Dandelion from my backyard – which reminded me of photos I have seen of a bird caught in flight.
“To see, we must forget the name of the thing we are looking at” – Monet
With spring in full gear around here, blooming flowers and trees everywhere, you would think I would be posting about some exciting new flower I just photographed. Turns out, I became pretty excited just playing around with a dandelion in my backyard. While my neighbor down the street was walking around his yard squirting who knows what chemical on top of each one in his yard, I was lying down trying to figure out how to create some art from those in mine.
Turns out, a common dandelion is actually a fairly attractive flower when viewed close up. I think they can also look quite nice when there is an entire field of them, creating a yellow blanket across the landscape. But of course, they are the scourge of the suburban neighborhood. Symbols of your lack of compliance to conformity. But this isn’t about protesting what is or isn’t a weed, or the obsession of the suburban nice lawn, I was more interested in creating something different from what I had done before.
I started with some closeup images, which were all fine – but not all too original. So then I went down the path of multiple exposures. I started with two, then three, then 6. At 6 exposures, I saw what reminded me of a bird in flight, feathers spread, wings a blur of motion. I began to see the dandelion for something it wasn’t, and that for me, is exciting.
Thanks Paul.
I’ve often seen “weed” defined as any plant that you don’t want or which is non-native. Either way, you do bring a new vision to the flower and one that I find compelling.
When I first saw it, I thought that it might be a time exposure during the wind, but it didn’t have quite enough lateral movement for that. It’s quite a lovely shot, Mark. It reminds me that I need to get out and do some multiple exposures, play around.
I will watch for some multi-exposures from you Paul.
Really like what you did with those images Mark. I do get the sense of motion with it and I can easily imagine a bird in flight. Quite brilliant really.
Thanks Cedric.
There are varying lines in defining what is a weed and what isn’t. I’m with you and think those dandelions are a lovely flower. What a majestic scene when we come upon a field of them. It’s amazing the direction our society had moved in creating and defining what a yard is: lush green grass, xeriscaping, mulch, gravel or whatever. Mark, I do like this image and think you’ve done a great job.
Sometimes I wish I was in the southwest where lawns are rare… Just fill it with rocks! 🙂
Thanks Monte.