The Black Dog’s PhotoBlog

The Earth Laughs in Flowers
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

This will probably be my last flower post until next spring as many of my flowers in the garden are starting to fade.

These last few weeks of August the weather up here in Minnesota has been beautiful. Nice sunny days, gentle breezes and warm (not hot) temperatures. You can tell that summer is coming to an end and fall is just around the corner. Fall is my favorite time of year and I’m looking forward to the season change. I love all the changing colors, apples, hay rides and cool evenings. But winter and cold always follows for us Minnesotans. I really will miss the flower garden until next spring.

“Bread feeds the body, indeed, but flowers feed also the soul.” – The Koran

This was really an unplanned session. It was one of those perfect days and I had noticed how nicely the sun was reflecting off the flowers in the front garden. I grabbed my camera and 70-300mm lens and headed outside. That was my only plan.

After snapping a few flower pictures, I looked over and saw my husband (who really is still a boy inside) sitting on the ground playing with his dog. I’m sure that everyone will agree that there really is something about the bond between a boy (or man) and his dog. When I saw it, I just had to try to capture it. I sat down on the ground some feet away in order to be on a more personal level.

She’s an old gal of 11 1/2 years. She’s getting rather white in the face these days and has trouble getting around sometimes. She doesn’t tolerate the heat very well anymore but she’s still a beauty in his eyes.

And of course, the Black Dog himself had to make a rare guest appearance from his spot in the shade.

Do you ever wonder what photographers do in their spare time? I like to photograph simple ordinary tasks and objects. Like cleaning house or canning vegetables. Why do I do this? I’m not sure. Maybe it’s the experience or a way to play with and practice a new technique or accessory I just learned or bought. All the while, I accomplish a daily chore while exercising my vision.

I believe we all see things differently. In fact, I believe we see with our mind and not really our eyes. How else would you explain a person being blind and yet producing excellent, beautiful photographs? (Example: Flickr: Blind Photographers Group)

This also explains why one person looks at a photograph and finds much beauty while another person finds the same photograph dull and drab.

Using Ansel Adams as an example, I believe he seen many things in sharp focus. Take a look at some of his pictures. He visualized them this way in his mind and transferred that visualization to his photographs. While I see things with a very limited focus. My brother even commented when I was younger that I had “tunnel vision”. I think this shows in many of my photographs.

Bottom line I guess is that ordinary things can make beautiful photographs. It all depends who’s looking and what their mind is seeing.