What are ideal subjects for my macro photography? Basically I am attracted to two very different types of subject matter: perfect specimens of nature and specimens in the later stages of their life.
For my perfect specimen - if I have, for instance, a bunch of flowers, I will examine them all and find the one without any blemishes, without yellowed petals or leaves. And then - from my crop of perfect specimens, I will see if I have one that has a quirky feature such as a cute curly petal or a sensuous sinewy stem and then I have my ideal subject with which to create a photo of beauty, with added interest.
At the other end of the scale, we have gifts of nature which are past their best, but they still offer beauty. Hibiscus flowers, for instance, enthral me when they become all crinkly (see below)! Tulips too, develop interesting textures in later life and sometimes. a fallen petal exposes an inner beauty previously concealed.
Why is it ok to accept imperfections in an ageing flower but not to do so in a newly flourished beauty? Because, when photographing a flower newly opened, we are documenting nature’s work at its best. With the ageing flower or crinkled leaf we are accepting and even applauding its ability to display a unique beauty at the end of its time.
In the work of great portrait photographers, we see portraits of young models showing us their fine beauty but we also see, often in somewhat harsh light, supremely characterful portraits of men and women whose ageing skin and tired eyes speak of their long and eventful lives.
As Diane Von Furstenberg once said, “My face carries all my memories. Why would I erase them?”
We have a lot to learn from nature.
See below an example of nature’s beauty in its later stages of life.
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