Saturday, March 9, 2013

Focus On Life 52 Weeks~ Week 10 ~ All Wrapped Up

Wrapped up and trapped in their own skins
kraft paper camellias

 
Frozen in time
Never to realize their full potential


Yearning to open and bask in the warmth of the sun


To show their true colors

Alas only to find they are
a faded memory of what will never be


Youth and beauty lost.



This week's prompt was all wrapped up and while this initially conjured many other ideas,
when I saw my camellia bush, which stands a stately 10 or so feet tall by my front door,
covered in buds that never had the chance to open due to the freezing weather, I knew I had my subject.

Since this is a photography challenge, this week instead of shooting several photos, I chose to stick with one and experiment with some post processing to see what I could evoke.

The last photo is the photo I used in it's as shot, straight from the camera condition.
This shows me that when you take the time to frame the photo right when shooting, you will have a good strong dynamic image to work with which is then open to many opportunities to explore in post processing with very little effort.

Now grab a cuppa, wrap up in something warm and cozy and head on over to The Studio Sublime and visit all the other talented photographers on this journey with me.

33 comments:

  1. Even though these flowers will never bloom to their full potential, or lift their faces to the sun, they are still beautiful in their fragile state. I love that you used only one photo with various imaging processes.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Alice, they really did look like they were made of kraft paper, and you are right, very fragile. I had a lot of fun playing with this one shot, so much you can do with it, really lent itself to experimentation.

      Delete
  2. What a great idea to take one photo and see what you can do with it. They all came out great.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Mary, actually I could have kept experimenting with it too, so many fun things to try!

      Delete
  3. amazing photography!! i love camellias and these beauties are frozen in time, never to be forgotten... precious :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Claire, I love them too, have several varieties around the house, a couple of which are variegated and I love them!

      Delete
  4. Replies
    1. Thanks so much Janet! I love how they turned out too!

      Delete
  5. Oh, Laura, this is such a beautiful way to interpret 'wrapped.' I do wish I could send you some of our camellias which bloomed beautifully despite our cold weather this year.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks LeAnn! These are winter blooming so I was surprised to come home and find them like this but it did make for some great pictures!

      Delete
  6. Lovely, and rather sad. I think you did a great job!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Beti! As they say, I had a great subject to work with :)

      Delete
  7. Very nice- love the subject and the treatment too!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, I had fun playing with all the variables in post processing!

      Delete
  8. I'm in Northern Virginia and was so sad to see the buds on my front tree frozen with ice from this past week's snow. Beautiful take on the prompt this week!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Adrienne, these are winter blooming camellias, I have some that are spring, so it was unusual to see these like this when we got back home from Florida, guess it was just too harsh this winter. Bring on spring!

      Delete
  9. I love your series of photos this week. Each one, although the same photo, is just beautiful!! And what a great interpretation of being 'all wrapped up', too!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Shel, I love how these prompts have made me think out of the box and really look at my surroundings, so much that would normally go unnoticed!

      Delete
  10. Beautiful photos and words! Your camellias may not have fully bloomed but you did them justice! Great post!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much Annette! These prompts make me really pause and look and think and I am enjoying that as much as the photo end of it!

      Delete
  11. These are just beautiful I'm so glad you shared them all. I really love the one that feels like it is watercolour

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, I love that painted one too with the extra pop of color to bring it "alive".

      Delete
  12. Truly spectacular shots! The first one is simply stunning!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Courtney, I had a hard time choosing a favorite to list first in the post so that one is probably my favorite too!

      Delete
  13. So beautiful & sad at the same time...you do such great work with your photos...I love this bush at your house because of it's meaning when it bloomed unexpectedly in January 1984 with one gorgeous pink camellia when you were about to give birth to your daughter Lindsay & I said " it's going to be a girl" & sure enough she arrived on St Patrick's Day..what a great memory for me..thank you...love you, Mom

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, and for me too! Hard to believe that little girl will be 29 this week!So glad I have you to share all these memories with and to be able to make so many more, love you too!

      Delete
  14. Laura you did a wonderful job editing and posting this week.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Becky, sometimes the subject appears and the words flow, and I love when that happens!

      Delete
  15. Great shots! Love our camellias here on the Shore. Mine are just starting to bloom out as well, but we lost quite a few buds as well.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Laura, my spring ones that bloom the same time as the daffodils are getting ready as well, but these poor winter blooming ones didn't stand a chance this year! They did make for good subject matter though!

      Delete
  16. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Really beautiful photos. I love the muted colors. And yes, you are absolutely right-doing as much as possible in camera is the best way to a beautiful image!

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts with Thumbnails