Rachel with an Orchid

Hi Doug, this is very pretty, but I think the first thing photographers will wonder about is whether the orchid was photoshopped although it likely wasn't.  

Doug, i for the life of me can not fathom what your tying to accomplish  here with your flower in the mouth shots. All they do for me is make me think these people must really love you to let you photograph them in such a ridiculous and uncomplimentary manner. I may just be getting old and missing something here, would really like to here the thought behind these images.

Michael, other photographers will have to accept that it wasn't photoshopped because it wasn't, at least not in the sense you mean.  The only photoshopping was for burning, dodging,  dust spotting and blemish removal. 

Roger, the title of this project is called Breaking into Blossom. This phrase comes from the poem A Blessing by the Pulitzer Prize winning poet, James Wright, which I'll include as a separate post.  The evolution of the series occurred like this.  I photographed one of the office assistants for my department.  Someone had recently received flowers and she and I thought they'd make a good picture.  Her roommate saw the photo and asked for one of her.  We met later that week and duplicated the shot. We then thought of how we could make the photo a little more creative.  I asked her to put one Gerbera Daisy in her mouth, thinking it would be as if her purity were such that her words would be as beautiful as flowers.  I made an enlargement of that shot and posted it in my office. People made all sorts of comments, some being negative, suggesting the model was being intentionally stifled with the flower, as if women should all shut up and just be pretty.  One of those who saw the original picture was reminded of the James Wright poem, which ends with these words:  "I suddenly realized/that if I stepped out of my body I would break/into blossom." His remembrance of that poem, coupled with my thoughts about speaking beauty, and my rejection of the misogynistic interpretations mentioned above, motivated me to make more photographs using different people, including men, to broaden everyone's understanding of my concept. So, what you are looking at are not flowers in people's mouths, but rather, people breaking into blossom because their experience, or life, or emotions, are so intense and beautiful. Tomorrow, April 30th, is my last day of shooting.  A month ago I advertised the project to over 400 people, but less than 40 responded, mostly women.  Many men, it seems, are uncomfortable being associated this intimately with flowers. At first, I went for the more or less blank expression that you see with Rachel, but found that working the models into poses of swooning, dreaming, and even being angry, or sad, for example, produced more interesting results.  

The photo above shows several images as they are posted in the lobby outside my office.

One of the ideas I realized a day or two ago really ties in with what you've written:  "these people must really love you to let you photograph them in such a ridiculous and uncomplimentary manner."   I think I realize the pictures combine an aspect of vulnerability that really resonates with me. Flowers, as we all know, are very brief, delicate expressions of nature.  They don't last long, they fade, they die.  As a result, we tend to value them as expressions of love, which is odd because they are so impermanent. I think rather it's because of their delicacy in conjunction with their beauty that we use them to "show how much we care."  They are tender and precious.  Using them as depictions of people (as manifestations of their souls), therefore, conveys that people, or the people depicted, are likewise tender and delicate, and utterly precious. 

As Michael pointed out, these pictures could have easily been created using stock shots of flowers and any regular portrait, but the fact that each person is holding a flower in their mouth is a vibrant expression of their vulnerability as human beings. We like to think we're so tough, that we are strong and powerful, but who is there that doesn't yearn to be loved?

Very recently, Rachel pointed me to this quote by Arundhati Roy:  "To love. To be loved. To never forget your own insignificance. To never get used to the unspeakable violence and the vulgar disparity of life around you. To seek joy in the saddest places. To pursue beauty to its lair. To never simplify what is complicated or complicate what is simple. To respect strength, never power. Above all, to watch. To try and understand. To never look away. And never, never, to forget."

A Blessing

by James Wright

Just off the highway to Rochester, Minnesota,
Twilight bounds softly forth on the grass.
And the eyes of those two Indian ponies
Darken with kindness.
They have come gladly out of the willows
To welcome my friend and me.
We step over the barbed wire into the pasture
Where they have been grazing all day, alone.
They ripple tensely, they can hardly contain their happiness
That we have come.
They bow shyly as wet swans. They love each other.
There is no loneliness like theirs.
At home once more,
They begin munching the young tufts of spring in the darkness.
I would like to hold the slenderer one in my arms,
For she has walked over to me
And nuzzled my left hand.
She is black and white,
Her mane falls wild on her forehead,
And the light breeze moves me to caress her long ear
That is delicate as the skin over a girl’s wrist.
Suddenly I realize
That if I stepped out of my body I would break
Into blossom.

I have to correct myself on my reply to Michael.  In some cases, the blossoms were not big enough, or were constructed in such a way that the subject's mouth, or lips, or teeth shown through. In those cases, I did fiddle with the image so the mouth and all it's parts were not visible, so as to make the mouth into the blossom. That's only happened to maybe 3 or 4 shots, and the manipulations were minor, covering just a corner of the mouth, or a small part of the lip, for instance.

Doug, must say i really appreciate the effort you have put into answering my critique. Also really enjoyed James Wrights poem  "A blessing". As to these images, Rachel's eyes were what attracted me they reminded me of a lady i worked with last year. Shall include image to show you. And i must also say i find your concept totally bizarre. On saying that i also totally love, bizarre concepts. Was fun going through your portfolio, so much so that have made you one of my interesting people. And now shall sit back and wait for some more of your interesting concepts. Again, many thanks for such a detailed reply.

Roger, I am, in turn, very grateful for your question.  Many times I'm not consciously aware of what I'm doing, shooting, or going for, or it's all a little hazy, and then someone poses a question in such a way, or makes a certain comment, and it all comes out.  Your question was sort of like that.  To be honest, this project caught me off guard, and I'm just thankful I was able to recognize it, and tailor it to fit my circumstances and capabilities.

bright whites, deep dark blacks