tulip mania

A busy day so an early morning wander round the garden for inspiration. I planted these tulips in a pot last Autumn to cheer up a quiet and dull corner. They’ve been out for a couple of days now and have done precisely what I wanted.

There’s so much to learn with digital. When I first saw these tulips, the red leaped out from a dark green fence. This morning, overcast, the colours are somewhat muted. I play around with curves in Aperture. I place the cursor just above the midpoint and drag it down. The fence goes black and the tulips leap off the screen like something from a 3D Movie. This is heady stuff. Too much coffee and a shaky hand and a thing of beauty can easily become a nightmare - revenge of the tulip.

I nudge the cursor back up a fraction until I’m happy and it looks something like that first sighting a couple of days ago.

And this is where it gets difficult. What constitutes good taste? And how will it look on someone else’s monitor? Better? Worse? And, perhaps more importantly - can I do this again sometime - have I actually learnt something or was it just a matter of luck?

Digital gives us so many choices - but sometimes too much choice can be overwhelming. There’s no doubt in my mind though that it’s a lot of fun.