So, my brother Charlie, and his sweet fiance Jaydee came up fromSo Cal to visit Whidbey Island (WA), where they plan to get married in early September. Jaydee LOVES flowers of all kinds, so I invited them up to my studio/home to show them how I work in macro. We went into the garden where she picked a flower. We went into the studio, where I placed the flower in a bud vase against an all black cloth backdrop, set up my camera, turned off the lights, grabbed my remote control shutter release with my teeth to allow me to position small hand-held lights and thus began ‘The Dance.’

I love this process, as I can see real time how my movements, timing, shutter speed, shadows etc., effect the image and best of all, the flower provide the light as I back-light, allowing the flower to show it’s true colors, from within. Keep in mind, these were shot very quickly (over about an hour or so as it was a demo) … but I think they came out all right. I will print and matte their favorite as a little pre-wedding gift. Their real gift will be thousands of real flowers that I’ve planted and nurtured at my mother’s house, the site of their upcoming wedding. Let me know what you think.