Spring Blossoms

The cherry blossoms come and go so quickly each Spring, as does Spring itself. Every year I dedicate myself to setting aside a day to photograph them, ideally when they have just started to fall and there is not only an abundance of flora covering the branches but also an ethereal layer of petals on the ground below. These few days are magical in New York City. While I always notice when they begin to bloom, planning for the fleeting days of sylvan perfection can be rather difficult. One can never be sure exactly when this will happen and often waiting one more day will result in missing it altogether. Not this year though. Angie, my frequent muse and sweet friend, has helped to keep watch over the progress of the blossoms in Prospect Park. When she called me with news that they were looking lush I knew I had to embrace the sentiment "carpe diem", regardless of my busy week. So, in between pre-production for tomorrow's job and uploading the fruits of yesterday's job, we made it happen.

Editing...

I am in the midst of editing the many images from this shoot, but so far this is a favorite of mine and also a couple of others who have perused the contact sheets. Editing is both a pleasure and a pain. It is satisfying to see the fruits of your labor, but choosing can be difficult and it often takes me several editing sessions to make final choices. I believe this will stay in the final running.

Pygmy Seahorse

I am presently fascinated with a variety of fossils and other relics of nature, with and without decay. This is a Pygmy Seahorse, and pygmy it is. The actual height of this fantastic creature is equal to the length from the tip of my thumb to the first knuckle. I have two of them and will photograph them together as well. The roster also includes mini starfish, a variety of butterfly wings, and a selection of fossilized nautiluses. All of these things are very fantasy-like so I would like to explore some different ways of shooting them. This first example is not quite clinical though it does suggest science before fantasy. Strange sea creature discoveries definitely make one want to encapsulate and study, get to know the subject before deciding what to do with it.