A Changed Wordview

Botanical photography has never really awed me in the sense that I would leave and remember the photographer as great. Maybe I have simply not seen enough botanical photography and it is in ignorance that I make this claim. Flowers, to me, seem already too beautiful to work with and photographing them is, in my mind, cheating. I held this strong belief until I encountered a small pink flower, of no especially unique character, that caught and held fast to my impatient eyes. I did not understand what so intrigued me about the little mass of pink petals. It seemed to beckon to me from across the patio, and so, against my seemingly better judgment, my legs took me captive and dragged me into the little flower's presence. This flower was not unique, as it was surrounded by thousands of others just like it, nor was it kingly, for it was no larger than the pink erase on the end of an old fashioned Ticonderoga yellow pencil. As I drew near, I expected to be disappointed by a lame excuse for a flower; however, and much to my amazement, the closer my now captivated eyes got to the minuscule plant, the more intricate and incredible it became. I quickly loosed my wide angle lens from my digital Nikon D70 and attached a simple macro. I marveled at the enlarged version of my little pink flower in the view finder. I set my exposure, lined up my shot, and, pressing gently on that little silver button, heard the belief-shattering sound of my shutter capturing a botanical image.

What I learned about myself and botanical photography that day was simple, though I may not appreciate a botanical photographer as great, I don't think that that photographer would care about my opinion in the least. When I shot that little pink flower, I did not care about the resulting image or if my photograph would be revered or commended. My main focus at that point was on the flower, and learning about all its intricacies and wonders packed into such a small and perfect package. In my mind, a botanical photographer does not shoot to please others, he shoots to please himself.