Smelling the Succulent Flower

Sometime ago, I relocated a succulent hen plant from the side yard to a pot by my front door. Recently, it bloomed. I didn’t know they bloomed such beautiful flowers. I can see them from the front window and every now and then I’ll catch a glimpse of hummingbirds fighting over the tiny flowers.

When I returned from taking Sam to work this morning, I noticed that these tiny flowers were covered with dew.  The early morning sun peeking thru the eucalyptus grove was casting the most amazing light creating little sparkles on the flowers, and I rushed on by. I had emails to check and chores to do and kids to feed. But something pulled me toward my camera… which I grabbed and went back outside. I plopped my butt on the wet grass and started shooting. I tried taking macro style shots with my 50 mm 1.4 lens. I took my time. I waited for the sun to pop in and out of the trees. My clothes got wet and I think there were some ants crawling on my leg, but I didn’t care.  I was in a zone and I knew my kids wouldn’t starve if I took 15 minutes for myself.

I think all too often, we are in such a hurry, so eager to get to that finish line or meet that deadline, or get our work done, or just too busy worrying, that even when something beautiful catches our eye, we don’t really take the time to enjoy it. Lately, I’ve been paying too much attention to the ugly, doubting voices in my head to see what’s good and pretty around me. I’m trying to work on that and this morning’s picture shoot is the result.

I shoot in RAW most of the time, so I had to bring up the pics in Lightroom and thought, well since I’m already here, lets pull em up in Photoshop and get creative. The above picture is one of my favorites because I love the empty space and how it draws you to the flower. I started thinking that it might be fun to play with that space and add some texture to the picture.

I have to say the following photographs could easily be some of my favorite creations. EVER. I must get these printed and have the series hanging somewhere in my house to always remind me not to rush through life. Its ok to stop and smell the roses, or in this case succulent flowers.

This last picture is my favorite. I love my garden gargoyle! Nat, if you’re reading…this last picture is dedicated to you!