Madnessmatrix | Eric Bowers Photography

One handheld RAW // HDR // Shutter: 1/640 // Aperture: f/9.0 // Focal Length: 17 mm // ISO 320

- Stafford, Kansas - current home of my 89 year old maternal grandmother, and also a node of the south central Kansas farming community. I have an aunt, uncle, and cousins out here too. And for the photo, I was traipsing through the cemetery - and had actually put all my gear away and was heading to the car, and saw this rose with no stem lying on the ground. I took a few quick shots, but have spent hours on the computer figuring out how I wanted to editorially present this. But I digress, it is my belief that this cemetery on the outside of Stafford is perhaps the most peaceful place on Earth.

It stands to reason that there are years ahead where I will find myself here again - and I am hoping they are all on spring or summer midwestern afternoons with puffy clouds - the same kind of thing I like to photograph and turn into HDR. At least that would serve as consolation for the loss being mourned, these possible days to come.

Now, about my editing here… I did a Photoshop gradient between grayscale and color, some vignetting, and had tried extending things even further by applying the Orton Effect (or so it’s called), which kind of blurs things up. Recalling past comments on my work here and there, I didn’t want to over-edit end up going the sentimental (ironic) route too much on this. So I’m posting a version that is just short of this evening’s culmination of my post-processing slap-happiness.

Today (Saturday the 13th) I turn 28. I’m hoping when I turn 29 I’ll be both a better photographer and better editor than I am here at the dawn of 28 - and I’m hoping I don’t give up all together, especially considering I just bought a new camera bag.