tulips; flowers; vase; cherry wood; shadows

These flowers were left over from my Christmas dinner. The strong early morning light came pouring into my dining area. The cherry hardwood floors made for a warm inviting tabletop substitute. The low rays of golden light raked across the tulips, throwing rays of elongated shadows. The subtle curve of the vase is a 3D play against the 2D graphics of the flat shadows. All I had to do was compose the picture.   I angled the glass vase so the rays of light were projecting parallel stalks and shadows. I liked how the viewer needed to figure out where the camera was placed in order to get this specific view. Using the sun as my key light and primary source of natural daylight meant the sun moved very quickly across my set. Time did not stop the sun’s movements so it forced me to work very quickly.   Once I played with the placement of the objects it was time to crop. I opted for an irregular rectangle. I really liked how the long thin black triangles activated the space and helped to move the viewer ‘s eyes around the photograph. The final touch was rotating the shot from a vertical to a horizontal. I also liked how the stalks, in water, showed up, almost like x-rays. A bit of confusion made the viewer pause until they figured out what they were looking at.