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Friday, January 16, 2015

Hanging Amaranthus



‘It is of the small joys and little pleasures that the greatest of our days are built.’ 
- Mary Anne Radmacher
‘See beauty in the familiar.’ - Jonathan Lockwood Huie

There was only one bunch.  I asked the owner if she had any more of this droopy greenish flower.  Like an adult correcting a child who just called a giraffe a horse, she slowly told me, hanging amaranthus.  I repeated just as slowly, hanging amaranthus.  I went home giddy with excitement.

I thought one of my big bottles would work great, it is 22 inches tall.  As I was gathering the rest of the props and thinking how pretty the hanging amaranthus is, I realized how easy it is to appreciate beauty of the exotic or different.  While the beauty of the hanging amaranthus is undeniable, there is also beauty around me everyday just waiting to be noticed.  That's when I grabbed my iphone to look at some of the pictures I took this week.


The sunrise.


Blue sky!!  A sight not always seen during Ohio winters


Light shining in my window.  The light was coming through the window just right to get the perfect glare on my iphone.  I bent down to moved my husband's shoes (bottom right) so I could get a 'better' picture.  When I stood back up, the sun moved.  The glare wasn't there anymore, showing me I need take time to appreciate beauty right when I see it.


These images were taken for the Be Still 52 assignment to create a scene and change the backdrop.  I ended up using a set up that is very similar to the one Kim has in the class video.  On the left image, I used a white board with white fabric hanging over it.  The right image has the tan painted wall as a backdrop.  I tried a black backdrop and it looked terrible.  I used Kim's preset dreamlike on both images, no texture on the set.  I found it interesting how the images have a slightly different color cast to them with just the background being changed.  I am not sure which I like better...

Today I am joining Kim Klassen's Friday Finds and the Be Still 52 class.  I used Kim's Lightroom preset dreamlike  as a starting point and textured the top image with Kim's texture flow.  My sunrise, blue sky and umbrella images were taken with my iphone and processed in Camera+.  My Finds this week are beautiful flowers and seeing the beauty all around me.
 
Thank you for stopping by!!
Have a great weekend!!
Michelle


Kim Klassen dot com

15 comments:

  1. Love the light in your umbrella shot so uplifting...

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  2. Love those sun rays - and the still life.

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  3. Gorgeous set of images. Love how you've captured them (and very jealous of your blue sky!). Your still life is beautiful. I think I prefer the one on the right with the warmer colour cast which has somehow given more clarity to the glass and the amaranthus. Very beautifully done. Happy weekend to you. :)

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  4. I love the shot you did with your phone; those rays are just beautiful...The amaranthus in the jug is gorgeous and I think I like the left one more as I tend to like a little more color in an image..It is amazing just changing the background can make such a difference....

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  5. Hi Michelle, I remember when I worked at a florist, I always loved the Amaranthus especially this color over the Red. Love the background work for Be Still. Super cool sun ray, awesome and crazy cool at the same time.

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  6. Beautiful images Michelle ! I had to smile at the phone photo of the blue sky, I took an almost identical one today ! The hanging amaranthus ( don't you love that word...? ) photos are gorgeous, I love them both .

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  7. Beautiful photo's, all of them...the blue sky makes me smile and I love the draped flower...the green bottle works well with it...

    Thank you so much for your lovely comment...yes, our words for the year really do compliment each other..

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  8. Beautiful images... love your background for your draped flower photo.

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  9. I love all your images, Michelle. The hanging amaranthus is a plant of rare beauty and elegance. Your sunset is exquisite and the light coming through your window is lovely. You've certainly capture the beauty of your every-day life. All the best, Bonny

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  10. Love the light through your window and I'm so thankful you were there (camera in hand) at just the right time. Otherwise you wouldn't have got this shot and I wouldn't have got to admire it. I too have been noticing the how the backdrops effect the colors of the image subject...something I never noticed before.

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  11. Your aramanthus has a beautiful color and the texture in the plant is enchanting - and like all of the above, I'm wild about the sunlight falling from the window with the umbrella in the side!

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  12. Good for you to find beauty all around you. Love the sunrise!

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  13. I like how the fabric background added some texture....gorgeous still life!

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  14. Michelle, Oh, how I love to hear you think out loud. Learning alongside friends like you is such a joy for me. The background lessons, the plant that is new to me, those images of flooding light - winter can truly be a season of growth. Beautiful words and beautiful photographs.

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  15. Fabulous images - I love that plant/flower such gorgeous color and texture - your set-up is beautiful. Love the umbrella image too - that light is amazing!

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