The imperfect is our paradise...

Photographing flowers offers endless possibilities. There is an old tree in the yard that blooms in the fall, and this year it has been spectacular. The first set of images was taken with the Nikon FM2 and the 85mm f/2 on a roll of Rollei Superpan 200 that was sitting around. The 85mm f/2 sure is a sweet lens and makes a nice companion to the 50mm f/2 and the 28mm f/2 (which are also great).

Wide open, I think the 85mm Nikkor has interesting bokeh. I find the individual images pleasing and I like the interplay between the pair as well. 

In the end, though, do such things even matter? Elliott Erwitt said, “Good photography is not about ‘Zone Printing’ or any other Ansel Adams nonsense. It’s just about seeing. You either see, or you don’t see. The rest is academic. Photography is simply a function of noticing things. Nothing more.”

The final image in this set was taken on another afternoon, this time using a Leica R6.2 paired with the 35mm f/2.8 (an under appreciated lens if ever there was one). I used Ultrafine Extreme ISO 400 film, which can be bulk rolled into shortie rolls for convenience.

I keep noticing the pink and white flowers in my yard, and for the present moment at least, I’ll say that I think the final image better expresses what I felt, but I could certainly change my mind. I’m sure it, too, like the others, is an imperfect image.

But it doesn’t matter. As Wallace Stevens put it, “the imperfect is our paradise”. 

I’ll be back in the yard next fall doing my best to notice what is around me.