I’ve been having fun practicing my macro photo skills lately. It has become a good excuse to buy myself flowers every now and then.

I plan to compose some more creative shots, but the flowers aren’t lasting, and I haven’t taken the time to pull out all of my props to set up a more pleasing composition. I’m also trying to experiment with some high key looks, so that has taken priority over the staging. It shouldn’t be that hard but, I was trained back in the high-contrast world of black and white film photography, so it’s been a struggle to figure out the best way to achieve the look I have in mind. I think I’m having trouble achieving the high-key look, mostly because it all seems counter-intuitive to me. Added to the learning curve is the fact that I tend to research the research and, days later, I’m afraid I’m no further along in the knowledge/skills area. (Oh, if only “Grasshopper” had a personal photography mentor with all the answers …) The good news is that when it “clicks” for me, I’m going to OWN the knowledge and not just guess or hit a preset button. So, I’m considering these my warm-up exercises for those beautiful spring flowers that should be, hopefully, peeping out any day now.