flowers in black and white

Flowers. I've been thinking about them a lot lately, because tomorrow is Valentine's Day, and I did a florist feature on my website this week. I went through the archives and found some bouquet photos from weddings I shot last year. They were all beautiful, because flowers are always beautiful no matter what. But something about making the photos black and white appealed to me. In black and white, it becomes more about the shapes and the texture of the flowers than the color. Everything becomes chiaroscuro and blends smoothly into light and shadow, flowing from one petal to the next. It makes me want to go back to my art school days and get my hands dirty with charcoal again, sketching and blending trying to get the light just right. It's magic, whatever it is, and it feels just right.