Tag: honeysuckle

  • Top Down

    Top Down

    100mm macro photo made top down on an early honeysuckle flower blossom.
    Top Down — 100mm | f/3.5 | ISO 400 | EXP 1/200

    Step right up and descend into the shrunken world. Together we journey top down to look upon an alien world hiding in plain sight. Let us accept this macro abstraction to challenge the mind to place what the eyes register.

    And just what is it we are looking at?

    For lack of proper nomenclature let’s call it a nascent honeysuckle flower in the making several days before its better known floral blossom ribbon properly unfurls. A tightly bound cluster of purplish tentacles spring sunward in a bundle not much larger than a quarter. Covering each arm of the cluster stands a ready array of tiny follicles shellacked in a sticky, pollen type substance. My mind churns. Hundreds of tiny posts hoisting a collective individuality built up the surface of a greater system of life. Down here, mired in constituent parts, we contemplate the unsung parcels that compose the greater whole.

    In and out of focus mental gears grind and turn against the shallow depth of field. Tall towers jut directly toward us, escaping the foggy void to shed light on the penthouse. The near symmetry struck a shade askew lends credible structure suggesting the proper hand of purpose in its design. The fractal quality the surging towers builds upon the mathematical basis of nature.

    You will get all this and more when you travel top down into the abstract world of honeysuckle macros. I hope you have enjoyed the trip.


    I had leaned hard to go with a black and white treatment for this photograph. I was working a striking, high contrast low key approach with plenty of black negative space. I even tossed it to the Instagram story poll. As of this posting we are 10 votes to 4 in favor of color. Perhaps we will go top down on the black and white version some other time.

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  • Nothing on the Top

    Nothing on the Top

    Honeysuckle photo with shallow depth of field and bokeh.
    Nothing on the Top — 35mm | f/1.4 | ISO 100 | EXP 1/1600

    In most any work you attend you’re bound to hit the plateau. Elongated sessions of flat expense flanked by monotony—or worse yet—nothingness. It’s the grind. Lacking the mania and output of the peak, yet devoid the pain and failure of the valley. It’s an uneventful period of low growth. It’s difficult to parse lessons when you’re going through the motions. Instead the best you can do is convince yourself to trust the process. Give yourself the stick with it pat of the back trusting this inglorious stretch, too, must end.

    This is where I’m at with my photography. Going through the motions. It started when my iMac died in April. With my workflow disrupted I’ve been struggling for inspiration to get out and shoot. It also hasn’t helped that I’ve missed out on a few great sunsets too. These things happen, though, and I must continue shooting to find it. I’ve been here before and have worked through it each time.

    Another caveat in my travail is stagnation. I’m at a point with my work where it all seems more of the same. A shallow veneer atop the same photo we’ve seen before. Salt marsh sunset; wash, rinse, repeat. At least I’ve been making more flower shots this year than in years past, and that’s been a welcome break. Yet I itch for more. Can I scratch for different? A break from the comfort zone feels in order. For some time now I’ve had the urge to dip my toes into portraiture. Ever eager to talk myself out of things, this projected change is ripe for excuse making. First there is the gear investment: lenses, lighting, and some screen type apparatus. Yet it’s the second hill that seems hardest to climb. I need subjects. Real life humans willing to sit and work with a guy who is cutting his teeth with something new. I’ve floated the idea past friends and none are keen to engage. And if they are they’re keeping things coy.

    Anyway, thanks for listening to my midnight ramblings as work my thoughts aloud by way of blog post. And besides, now is not the time to get too down—it’s summer!

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  • Honeysuckle splayed out before me

    Soft greens, blues, and purples, mark this cross processed macro photograph of an unopened honeysuckle bud. The diffuse finish lends a soothing feel.
    Honeysuckle splayed out before me — 100mm | f/4 | ISO 100 | 1/500

    Today was a day for flower macro stress decompression. In between course testing while working from home I picked up the camera and made my rounds throughout the yard. Stopping at the daisies, tiger lilies, and finally my backyard honeysuckle. It didn’t bloom last year so I’m happy to report its blooms are at the ready and won’t be held down this summer. No sir.