Rain, Rain & STILL more Rain / Project 52 - Week 3

  Oh, the rain...it's still here this morning.  I'm hearing reports at work of other areas in the West, Central and North East receiving snow and/or ice...and I must admit I'm a little jealous.  Not about the dangerous roads..but missing out of the sparkle of a fresh snow!  Being originally from MO - our winters were always promised at least one snow and several days with sleet.  Here in NC...rain.  I still remember my very first winter here - it rained for a week straight.  There's nothing more frustrating to me than being cooped up indoors with so much overcast from rain clouds.  It proves to be a bit of a challenge for Project 52 as well, since I'd much prefer to step outside at first dawn or a late afternoon sunset to photograph some gorgeous flowers.  I chose to shoot indoors again - but still ended up loving the finished result.
   I was more than excited to see the fresh-cut tulips return to the store this week!  It may be a sign that Spring is nearing...and that means some gorgeous blooms will be here soon as well.  This week, I chose purple and red tulips.  I kept them separated in different vases and checked them daily.  When I first purchased them, the really weren't where I needed them to be for the image I had in my head.  They were tightly closed and hidden in their tall leaves.  A few days later and they were opening up quite magnificently.
 I was on target - I set my space up when the afternoon lighting was spilling through the room's windows.  I chose a vintage mason jar - with a small bit of water to photograph 2 tulips of each color.   I did not like the purple tulips - the petals had opened up a bit too much and the stems were a bit droopy.  For this image,  it just didn't work.  I feel much more comfortable with red/orange/pink tones - so I was in love with this week's final image:

Project 52/2012: Week 3
"Red Tulips n.3"
{Captured: ISO 160 / F3.5 / 1/125}

    This image had every bit of "spring" that I could create myself:  a hint of blue in the glass, the fresh green stems and leaves and the glowing shine on the bright red petals.   This image was taken using natural light from a nearby window which created a small light shadow - I chose not to remove this shadow from the final image because I liked the way it provided depth on the bottom left side.   

    Hoping that over the next week, the weather will clear-up a bit so that I can head outside for some shots of the surrounding area.  As a photographer or artist, do you ever find yourself drawn to one or similar color palettes?  I seem to choose pinks, red, oranges a lot, and am hoping over the course of Project 52 to feel more comfortable photographing other gorgeous colors in nature.

Hope everyone has a wonderful week!

-Jennifer