenly become a world in which something (and later many things) is alive.
Steve Schwartzman
September 10, 2020 at 5:25 AM
Now and then, I ponder the question of whether shadows might have shadows.
shoreacres
September 13, 2020 at 8:49 AM
What a great Zen-like question!
Steve Schwartzman
September 13, 2020 at 8:51 AM
Oh that’s wonderful! Halloween cotton candy.
Robert Parker
September 10, 2020 at 5:13 AM
I was very happy with the way this came out. As for the Halloween cotton candy, we should go into business marketing it.
Steve Schwartzman
September 10, 2020 at 5:27 AM
Fantastic shot, Steve.
oneowner
September 10, 2020 at 8:05 AM
Maybe if the Snapple folks put this picture on their bottles they’d sell more drinks.
Steve Schwartzman
September 10, 2020 at 8:10 AM
This is a gem of a photo, a piece of art, Steve.
Peter Klopp
September 10, 2020 at 8:14 AM
Thanks. It’s another step in this year’s push toward abstraction.
Steve Schwartzman
September 10, 2020 at 8:35 AM
Wow beautiful!
besondersite
September 10, 2020 at 9:35 AM
That’s how I saw it, too.
Steve Schwartzman
September 10, 2020 at 11:36 AM
Oh, this is GORGEOUS, my friend! π ππ
marina kanavaki
September 10, 2020 at 9:52 AM
I’m always ready to break new ground, which I did with this picture.
Steve Schwartzman
September 10, 2020 at 11:36 AM
ππ
marina kanavaki
September 11, 2020 at 2:24 AM
Feels like autumn … I like it!
denisebushphoto
September 10, 2020 at 12:16 PM
It was hot and sticky back then. This morning the weather surprised us with probably the lowest temperature since before the summer, 59Β°. I know that doesn’t sound low to someone in Colorado, but normally we wouldn’t expect that kind of a drop here for at least a few more weeks.
Steve Schwartzman
September 10, 2020 at 12:34 PM
That’s a very nice shot. I like the simplicity, but also the unexpected accents, like the two small twigs on the left, facing downwards, rather than upwards.
Tina
September 10, 2020 at 12:59 PM
You’re alert to notice the two little downward-pointing elements, especially the one that’s more obscured. Like you, I appreciate the simplicity of the resulting image; shooting into so bright an area is tricky, and I didn’t know how things would come out.
Steve Schwartzman
September 10, 2020 at 1:14 PM
Quite creative, Steve. Your thought reminded me of something a friend and I would say, and I am sure others as well, “No plan is a plan”.
Steve Gingold
September 11, 2020 at 3:28 AM
It was a creative morning, with two kinds of experiments in a row.
Negative sentences often allow for more than one interpretation. Your “no plan is a plan” reminded me that “plan ahead” is redundant.
Steve Schwartzman
September 11, 2020 at 5:09 AM
Now that really is quite different …. and opens the mind. Beautifully defined with ambience.
Peter Hillman
September 12, 2020 at 4:29 AM
Yes, it really is different, except insofar as it’s an abstraction and I’ve been making plenty of abstract images this year. Happy open mind to you.
Steve Schwartzman
September 12, 2020 at 4:33 AM
I’m as taken with the color as with the lines of the broomweed. You certainly swept your image clear of distracting elements; the ones that remained are beautifully composed.
shoreacres
September 13, 2020 at 8:54 AM
Because this was another experiment, I didn’t know if any of the images would turn out well. In a few, the broomweed didn’t line up properly with the reflections, and in a few others the broomweed was partly out of focus. I was quite happy with what remained. As for the colors, they reminded at least one viewer of Halloween.
Steve Schwartzman
September 13, 2020 at 11:07 AM
A new way is a good way – I love this.
bluebrightly
September 18, 2020 at 2:44 PM
Not everything that promises delivers, but once I saw that this came out as well as I’d imagined it, I felt a lot of satisfaction. If only everything worked out that way!
Steve Schwartzman
September 18, 2020 at 3:38 PM
Then we would never learn anything. π
bluebrightly
September 28, 2020 at 7:30 PM
I wouldn’t go that far. We learn from successes and failures alike.
Steve Schwartzman
September 28, 2020 at 8:43 PM