Finding Your Way

Telling stories is what I do on Storyteller. Makes sense, doesn’t it? Sometimes I veer way off track. Sometimes, I get too political. And, sometimes I just talk about pictures, which is what you came to read.

This is about pictures, or rather my working methods. Whenever a subject finds me, I try to give the pictures their due. I work it as best that I can. That’s what I did here.

These flowers are for sale. They were placed outside of a grocery store. The minute I saw them I knew there were pictures there. But, which one?

I realized that if I published each one I’d be bombing you with very similar images.

So.

I decided to layer them. And, maybe add a little more to them. That’s what happened with the lead picture, the one at the top of this page.

It’s about autumn, but not your usual one. It’s a southern autumn. a gulf coast autumn. A southeast Louisiana autumn. A New Orleans autumn.

Things just don’t die here. They also bloom because October has almost perfect weather, which gives us a second growing season.

How perfect?

When I awoke the outdoor temperature was 61 degrees. The high may reach 80. The skies are blue. Humidity is down.

Normally, I tell visitors that this is the best time of year to come to New Orleans. Even though we really need the business, I’m discouraging people in this pandemic year, and that’s too bad.

Anyway.

That’s why I was able to photograph such colorful flowers.

Questions. I know you have questions. I’ll try to answer them on this side of my page. The picture side of the page.

As I said, I saw what amounts to three feet square plots of flowers for sale in front of the grocery store.

I did what I always do. I made pictures of them.

I thought that it would be visually boring to just publish them one day after another. I decided to layer them.

In the two bottom pictures you are starting to see the process. On the left are flowers just like I saw them. On right, two flats of flowers are over laid.

Still not enough.

I added flowers and leaves from the past. Sunflowers and very red leaves. I tinkered with that until I made the picture I saw in my head.

This is a gulf coast fall. Very colorful even as the leaves may have already turned in northern climes.

Stay safe. Stay mighty. Wear your mask. Keep your distance. Look after each other.