Floral Abstracts

Flowers are a subject that I truly enjoy photographing.  But finding a way to make pictures of them in an expressive and personal way is exceedingly difficult.  Of the flower photos I have taken, this one seems to me to be the most personal and expressive one and  is probably my favorite from my Botanical Portfolio.  But finding a style that is consistent, expressive, and unique is something that I am finding a real challenge, and one that is even more difficult given the number of flower photos that are 'out there'.

So I  have been experimenting with different ways of photographing flowers, looking for a way to transmit what they express to me.  Most of these experiments never see the light of day as they don't result in m what I feel are meaningful photographs.  Some experiments yield results that I find interesting, even though I don't think that they ultimately fit with what it is that I am trying to portray.

This experiment is one of those.  These floral abstracts were made by mounting the camera on a tripod, framing a macro shot using a 180mm macro lens, and using a small enough aperture to yield a long exposure.  The camera was then moved in various directions during the exposure.

Though these abstracts appeal to me and seem to express the  color 'essence' of the flower, when printed the blur seems to be too 'blurry'.  I prefer a 'sharp  blur' and so, for me, the final image in print isn't what I am looking for, but I did find the images interesting and thought I would share them here:

Floral Abstract I

Copyright Howard Grill

Floral Abstract II

Copyright Howard Grill