Saguaro Wanderings: Seeing 2010 (#42)

For your consideration: a pair, tableaux which depict nature's beauty and persistent vibrancy.

When a high school student -- where I first stumbled into what would become my passion for creating images -- one of my photography teacher's first assignments was to take an entire roll of film (remember that?) on subjects within fifty feet of my front door. Thirty-six things to "see" which I would normally pass by in oblivion daily. It was a revelatory lesson.

Thus it came as little surprise to me when this afternoon I checked my watch and discovered that I'd just spent an incredibly quick sixty minutes photographing a few lilies and their surroundings, in front of a church downtown.

The first submission is the result of passing a considerable bit of time in intimate proximity to one of the most uniquely formed lilies I've ever encountered. I recall being startled when I realized Georgia O'Keefe's paintings represent far more than the superficial representation of plants . . . the organic form I was privileged to find today immediately evoked memories of a fabulous joint exhibit of her work along side Ansel Adams' at SF MoMA last year. I couldn't resist.

Those interested in nature photography per se have certainly seen their fill of insect images; I was less than keen on the critter itself, but its grandly exaggerated silhouette grabbed my attention. The ambiguous pose is a fringe benefit: is our tiny buggy friend struggling to find purchase so as to crest the leaf's edge? Or is that arm/leg dangling idly over the organic wall, a micro/macro demonstration of cool?

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