Yesterday at 6:20 am, I was perched on the top level of a tall step ladder in the middle of my neighbor’s dogwood tree, literally going out on a limb. Fortunately I had asked permission the previous day to use their tree as a photography subject, since at times the angle of my camera could have been pointing toward their bedroom and it would have looked pretty bad.
The story behind my precarious position in the tree is that a few days ago a friend asked me if I had any dogwood photos in my Damselwings Photography collection. She explained that her mother had passed away, but dogwood trees in bloom had been her mom’s favorite.
The dogwood holds a special place here in Virginia, where the American Dogwood (Cornus florida) is both the state tree AND the state flower. I have one in my front yard, but it’s suffered from anthracnose for years and hasn’t been a compelling photography subject for me. So the short answer was no, I didn’t have any dogwood images for her.
But my friend’s question lit a little fire in my heart. I feel a great sense of purpose in fulfilling someone’s desire to honor a loved one through personalized, meaningful artwork. My Lily-of-the-Valley image at DamselwingsPhotography.com, for example, was created for my former nextdoor neighbor from the plant she shared with me over twenty years ago, which originally grew in her mother-in-law’s garden. (You can check out the final product here.)
Stepping Up to a Growth Opportunity
The morning after my friend’s inquiry, on a pre-dawn walk with girlfriends, I spotted a healthy dogwood with low branches along the W&OD bike trail. Low branches were important, since the blossoms face toward the sky and it’s hard to get a good angle on them. I returned with my camera and set up my tripod using my usual macro photography techniques.
I discovered that the macro shots of single dogwood blossoms are nice, but they don’t capture the full essence of a dogwood at peak bloom. I would have to move beyond my tried and true tight framing style. Just moving outside of my own garden is a stretch, but I’ve made progress over the past year growing beyond that boundary. I would have to broaden my perspective even further to capture the spirit of the tree.
The easiest thing would have been to cut a blossom-laden branch and photograph it at home. I’ve experimented with photographing cut flowers, but I just don’t feel the same connection. To be honest, it makes me feel sort of sad.
The plant’s life force is what makes my heart sing. I can only find that when photographing in the field. Yes, it shortens my photography season drastically, but this is just another reason to pay close attention to what’s happening in the present moment and grab fleeting opportunities when they arise. Dogwood blossoms are certainly fleeting!
So that’s what landed me on top of that ladder in my neighbor’s yard yesterday morning: the hunt for dogwood photos that celebrate the spirit of the tree.
I skipped my fitness class to catch the best early morning light. I didn’t feel guilty, though, because it was a pretty good workout. I practiced my balance standing on the ladder. I did squats and a yoga “chair pose” while balancing on the step ladder to get just the right angle. My core and oblique muscles got a good workout from having to lean to different sides and hold the pose, staying perfectly still until the breeze subsided.
I usually use a tripod for my macro garden photography to minimize camera shake. But for the full branch shots on a step ladder, I had to be able to hold my body as still as a tripod. Meditation training helped too, since I’ve had a lot of practice staying still (especially at my recent 10-day silent meditation retreat). Capturing these dogwood photos was a terrific exercise in focused attention, its own form of dedicated mindfulness practice.
Dogwood Photos (Please Vote!)
I’d love to hear what you think of the results below, which are arranged simply by broadest perspective down to the narrowest.
Which are your favorites? Why? Which evoke a “not so much” response? Why? Do you have a suggestion for an editing tweak? Don’t hesitate to pass it along! I haven’t named any of these images yet, so pardon the boring labeling.
Thanks, as always, for helping me move up the learning curve (in photography and life in general)!
And if you’re interested in seeing more of this type of peek into my photography process, subscribe to my photography website here: https://www.damselwingsphotography.com/
Dogwood A (with blue sky)
Dogwood B (yellow tree background)
Dogwood C (portrait on green)
Dogwood D (portrait on purple background)
Dogwood E (pastel mix background)
Dogwood F (white and yellow background)
Dogwood G (single blossom on branch)
Dogwood H (macro with starburst center featured off-center)
Dogwood I (starburst centered)
Dogwood J (dancing with morning light)
And that’s a wrap for today! Hope you enjoyed the eye candy. Didn’t want to scare you off after the recent heavier blog posts about other growth-inducing experiences in Delaware and San Francisco!
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