Sally D’s Mobile Photography Challenge: Nature (Autumn’s Seeds of Plenty)

05 October 2015

Lens:

 

1. Dried Red Zinnia; Copyright © 2015 Sally W. Donatello All Rights Reserved

2. Dried Red Zinnia; Copyright © 2015 Sally W. Donatello All Rights Reserved

2. Dried Red Zinnia; Copyright © 2015 Sally W. Donatello All Rights Reserved

Let me know which you prefer and why. Click on each image to enlarge.

Pens:

Autumn becomes a time of hoarding—a time when foods and seeds are stored by animals and humans. Those storekeepers of life are remarkable examples of the beginning of this season—a season that brings enormous change on the visual horizon.

While autumn can bring bursts of technicolor, it can also be moody and somber. The landscape eventually becomes empty of hues that we’ve enjoyed for months. Flowers are either gone or spent. Those remaining can seem ordinary in their subdued colors, but close examination reveals their extraordinary appeal.

Inside each of summer’s flower heads are seeds of plenty. For years I dry many varieties of flowers and vegetables to store their precious seeds. Sometimes I think that it seems a reverent act on my part, methodically gathering and methodically preserving.

I collect; store; sow, and cultivate. This process allows me to continue from year to year the seeds from the present for next year’s production. It has a ring of calm and tranquility to it. A sort of meditative and spiritual awakening can follow. Truly, each season is timepiece for my memories.

In the Lens section is one such prize: two different red zinnias that are clearly spent and readying to unveil their seeds for my pleasure. The whimsy of design inspired me to play with its visual luster.

Image one shows a zinnia with a red petal still displaying its color. Image two is another zinnia that has been converted to black and white. Image three is the result of my playful time with image two and FX Photo Studio, where I inverted the black-and-white tones.

Autumn is a season of vast mysteries and secrets. Most become apparent each day as the landscape alters with life being seen through different sets of lenses. Everything seems converted and inverted: length of days and nights, weather, colors, clothes, food, rituals, everyday patterns…

Still, photogenic scenes are never absent. They persist and persist and persist. Autumn has its share of drama with its own definition of abundance that draws us to stop and stare.

Seeds of plenty can be defined in many ways, and autumnal variety has much to discover and savor, including elements that converge around me and offer the longer view of the four seasons.

Tip of the Week: The inversion of the tones in the third image of the Lens section is the first time that I used this technique. When a photograph in color is inverted, colors have the effect of a negative. Hues are given their opposite or complementary color. The light parts are given a brighter cast and the darker areas are seen as lighter. What would happen in black and white? That was my challenge. In creating the negative effect, it gave it a semi-high key patina, which intrigued. I was able to do the inversion in FX Photo Studio, which is an app that sometimes suits my sensibilities. You can get it in the iTunes store for $1.99. Click here. Below is an example of an inversion of a color photograph.

The Barn Negative Inverted Effect by Rose Santuci-Sofranko

View other entries for this week’s challenge:

https://sustainabilitea.wordpress.com/2015/10/05/sally-ds-mobile-photography-challenge-nature-fuzzy-grasses/

https://patchworkponderings.wordpress.com/2015/10/05/sally-ds-mobile-photography-challenge-natures-highlights/

https://piecesofstarlight.wordpress.com/2015/10/05/sally-ds-mobile-devise-challenge-nature-of-water-and-light/

http://luciledegodoy.com/2015/10/05/sally-ds-mobile-photography-challenge-nature-4/

https://chasinglifeandfindingdreams.wordpress.com/2015/10/05/the-art-of-mushrooms/

https://streetsofsfphotos.wordpress.com/2015/10/05/natures-pace/

https://angelinem.wordpress.com/2015/10/05/sally-ds-mobile-photography-challenge-nature-in-my-minds-eye/

http://debs-world.com/2015/10/06/sally-ds-mobile-photography-challenge-nature-spring/

https://shareandconnect.wordpress.com/2015/10/06/mobile-photography-challenge-nature/

https://zimmerbitch.wordpress.com/2015/10/07/bursting-with-life/

http://nwframeofmind.com/2015/10/11/sally-ds-mobile-photography-challenge-nature-baby-birds-and-gun-batteries/

Note:

As always I welcome comments about this post or any part of my blog. My photographs for the mobile photography challenge are taken with an iPhone 6.

If you’d like to join this Mobile Photography Challenge, please click here for details and history of the challenge. If you have any questions, please contact me. Below is a reminder of the monthly schedule with themes for upcoming challenges:

1st Monday: Nature.

2nd Monday: Macro.

3rd Monday: Black and White.

4th Monday Challenger’s Choice (Pick One: Abstraction, Animals, Architecture, Food Photography, Night Photography, Objects, Panorama, Portraiture, Still Life, Street Photography, and Travel).

5th Monday: Editing and Processing with Various Apps Using Themes from the Fourth Week.

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