Sally D’s Mobile Photography Challenge: Nature: (Geranium and Hibiscus Photomontage)

05 September 2016

Lens:

Photomontage; Copyright © 2016 Sally W. Donatello All Rights Reserved

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Pen:

This summer I’ve mused about  my passion–really an obsession–for the floral beauties geranium and hibiscus. They enter my visual language and will not relent. For so many reasons this attention to their seduction brings a sense of freedom to me. Stilling their presence has become part of the season’s mental and photographic palette for my work.

It may not surprise that each blossom from a geranium or hibiscus generates ramblings about time. They seize my thoughts and words land. Stages of their summer flight builds. In bloom geraniums last for days. Hibiscus, however, are briefly here, blooming large and vibrant and gone overnight.

“Paean to Geraniums and Hibiscus”

Liberating time’s extension                                                                                                                 Is there a refuge for the past                                                                                                               Where memories hide                                                                                                                      Where they rest for eternity.

The morning raining of blossoms has its own liberation                                                                                   Freeing thoughts, allowing the present to take hold.

Purity reigns where compulsion usually stands                                                                   Soothing a soul to linger.

Freeing the body to stay exactly where it has been for hours                                                 Knowing that a lazy ushering of the day is a blue-moon occasion.

Surrendering to her magical spell, enchanting my spirit                                                          And arising with a new sense of her hold on me.

A hold that is enriched with heavy sounds of life’s cycling                                                                       I am comforted, all anxiety dissipates.

Being is being                                                                                                                                Breathing with new slow thoughts, emotions growing.

Soul lapping the moments of clarity. ~~ Sally W. Donatello

In the Lens section is a tribute to the geranium and hibiscus, joining them in color and design elements. They dance together and fuse in harmony.

Tip of the Week:

If you haven’t seen Ami Vitale’s work, then you must. Vitale is a Nikon Ambassador and a National Geographic photographer. Her photographic philosophy centers around “living the story.” Here is an interview that is found on  National Geographic’s website and part of their From Through the Lens series. The article is “Why Photos Should be ‘So Much More than Beautiful” (published 09 August 2016).

Excerpts from the interview. Click here to read more and see more of her work on her website.

What is the perfect photograph? “I see lots of technically beautiful images. They are perfect in every way, but for me, it has to be so much more than just beautiful. The image needs to have soul. It needs to make me think and have meaning behind it. I also look at how images work together. It’s not just one perfect photograph that matters. Visual storytelling is different from making a single, ‘perfect’ image. The images must work together to create an understanding of a place and culture.”

What is the most important advice you can give emerging photographers? “You’ve got to find a project you really care about and work on it for years. Make it yours. Make it unique. Don’t shoot what you think people are going to like. Shoot from your heart and find your own style and passion.”

Ami Vitale, Nikon Ambassador

View other entries from this week’s challenge:

https://sustainabilitea.wordpress.com/2016/09/05/sally-d-mobile-photography-challenge-nature-mountaintop-experience/

https://shareandconnect.wordpress.com/2016/09/05/sunset/

https://patchworkponderings.wordpress.com/2016/09/05/fire-in-the-sky-sally-ds-mobile-photography-challenge/

https://ohmsweetohm.me/2016/09/05/

https://angelinem.wordpress.com/2016/09/05/sally-ds-mobile-photography-challenge-natures-farewell-to-summer/

https://piecesofstarlight.wordpress.com/2016/09/05/sally-ds-smart-phone-nature-challenge-introducing-the-watermelon-cactus/

https://decocraftsdigicrafts.wordpress.com/2016/09/06/sally-ds-mobile-photography-challenge-cornwall-park-in-silk-painting/

https://nowathome.wordpress.com/2016/09/06/sally-ds-mobile-photography-challenge-nature-wild-flowers/

https://chasinglifeandfindingdreams.wordpress.com/2016/09/08/seasons-of-life-nature/

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 would like to buy a print of any of my photographs or have any questions, please view the Contact Information found on the masthead. Thank you.

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, Photomontage, Still Life, Street Photography, and Travel).

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

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