“Flowers have incredible power. Their fragile beauty ad brief life can teach us to enjoy without attachment, to experience deeply while knowing full well the experience is temporary. It is the same with all life. We will have pleasures and they too will be transitory. We are free when we are able to enjoy our pleasures without trying to hold on to them, when we are present without emotion-charged memories or looking forward to the next time. Life will have its joys and sorrows; to live fully we must live from the source, without attachment to either the pleasure of the pain.”
~ Open Mind by Diane Mariechild

I found the above quote a few weeks ago just as I was about to upload to flickr the dahlia portrait of Ariane. It seemed very appropriate given the subject matter of the shot and it also relates to some of my thoughts lately. I purchased the dahlias for the shoot from City Flowers Express at the Kitsilano Farmers Market earlier in the day. I chose dahlias specifically because both Ariane and I love them, and also they happen to have been in season at the time. Dahlias are amazing works of art in flower form, and they come in a wide range of colours and shapes.

This shot was inspired by the Spring is In the Air self portrait I did earlier in the year. I like how both shots are so happy and fun, and yet they each have a completely different feel. The photo below is a behind-the-scenes shot I took because it was amusing to have Ariane’s feet sticking out though the bunches of flowers.

The title is inspired by the following quote by Patrick Overton:

“When you have come to the edge Of all light that you know And are about to drop off into the darkness Of the unknown, Faith is knowing One of two things will happen: There will be something solid to stand on or You will be taught to fly”

I like this shot, but it ended up needing more post-production work than I’d originally intended. I don’t think that’s a bad thing, it’s just hard to see how this will fit in as the series evolves. The location of Jericho Beach park didn’t end up working well as a backdrop for what I had in mind, so I decided to shoot a new location to use instead. I went for an illustrated look, and I really wanted to capture an upbeat emotional quality, which is very different than my previous portrait of Susie.

Things are going well so far. I’ve actually ended up shooting these portraits more frequently than I’d originally planned. I’m working on the shots from session number three this week, and shooting session number four this weekend. Here’s hoping I can keep up the momentum…

I read somewhere that the periods in which inspiration and productivity run dry in the life of every creative person is as all part of the cycle of creativity. They are a necessary, though often frustrating and painful, part of how artists produce work and should be used as a “rest period’ in which to gather strength/thoughts/inspiration/whatever it is one needs to move forward into the next phase of work. It is much like the cycle of the seasons, with growth in some periods of the year eventually leading to dormancy and rest in others. It’s just not humanly possible to always be productive, and the creative muse likes her time off too.

It was with these thoughts in mind that I gave myself time off over the summer. It’s never my most productive time because there are so many distractions and I want to make the most of the gorgeous summer weather while it’s here. I decided I would ponder what I wanted to work on after the end of the 52 Weeks series of self portraits and begin something new in September.

The above shot is the first in the new series and is inspired by the self portraits I took for 52 Weeks. I wanted to take some of the themes, ideas, and techniques I came up with in that series and apply them to portraits of other people. I’ve decided to concentrate on women as my subjects because I think my style is better suited to the feminine. My goal is to shoot one portrait about every week or two, which means planning ahead and being organized.

I’m excited about working on this and can’t wait to bring more of my ideas to photographic life.