Sunflower Cheer

Some weeks back, a group of wonderful warm-hearted colleagues sent me a beautiful basket of sunflowers which added a great sense of brightness and cheer to my living room - and each morning, afternoon and evening as I happened to glance at them, they reminded me of the cheerful sentiments, sincere well-wishes, support and encouragement sent along. Thank you, guys (you know who you are) - you definitely cheered me up and made me feel very special - it's no wonder that I'm raring to get back to work (not so much for the work but for that wonderful camaraderie at work and during lunch and coffee-breaks - boy, oh boy, do I miss that!)

As sunflowers last only about a week in our hot and humid weather, I shot off a couple of photos hoping to retain some beautiful memories - and of course, not to mention that I had all the time in the world to set up my camera - wait or create the best lighting conditions - and basically fill up my hours hovering over these sunny flowers with a camera plastered against my face!

Here's hoping that you will enjoy the following shots as much as I have enjoyed taking them - for in each of them, I have attempted to show and highlight a different aspect of these bright and cheery flowers.

YELLOW CHEER

Definitely 'cheery' flowers - a basket of such sunny blooms not only brightens up the room, it uplifts the spirit and the mind! This particular shot of the back of the sunflower stalk and leaves sets off the contrast of green leaves against the yellow petals, highlighting the details on the leaves.

RISING SUN

The original shot was just a shot of half of a sunflower - I much preferred this photoshopped one using the poster edges filter effect - where the lines within the petals and the stamens at the heart of the flower are much more pronounced - hmmm... I might consider blowing this up and hanging it on my wall to remind myself that the sun rises each day without fail, no matter how dark the night was!

AGAINST THE GREY

Pushing up the contrast in this shot and playing around with certain controls in Photoshop, I had changed the warm brown background - my timber floor - into a grey color so as not to distract from the solid green and yellow colors of the sunflower and its beautifully veined leaf.

and finally, A SINGLE PETAL

a single sunflower petal spotlighted to show the beauty of nature even in its minutiae part, and this particular shot is dedicated to a quote that I read in a women's magazine recently - something that should be shared and remembered in our quiet moments:

"Courage doesn't always roar.
Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, 'I will try again tomorrow.' "
- Mary Anne Radmacher