Florida Blue Skies

 

 

 

 

Last summer and the Door County blue skies, led me from one garden patch to the next on my bicycle, always in search of the illusive daisies. It would have been fun to have a picture of me taking the thousands of pictures in order to get the rare and occaisional picture in focus, with the blue sky background. I became quite a contortionist in the process.... and loved every minute of the pursuit.

Well we have arrived safely in Florida in the hopes that my healing will proceed 'faster' in the warmth. Yesterday there was indeed full sun and you guessed it a BLUE sky. It reminded me of Door County and my daisies.... then I had a startling thought. My parents had sent me an arrangement of daisies!!! Though perhaps technically passed their peak, they were still daisi-esque. I could 'remove' them from their planter and 'pose' them up against the sky. Yes indeed-ie-do! That's exactly what I did!!

I gradually learned that I could sit (slouch) in our camp chair in our back yard, left hand holding daisies over-head and my bunged up right hand/arm could just manage to hold camera and click. What a happy distraction and good range-of-motion exercise, all in one!

To tell you the truth it felt a bit like 'cheating'..... the holding of pre-cut daisies against the brilliant sky. I consoled myself with ideas about magic and illusion and photography and studio work. In the end, once the images were in my laptop (which did not go 'smoothly' for some techno-geekie-mystery?!?) I could just admire them for their beauty and forgave myself for the manner in which the photographs were manufactured.

Yesterday, I took just over 100 shots, I downloaded 82 and have fallen in love with at least 50. These are a series of four I shot for my dear friend Saint. We were on the phone just before I had this 'brain-storm.' She is currently challenged by pain and side effects, loss of vision and anxiety over the coming radiation to her brain. My blessing was to picture the two of us together and "whole."

Last summer, au naturale, I would shoot 100, keep 10 and like 3. This was indeed an eaiser 'method' which makes me laugh and laugh at my advetures in the field. Last summer, not once, did it ever occur to me that I could go to a florist, buy a bouquet of daisies and pose them. Some ideas take a while to percolate. I have an idea how to use the many images in a project. Wish me luck.