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“Wild Orchids and Alliums” by Rita Anna Long

I have loved nature since school, the nature table always intrigued me.

I am a fine artist and use flowers and fauna in my works. The beauty and decay of these are something that I have been documenting, a metaphor for our own lives. Beauty and decay, youth and ageing, but even in ageing and decay there is real beauty, truth, I am amazed at how nature adapts to its surroundings as do humans.

I dont use any complex editing, the effects are made in the actual process of setting the still life up. Post taking the photograph I use minimal editing, I am process driven and the making of the works is more important than the finished photograph, I know this will sound odd to many.

My degree was based on nature and our relationship with it, I looked at the Anthropocene and the impact that man is having on our World. I think I am trying to preserve it with images, keepsakes. I have always pressed flowers right from childhood, I remember making rosewater from petals from the roses in my family’s garden.

Memories are important and sometimes looking at the images I make I can smell the scent, feel the texture, I can be taken back to the moment I grew the plant, the watching it develop, the picking, preserving, then photographing, and then the finished work.

I see the seed as the start of life, the roots as childhood, the buds as adolescence and the flowers as coming of age, the decay as getting older, the richness of life and inevitable death.

I dont keep my images for long, this is part of the process for me.

What do you think are the TWO most impactful features that make your image a good photograph? Don’t be shy!

Originality and simplicity.

If you would be able to make this photo once again, what would be the ONE thing you would like to do better or different?

I would use a camera, which I can’t afford at the moment.

Rita Anna Long shared her photograph in the FRAMES Facebook Group.

Photographer

Rita Anna Long, Gloucestershire, UK
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Equipment and Settings

iPhone
ISO100

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Comments (5):

  1. julie mciver

    July 1, 2020 at 23:26

    Beautiful i can see and feel the emotional connection you have to nature,it is so clearly evident to me such a lovely image and story behind it Rita x

    Reply
  2. Nigel Walker

    July 2, 2020 at 10:12

    Flowers and plants are such constant companions for photographers and the ability to arrange and display them in so many thoughtful ways is a gift. This is a beautiful picture that both demonstrates the ephemeral and constant nature of the natural world and I love the muted colours here.

    Reply
  3. Jean-Marc Caschetta

    July 4, 2020 at 20:56

    Vraiment très beau et poétique.

    Reply
  4. Marcy Palmer

    July 15, 2020 at 20:06

    These are gorgeous! Thanks for sharing them!

    Reply
  5. mark perry

    May 10, 2021 at 22:25

    A wonderful image, so nice to stop such a moment in time, before they fade.
    Thank you for this.

    Reply

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