Imperfections
I was on my way to work one morning, on the ferry as usual, when all of a sudden a single frangipani blossom landed on the deck beside me. Where it came from I don’t know.
I wanted to photograph it, but hesitated. First, what would the other passengers think? Second, I’m sure the crew already thinks I’m batty, and they may be right.
But the real reason I hesitated is that the blossom wasn’t perfect. There it was on the deck, blowing around, hitting a small puddle of water that was sitting there … and all I could think was “shame – it’s not perfect”. Beautiful, but not perfect. And the scent – I wish there was smellography so I could share that too.
I picked it up, put it down, and it blew away. I felt a loss and picked it up again. I had to shoot. Even if I didn’t show it, because it wasn’t perfect.
But I’ve thought about it, and I think maybe it is the imperfections that make it beautiful. The same applies to people. We could make an exact duplicate of a perfect frangipani blossom out of some unnatural material. It would last for years, and always look the same. Extract some scent and spray it occasionally, and you’d have the same effect as a real flower right? No.
The reality, fragility, and imperfections combined with the improbability of it landing on the deck beside me are what made this beautiful. After all, I pass by a frangipani bush every day, covered in gorgeous blossoms. I’ve never spent the time staring at them that I did at this one imperfect blossom.
Beautiful.
© Sara Lamond 2007. All rights reserved.
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Lisa Kenny
Yes…. beautiful !
Stephanie Johnson
Lovely shot!
Sara Lamond
Thanks ladies :)
GabrielK
perfect shot, well done for taking it
Sara Lamond
Thank you Gabriel!
Jessica-June B...
very beautiful and I love the story behind it!
Holly Werner
This is a great image.
IngerMargrete
This is beautiful!
Leah Highland
Outstanding!
Sara Lamond
Thank you ladies!
botticcelli
wonderful composition…superb flower shot!
Sara Lamond
Thanks botticcelli
cheetaah
This is one of my favorite flower, I saw all your works, I love your style and work. Superb work.
Sara Lamond
Thank you cheetah – and thank you for looking at all my works – very flattered you’d take the time to do that!
Jeremy Harrington
this is a fantastic shot.. great work
Sara Lamond
thank you Jeremy
Vasile Stan
This shot is equally beautiful and invaluable: that particular frangipani blossm landed there so you can tell its story. You (your true you) brought immortality to that blosom. Nothing happens by chance.
Beautiful work, sensitive writing and a strong and laudable yearning for self-discovery.
Mark Gardner
i agree, it happened for a reason, wonderfully captured too
Sara Lamond
Thank you Hank and iCandor. It’s nice to know that people are reading the text as well as looking at the image. Some people feel an image should explain itself, but in this case, I believe the story behind it adds more meaning.
Geri Bragg
awesome image. love it !
anaphotography
Great contrast…I like it
Sara Lamond
Thank you :)
Mutahir
Very nice and calm impression from this shot !
Very profound description of the piece, read it twice :)
Great work and writing !
Jan Cartwright
It came to you for a reason. Stunning image, beautiful words.
Rich Gale
This is super Sara, I love your tale behind this image I think somtimes this is our best work when we just react to somthing, well done Rich.
BluAlien
great image!
Robin Robb
this is really nicely done!
jlynn
Fantastic!!!
Elizabeth Aust...
Super image!
Hobbers
Lovely image and great story to go with it. Brilliant work! :-)
Silvia Ganora
This is beautiful. Well done!
Nikki Trexel
wow, thank you for the story. even before i read your commentary i noticed the imperfections and that i’d never seen a picture of an imperfect frangipani before. thank you for sharing. your image is beautiful, as is the imperfect blossom.
Jan Piller
It’s perfect.
Mark German
Very sweet and pure. Poor fwower :(
Sara Lamond replied
yeah that’s me Mark – sweet and pure. With just a few imperfections ;)
katsu
I LOVE IT!
Sara Lamond replied
but Katsu – it’s not black and white! :) thank you :)
katsu
never mind
Sara Lamond replied
hahahahahaha
katsu
A good thing is good! yes…!
ECGardner
I’m glad that the program bug made this show up on the activity list, as I would have hated to have missed it. This is gorgeous, and I love the sentiment behind it as well. Beautifully done.
iBlackMilk
awesome
Kathleen Hill
Beautiful words and image, nice contrasts and bring on smellography
Jacqueline Bar...
beautiful image.
Caroline Fournier
Wow I see that I am not the only who just loves this photo … I always contrast between something delicate and something hard and rugged and you have captured that exactly. Very beautiful shot.
Sara Lamond replied
Thank you Caroline – for me it’s a very personal shot, but I’m happy to have captured it in a way that speaks to others.
Caroline Fournier
It’s always the things that come from the heart and with the most integrity that seem to resonate most in people. It’s like we can sense when there is “falseness” in anything … especially anything artistic.
Estoyenamorado
Absolutely gorgeous and great descrip, you’re absolutely right!! Well done! xxx
Sara Lamond replied
Thank you – especially for taking the time to read the description! :)