“Remember that children, marriages, and flower gardens reflect the kind of care they get.”

                                       ~ H. Jackson Brown Jr.

I have always envied those who are able to grow plants, flowers or maybe an herb garden. Unfortunately, I was not given that gift, not that I wouldn’t love to be that “gardener” person.  I don’t think I received the gardener gene though.

This spring when choosing my flowers for the outside of our home, I found the most beautiful dahlia plant.  After deciding which color I wanted, I made it my mission to make this plant do more than just survive, I had to make it thrive.  Of course, my ultimate goal, was to grow the most beautiful flowers to photograph.  You are probably thinking, of course!  Well, I have cared for this plant since it was quite small adorned with one small bud.   I am quite happy to share this absolutely stunning close up photo of my dahlia.

This photograph above was taken with a Canon 100mm macro lens, specifically used for close up photography.  In order to achieve this close up, I used what is called “photo stacking”.  The idea is to take several photographs, (for this flower, four photographs were used), each photograph is taken with a different focal point, making each section perfectly clear and tack sharp.  In Photoshop all four photographs are then merged to create one perfectly “in focus” photograph. It may sound easy, but getting each section perfectly sharp without changing any of the settings is a little challenging.  It takes patience and some time, but the end result is just absolute perfection!

From my garden . . .

And a little still life set up . . .

Last week I shared some very personal aspects of who I am, where I came from and why I’m where I am today.  I want to thank everyone for your wonderful comments. When I began this blog, I wasn’t really sure what I wanted it to say, or what I wanted to accomplish.  I think that sharing who I am, and what I think deep down, it gives some insight as to why I photograph what I do. This week was a bit lighter and less personal, but it seemed to be a less stressful week and it’s reflected in the serenity I shared in my beautiful flowers from my garden.

Thanks for stopping in, spending time with me and I look forward to meeting again next week…