“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.”—Anaïs Nin
“Things blossom in their time. They bud and bloom, blossom and fade. Everything in its time.”—Neil Gaiman
This week my assignment for the 52 photo challenge was to take photos that define the word blossom. While it could be interpreted in more abstract ways, I decided to visit my local plant nursery and photograph literal blossoms.
What excites me about these photos is I had an idea of the type of image I wanted—black background and bold colors. In the past, I’ve achieved this look by accident, but today I did it on purpose. I consider this a huge photography milestone.
Let me know which photo is your favorite and have a wonderful week.
- If you are in the mood for some reading, here’s the short story I wrote this time last year. Week 39: The Wheels on the Bus
- Photos were taken with an Olympus OM-D and edited with ON1 Photo RAW
- If you want to join the 52 Photo Challenge, you can find all the information at nicolesy.com
52 Photo Challenge
Week 1: Bokeh
Week 2: Silhouette
Week 3: Black and White
Week 4: Motion Blur
Week 5: Texture
Week 6: Framing
Week 7: Leading Lines
Week 8: Negative Space
Week 9: Patterns
Week 10: Symmetry
Week 11: Green
Week 12: Sidelight
Week 13: Sense of Scale
Week 14: One Lens
Week 15: Series
Week 16: Flat Lay
Week 17: Behind the Scenes
Week 18: Water
Week 19: Blurry Foreground
Week 20: Unique Perspective
Week 21: Shadow
Week 22: Food
Week 23: Abstract
Week 24: Reflection
Week 25: Contrast Color
Week 26: Think in Threes
Week 27: Starburst
Week 28: Low Perspective
Week 29: Macro
Week 30: Backlight
Week 31: Big Sky
Week 32: Dominant Color
Week 33: Fill the Frame
Week 34: Spot Metering
Week 35: Handheld Long Exposure
Week 36: S Curve
Week 37: Shoot Through
Week 38: Faces
All are gorgeous photos, Bridgette, I prefer number four! ❤️😊
Thank you so much, John. I like the little bits of pollen in #4. Glad you liked it too!
You’re welcome, Bridgette. 😊
Beautiful!
Thank you! That means so much coming from you 🙂
Numbers 4, 9 and the lovely raindrops 🙂
Excellent work as always Bridgette.
Thank you so much. I’ve had a few weeks with photos I wasn’t really crazy about, but I actually like these too.
Stunningly beautiful photos, Bridgette. My favorite is #4. And #2 is the last one with the droplets. They look like beads.
Those are my favorites too! Thank you so much.
Nice.
Thanks!
Keeping the black background really helps those colours pop – especially the fine crispness in 2, 4 and 7. Loved those! 😀
Thank you so much! I was very proud that I could pull this off on purpose. I’m glad you liked them as much as I did.
Those water drops are indeed pretty. These are all such amazing captures, Bridgette!
Thank you so much! I was enchanted by those water drops. I took probably 10 photos of different plants with raindrops but that branch with the line of droplets was my favorite.
You’re most welcome! And I can see why it’s a favorite! ☺️
Beautiful!
Thank you!
really good. But I thought it never rained in southern California? 🤣
I’m in Northern California and we do get rain from time to time. The water drops weren’t from rain, though, but from the plant nursery watering the plants.
Hahaha!
My favorite is #5 but they are really nice
I really liked that one too. Not sure what kind of plant that was but it was very unique and pretty.
I love them all! 2 & 4are my favorite for the challenge, but the water droplets is my favorite overall.
Thank you so much, Nicole! I took a lot of photos of those water droplets. They were so pretty.
What grade Water drops photo last one . All photos are lovely. Beautiful blossom photography. Always excellent Newiest photography. & post.
I’m so happy you liked it! Thank you.
OMG! Like you said in the comments, you really topped the recent ones. I can’t pick a favorite: all are lovely. I’m a sucker for flower close-ups. I think the water droplets are over the top, though. So balanced, nuanced, crisp. Tell your instructor, “every blossom starts with water dripping from the branch of another blossom.”
I like how you think! Yes, all blossoms come from water. Great point. I’m so happy you like these so much. That means so much to me. Thank you!!
Amazing photos, Bridgette! 🤗🙋♂️
Thanks so much!
#4. I think the short story was the first of yours that I read. I don’t think there was a sequel?
Thanks! Nope, no sequel yet. Maybe someday.
Soooo gorgeous!!! And I love your quotes! The first is one of my favorites!!!
It’s one of my favorite quotes as well! Thank you ❤️
Lovely idea, lovely work. Flowers in the dark. That’s true once each day for sure, but do we oft think of flowers Then. We should. So a keen sense of where and how to look. A brief appreciation I offer here.
But before I engage, I encourage viewers to fully enlarge each photo. That bigger view invokes bigger feelings. For real.
Thank you, Neil. I edit the photos on a large screen and I’m often a bit disappointed that they don’t retain the same impact being seen small. I appreciate you being willing to click and look a bit closer.
That was part 1. Here’s part 2. WP, sigh.
First, in deep red, I thought “me” – I may not look it, but I’m all about blood – so that’s my color. 1) is a bigger dream – the one we usually ignore because we get uncomfortable with that bigger story, bigger than us. beautiful. 2) is a crown, royalty. or the court jester, can’t decide. 3) the dream I haven’t told anyone about. 4) happiness looks like this when it sleeps. 5) arms length close wanting to be touched. 6) rounding the Cape of Good Hope, we celebrate. 7) shy, but worth so much more than it thinks. 8) go ahead, leap. 9) think so hard it hurts. 10) a golden field. 11) look, you think you see a plant, but no, water is what you see.
Take the threads you find, or start one of your own. Well nudged.
Thank you for engaging, for seeing things in ways I didn’t even consider, and for enjoying my garden. You make the work worth it with your thoughtful comments. Thank you.
Absolutely stunning, Bridgette! 💞💞💞