Tangled Garden

For the next few days I plan to share more images made at Tangled Garden where they sell things made from the flowers, herbs and fruit that grow in the gardens.

This morning I chose images of bottles and jars filled with colourful liquids. They were intentionally placed in front of a window to allow the light to come through. I really liked the colours and different shapes of the contents. The wine bottles on the shelf were filled with the same stuff, but looked much different without the backlighting. I really liked this image because of the low lighting, shapes and hint of colour. This image was made without a flash or tripod in a dark room. The light above the bottles provided the illumination of the scene.

I recently read an article in which the writer stated that using a camera to "photocopy" nature serves no purpose. While I think I understand what he meant, I believe that Everything's a Picture and that if a person "sees" a subject, s/he can make a photograph of it.

Another photographer once told me (after I asked why he preferred b & w photography) that no serious fine-art photographer shoots in colour. Again, I disagree with this statement because there are certain images that work best in colour and others that work best in b & w.

Finally, a photographer stated in a radio interview that a true photographer doesn't shoot a lot of images in rapid succession, but instead takes all the time s/he needs to compose an image and make the photograph. To him, slow is best! Of course, sometimes photos would be missed if the photographer isn't ready.

To take extreme stands on the art of photography is fine for an individual and the path s/he chooses to create images, but to insinuate that unless other photographers do the same they are not real photographers, is a little extreme in my view! Today's images are examples - the colours and shapes are interesting and they are just parts of reality that I selected to photograph. I saw them and made the images quickly without hours of preparation in advance.

I am not saying that my photographs are great photographs, but they do communicate what I see wherever I go. Sometimes they document reality, emphasize shape and colour, often are abstract representations of what I saw at the time. If an image I create causes an emotional response in the viewer, then I believe that it is successful.

Yesterday's photos of red currants is a good example. They documented reality (berries on the plant) but many of you shared memories of picking and growing red currants. A few of you emailed just to say "delicious" or "MMMM - GOOD!". Does that kind of response indicate that the photos were successful?