We are going to be Friends

There are compositions that I have in my mind, some I have seen in the past but couldn’t really work them at the time, others are just imaginary that I hope to come across one day. When photographing tulips in the past I sometimes came across two tulips twirling around each other, almost hugging each other. I often tried to make a compelling photograph out of this arrangement, but never really succeeded. Usually the composition did not satisfy, the floral colors did not scream for the release of the shutter or the background was too noisy. Then, this spring, I found a field of tulips in my neighborhood. After spending some time photographing “Daydreamer” and other compositions of pink tulips I discovered the two tulips in “We are going to be Friends”. The twirl of the tulips and the bright colors seemed just right for compelling and beautiful flower photography. The two different striped colors were the icing on the cake. I started composing around the twirl of the stems and moved the tripod back and forth to adjust the composition. A focusing rail for fine forward/backward movement of the camera on a tripod would have been quite beneficial but I had to deal with the gear available. Once I found a satisfying composition I focused on the tulip in the back. A close up lens helped to blur out the background even further. The title of the image is inspired by the cheerful striped colors and the song “We are going to be Friends” by the White Stripes. The lyrics of the song are about the innocence of childhood and take us along a child's carefree and fun journey where the simple things in life matter.