Shutter Sisters

Simple Beauty

By

Soon the days will grow shorter and the air will grow cooler, but the weekend was perfectly warm and clear and I wanted to take advantage of it while I could.  I wanted to be somewhere surrounded by beauty so I grabbed my camera and headed to a local arboretum.  Most of the bright colors of summer have started to fade and the plant life wasn’t as lush as it had been earlier in the season but that didn’t matter.  You don’t have to have bright, cheery colors to find the simple beauty in things and sure enough, I found plenty.  Yes, I know the picture above is technically a weed, but does that mean it’s not beautiful? To me, it looks as if it’s raising it’s hands high in the air and saying, Look at me! 

I believe that even in the ugliest of places or things, beauty can always be found.  You just have to know where to look.  Have you found beauty in unexpected places or things?  If so, please share with us. We’d love to see the beauty, too.

Comments

  1. Your words bring to mind a thought I've had recently… a weed is only a weed when it grows someplace you don't want it. Any other time it is just a plant, growing as it will, adding it's own beauty to the world. You did a beautiful job of finding the beauty.

    I too find beauty in all sorts of places, even in the pattern and texture and color of peeling paint.
    http://www.kateyeview.com/2010/05/at-doorstep.html

  10. I love this kind of pursuit… to seek out beauty in the mundane and the unexpected. Photography has really helped me develop that "attitude". Here are a couple of beautiful discoveries:

    Beauty in an abandoned building:
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/jagspace/2732236306/in/set-72157610159243695/

    Beauty at the optometrist's office:
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/jagspace/3470964366/in/set-72157606967353209/

    xox
    p.s. I call the "weeds" at my house God's Garden. 🙂

  26. I am currently obsessed with a run down 1945 charter bus that resides down my street. I have done a couple shoots there. The first one was outside of the bus because inside, it is so dark and dank. But last time, I talked my model into going inside, even though it looks like they maybe fished it out of the bottom of a lake. Ok, it is not in that bad of shape, but it is OLD. But old is oh so beautiful.

    http://lastpictureshowphotography.blogspot.com/2010/08/rural-heaven.html

  39. Absolutely! The idea that beauty is everywhere, that even the mundane can be transformed into the magical really guides our practice of photography at One Dandelion.