Oh, my love’s like a red, red rose
That’s newly sprung in June;
Oh, my love’s like the melody
That’s sweetly played in tune.
-Robert Burns
Focus: Still Life
Second only to the heart, the red rose is one of the most iconic symbols of love. An estimated 198 million roses were sold for Valentine’s Day last year. There is an interesting story about the creation of the rose in Greek mythology: Chloris, the Goddess of flowers created the rose by giving life to the lifeless body of a nymph; Aphrodite, the Goddess of love gave the rose beauty and Dionysus, the God of wine presented the rose with nectar to give it a sweet scent; the three Graces gave the rose charm, brightness and joy. This is the reason for its popularity among lovers.
I took this photo using the natural light from a window in my house. Because of the stark variations of color, light and shadow inherent to a rose, if you keep your camera on ‘auto’ when photographing a rose you will likely end up with an image that is flat and somewhat overexposed. Therefore, I purposely set my camera to underexpose the image, which allowed me to bring out the deep red color without ‘blowing out’ any of the highlights. I chose a tight crop in order to eliminate any distractions, allowing the eye to focus on the roses’ curving lines and delicate shape.
Beth Poe :: FreeForm 