The true harvest of my life is intangible - a little star dust caught, a portion of the rainbow I have clutched.

~Henry David Thoreau

I was dozing- enjoying the storms (even thunder and lightening), the darkness of our rooms, the deep grey of the rain drenched air, when suddenly the sun, and a rainbow caught me.

Near the end of the first rose bloom of 2009, I gathered these roses with plans to do a mixed bouquet showcasing orlaya. I became so mesmerized by the roses– their delicacy, diversity, sheer beauty that my plans changed, partly because a friend had just given me a simple white ceramic cube. It seemed such a perfect container for all that gorgeousness. After the shoot, I gathered the same blooms with orlaya, nigella, a few sweet peas, and one California poppy (can you find it?), and put them in this blown glass vase.

Photography Sill-life Set-up- Seamless Horizon

Who knows when make-do photo set-ups might become professional? Professional or amateur, the still-life photographer is constantly making do- solving little (fun) challenges. The only exotic piece of equipment here is the 18 x 24" white plexiglass sheet. I have two of them and they were cut to order at a plastics shop. It's not easy to see in the photo that the 4-ft high piece of foamcore (which comes in 4 x 8' sheets) extends to the top of the backdrop. The stool keeps the foamcore from falling forward. The plexiglass makes a generous table surface where there is no table. The pushpins keep the paper in place, and the vase holds the paper's horizontal curve.

With these handy materials, you can make set-ups all over the house!

 

Isn't this the prettiest rose hip?

We all should know that diversity makes for a rich tapestry, and we must understand that all the threads of the tapestry are equal in value no matter what their color.

~Maya Angelou

Diversity has always been one of my favorite words– it's application both to the family of man, and to the family of roses. In this picture, there is hardly a rose in it that resembles what many people think roses (the typical florist version) look like. 

It's Martin Luther King's birthday, so how about another quote?

If we cannot now end our differences, at least we can help make the world safe for diversity.

~John Fitzgerald Kennedy

The roses– Sally Holmes, William Baffin, Macrantha Daisy Hill, Sweet Chariot, Poulsen's Pearl, Kathleen, Rose de Rescht, Frau Dagmar Hastrup, Robin Hood, Little White Pet, Albertine (bottom photo), Rosa Californica, Phyllis Bide, Climbing Lady Hillingdon, Safrano, Mutabalis, Rosa Roxburghii.