This is a picture of an early Magnolia bloom in the University of Wisconsin Arboretum. The actual bloom is the kind of white that verges on blue and I spent more than a little time waiting for the spring wind to give me a break and let the bloom rest still so I could capture it. That sense of blue and motion combined with a sense of urgency to capture these transient beauties, led me down a post-processing path to abstraction. It was a day of just fooling around, trying different filters, saturations, hues, and all the frills that Photoshop provides. While the end result may not first suggest “Magnolia Bloom,” I feel like the resulting image captures some essences of that bloom on that day that a mere objective picture could not. I hope you enjoy it.
On the haiku, the home page has the closing triplet of a tri-ku inspired by the picture and the attendant memories of the day (yet another case of a camera acting as a time machine, carrying me back to a particular moment in time). The full haiku is.
Mud and Root and Limb
Reach for light, for the Wind’s Touch
For Springtime Promise
Buds and Blooms Recall
Summer’s Blue Skies and Bright Sun,
As A Future Dreamed
First Flowers Erupt
In Color, Light and Motion
Springtime Incarnate