Still life photography has become a passion of mine. It has become one of my favorite ways to embrace and enjoy the present season - creating still life images that reflect the light, the mood, the atmosphere, and the natural abundance of any given time of year. It helps me to slow down and notice what's happening outside in ways that I never used to, to get in sync with the rhythms of nature. It gives me a feeling of connectedness. It also requires a ridiculous amount of patience, which has never been one of my virtues, but I'm working on it. I'm usually rushing ahead to the next season without fully appreciating what's right in front of me. I can't say that will stop - I look forward to each different season - but I can say that it forces me to be more intentional and appreciate each season as it's unfolding.
Creating a photo series using the abundance (or lack thereof, in some of the transitional seasons) also allows me to hone my craft and push my creativity by making a series of photos with the same set of materials. I've been doing this in a less intentional way for a while, but now I'm making an effort to document it here.
March is a terrible time to start something like this (if you live in a cold climate, that is) but here we are. I figure starting with a total lack of abundance is a good way to force you to be more creative. (For the record, that's the kind of advice that makes me want to roll my eyes, but I think there really is something to it.) I snagged some dried hydrangeas, which I have probably looked at a thousand times with no appreciation for them whatsoever, from my mother-in-law's house, to start with. Then I added some pussy willows that I spotted on a walk. Over the course of the last couple weeks, I've put together this little series to document the March botanicals.
I ended up enjoying photographing the hydrangeas and pussy willows much more than I expected. I'm trying to be patient for spring flowers, but I'm making no promises. If you follow my Instagram, you know I've already caved and bought some hyacinths. :)
Enjoy the season!
-KB