Under crystal clear skies, with a temperature of 56° outside, autumn in the relative high country of New Mexico is becoming more evident by the day. Soon, leaves will begin to turn shades of yellow, orange, and red, as nature starts to relax.  But late summer remains part of the mix for the time being, and I photograph with that in mind.  Particularly dramatic right now are the hardy hibiscus.  Their fist-sized blooms seem more of a fit for the tropics but the bushes are quite content in the high desert.  The bloom below is in the Abiquiu area.

Flowers - hibiscus at Cristina's 2 8/25
 

It is a necessary hazard of photography (when you actually have control of the subject matter) not only to mentally focus on the subject itself but also to ponder its background and how it effects the main event, given colors and texture.  Sometimes the subject is the entirety of the image with no background.  An example of that is the morning glory shown below.  The pollen specs add texture to the bloom.

Morning glory with pollen 2025
 

The pomegranate cross-section here is another example of the subject without complement of a backdrop per se.

Then there is the concept of backdrop being a solid color lacking texture.  Black is a particularly dramatic backdrop for bright as well as more subdued colors.  The next two photographs of a day lily and Native American corn show how a photographer can create drama photographing them against black.

I took a very deep and long dive into objects on black over the weekend, which took me to the theme of this week's blog.  I pondered subjects and materials, did photo shoots accordingly, curated the photographs, and dumped a good many.  Then repeated the process.  Learning at its most frustrating but also at its best.  Here is one example from that life-long learning class.

Still life with tango shoes 2025

Thanks to all of you for coming along for the ride with me every Monday, and for Barbara F. R., Terry T., Steve, Catherine, Ingrid, TTT, Jean & Sam, Tim, Kay C., Peggy, and M. Fred for writing this week!

until next Monday,

DB

a passion for the image©