Anemone overload

 My favourite flowers are Anemones - of pretty much every type and as mentioned in my last blog I have had a couple of bunches from the wholesale florists, next day delivery from Holland. They have lasted really well, its been 3 weeks since the first bunch of Anemone Nero and blue mistrals, the blues are on their last days but the Neros should last a few more. The pastel Anemones which arrived a week ago are so beautiful and many are quite a surprise when they unfurl their petals, showing colours Ive never seen before in Anemones.

 

So far I have concentrated mostly on macro photos and focus stacking, but I feel my photos are a bit "samey". Ive photographed Anemones up close before so these are not much different, although I was hoping to improve by using focus stacking and producing a better result, but Michael agrees with me on the repetitive point too. So I have decided to produce some still life images, but instead of the usual dark and moody approach which I love, I am opting for more of a light and airy, spring feel. I rarely use white in still life so I'm going to step out of my comfort zone and go for a brighter look. This is not natural for me as generally it is not what I like, but if we  don't try different things then we aren't likely to learn and grow. 

I have also been contemplating what my aims are for this year too. I am still inclined to concentrate on learning more about extreme macro and trying to hone macro skills. I was going to pull back on still life, but I am feeling a pull to try to create still life with a different feel to my usual, maybe even trying out  food photography and commercial still life - that is a huge area to explore, where lighting is so important, with lots to learn and all which I can do from home too. For now I am going to start creating still life with my Anemones and a few other flowers over the next couple of weeks and see if I enjoy that. 

My new lenses arrived and I am excited to get using those too. I did have a short test run with them yesterday. the 180 macro lens is amazing, super fast at focusing despite requiring an adapter to fit my camera. It is incredibly heavy though, so I need to use a tripod with it. I cant wait to get out and use it for shooting spring flowers, Im itching to get out amongst the snowdrops and Crocuses but its been far too windy this week and I've not had the energy. Fingers crossed for next week. 

 

I took a handful of images using the Lensbaby velvet 85, such as the one above, I'm going to have such fun with this out doors. Its manual focus only, but the peak focussing on my Sony A7iii and the magnifying option help a lot, especially whilst using a tripod. The image below is taken with this lens too. A friend suggested it reminds her of Easter, I think it does too.

I thought I would have a play with textures too, something I used to do a lot years ago, but again it feels very much like stuff I have done before and isn't really hitting the spot for me. 

So maybe I need the challenges of learning new skills. I am still considering pulling back from entering competitions as much as I have been and maybe only entering macro, floral and close up. I'm unsure why I feel like not entering much as it has been an enjoyable part of my life and a good driving force to learn and produce better images. For some reason I feel embarrassed about my wins, I don't feel I'm any better at photography than most photographers, I have just had the time and focus to enter. But I'm not really liking how I feel about it all. I will probably still enter IGPOTY as I love this competition and think it is a positive focus, but that might be the only one. Its a strange feeling, hard to explain. The thrill of winning is nice briefly, but the taking part is better. It is kind of resulting in me reviewing what I want out of photography, why I enter competitions and if there is another way forward that I would prefer. One route I am exploring is how I can use my experience to help others and I have started to do this more, although I need to find a better way than in messages as its quite draining on my limited energy.

Another way forward could be starting to give talks again, maybe via zoom. I am unsure on this, partially lacking confidence as it's been a long time, plus brain fog and cognitive dysfunction can be an issue for me a large percentage of time. But I think I can prepare for this by making notes. If anyone has ideas I would welcome suggestions. Obviously having M.E. has an impact on how and what I do. I feel some deep meditation and soul searching coming on :)