With only three days left in 2025, which was, admittedly, an unsettling and fraught year, we approach the aperture of 2026, and walk through a passageway about which we know very little.  In almost every instance of doubt and disturbance, my default is to let nature lead the way, in this case deep into the throat through twists and turns of an amaryllis blossom.   Only natural light offered by the late afternoon sun allowed me to gain access to the green base of the white petals.      

Flowers - Amaryllis (white) 1 2025
 

Flowers - Amaryllis (white) 22025
 

In the photograph below, the stamens - composed of pollen-filled anthers on top of thin filaments - are in focus, whereas in the image below that, I focused on the petal veins and edges.  

Flowers - Amaryllis (white) 4 2025
 

Flowers - Amaryllis (white) 5 2025

Now we are closer to the base of the flower.

Flowers - Amaryllis (white) 6 2025

The image below was made with a macro lens, showing the anthers full of pollen and the white petals at roughly the same focus point.  A little soft focus mystery never hurt anyone.  

Flowers - Amaryllis (white) 6 2025  

The New York Times online on 27 December featured responses to The Best Advice You Received in the past 12 months.  So with kudos to them and hopefully patience and license from you, the reader, here is what I tell myself on an almost daily basis about photography.

Use the tools you have every day.  Get to know them so well that they feel like part of your body.  Use the full range of your eyesight to see what is in front of you and around you.  Get on a chair, on the ground.  Look up, look down.  Breathe and let your subject matter breathe.  Give it life.  And learn through the process, even through less than successful attempts.  Those can teach us the most.  

Thanks to Tim, Marilyn G., Jean and Sam, Dave and Donna, Jim and Louise, and Steve for commenting on last week's blog.

So we begin a new year, one that I hope will be filled with joy, creativity, and peace for you and yours.

until next Monday,

DB

a passion for the image©