A winter rose

A winter rose, photographed just before dawn, bathed in the ethereal glow of our security light. Maybe not the romantic image it could be without the garage behind it, but nevertheless I found it to be completely unexpected at this time of year. I suppose you people all know that roses grow through the winter or something, but I thought it would be the summer and then that was it. Still, it's worth a click of your mouse to see the full picture.

Comments

[Liz]

Beautiful focusing. The ethereal light was just right. I think it's totally unexpected for this time of year too!

[Aaron]

hey Liz, maybe you could use it as a model in your watercolour class? Then you can say "yeah, I can do ethereal light, its a sinch" - beauty!

[Brian Sewell]

What your photograph suggests to me is the tension that exists in our world between nature, transport, security and light/darkness. When one considers, as one must, the implications of photographing an apparently simple subject, such as the one you have chosen, then all kinds of basic questions present themselves.

Is the rose real? Is it silk or plastic? If it is real, where is it growing? We can see a tantalising glimpse of the structure you call a garage, and know that the light in which the rose is bathed is a security lamp. Is the colour we see in the image a true representation of the hue of the flower, or a filtered distortion?

The photograph was taken early in the morning - but there is ambiguity there, as it could easily have been taken at dusk - are we to simply believe the artist, and take what he tells us at face value? Is that even a garage - it could be a toilet, nursery, abbatoir, church, school or hospital - all of which bring quite a unique meaning to the picture. Can we trust our eyes? Can we trust anyone?

In photographing the rose - the symbol of love and pain, perfectly represented in a single stem - you are asking a question many of us dare not ask. One of life's most fundamental enigmas has been posed in your apparently casual photograph - a question that involves our attitudes to death, life, suffering, delight, God, Satan, fire, ice, beauty and disfigurement. Your 'Rose and garage roof in security light' may be one of the single most fascinating and important images ever captured, and may yet teach us more about life than any other single thing or person.

[AndyC]

Thanks Brian, mate. You are, of ocurse, completely correct. I shall be entering this meisterwerk in the "Single Most Important Photograph Taken In The World This Decade" comptetition, and I expect to win.